London (AFP) – England’s 1966 World Cup winning captain, the late Bobby Moore, was honoured with a blue plaque installed where he lived on Tuesday.
The ceremony for the unveiling of the plaque on Moore’s childhood home in east London was attended by family, friends and footballing figures.
It comes just days before the 50th anniversary of English football’s greatest moment, the 4-2 defeat of West Germany, with Moore the only English captain to lift a major trophy.
“I’m sure he (Moore) would be deeply touched and it’s just a very, very special day and it’s wonderful to know that it is going to be here forever,” his daughter Roberta told the Press Association.
“It’s really nice to be able to show my children, who sadly did not get to meet my father, so it’s really nice they are able to have a connection with Dad through films and photographs and this kind of lovely occasion.”
Moore, who died of cancer in 1993 aged just 51, showed such leadership skills that he became captain aged just 22.
He was capped 108 times and starred in his beloved West Ham’s 1964 FA Cup triumph, and their European Cup Winners Cup victory the following year.
“It’s so poignant that we should gather here where it all began for a young Bobby, the place where he first harboured hopes for playing for West Ham, the place where he dreamed of wearing the Three Lions on his chest, the place where the most remarkable sporting story started life,” commented West Ham’s vice chairwoman Karren Brady.
“Unearthing and harnessing local talent is the bedrock of my club’s philosophy, and who better to have as a role model, as a shining example of what is possible when you put your mind to it, than Bobby himself?”
