Top 10 Sensational Facts about Bobby Moore

Top 10 Sensational Facts about Bobby Moore

Bobby Moore By ETH-Bibliothek Zürich – Wikimedia Commons

An outstanding captain who led his country to a world cup victory in 1966. His life and career were far richer than his 108 England caps indicated. With the famous number 6 on his back,  an elegant approach, and a player who always looked composed bobby was recognizable from a mile away.

Bobby Moore truly was the golden boy, considered to be one of the best footballers of his era. But how much is known about this exceptional English footballer? Here are the Top 10 Sensational Facts about Bobby Moore.

1. He was the first footballer to win the BBC Sports Personality of the year award

Bobby Moore vs Josef Masopust, 1963 England v Rest of the World football match By Bilsen, Joop van / Anefo – Wikimedia Commons

Moore being the composed central defender stood out from the stereotypical hard-tackling, the high-jumping defender made history. His ability to read the game and anticipate enemy movements were revered and his capability to play other positions, such as sweeper and center-back was respected. 

His contributions to football led to him winning the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award in 1966. He was the first footballer to win this award and was the only footballer to hold that trophy for the next 24 years.

2. Bobby was detained in Colombia for 4 days

Moore and his teammates were to play Colombia in May 1970 and stayed at Hotel Tequendama in Bogota. The hotel had the Fuego Verde gift shop which was visited by many England players and staff. On 18 May, Moore entered the shop with Bobby Charlton, to find a gift for his wife but found nothing, and left.

However, a shop assistant accused Bobby of stealing an extremely valuable bracelet. On 25 May, Moore was officially arrested for theft despite no bracelet being discovered either in his possession. He was placed under house arrest at the home of the director of the Colombian Football Federation.

Moore was questioned for four hours by a judge and a reconstruction of the incident was arranged. The shop assistant gave conflicting statements and on May 28^th, 1970, Bobby was released due to a lack of evidence. He joined up with his teammates in Guadalajara ahead of their opening game on the 2^nd of June.

3. Bobby replaced his mentor Malcolm Allison

Bobby Moore By Koch, Eric / Anefo – Wikimedia Commons

On 1958 September 8th fresh-faced, 17-year-old Robert Francis Chelsea Moore made his debut playing against Manchester United. Ted Fenton selected bobby Moore to play replacing his long-time mentor Malcolm Allison who was at the time suffering from a bout of tuberculosis. Moore put on the number 6 shirt and maintained it for the rest of his career.

4. He was appointed as England’s youngest captain

In 1962 Bobby made his debut as captain of his team at the age of 22. This marked him as the youngest man to ever serve England as a captain. It was a great tournament with a (4-0) win over Peru in Lima. They also played against Czechoslovakia with a (4-2) score defeating them.

5. Young Bobby Moore was better at cricket than football

As a child, Bobby wasn’t as athletic and couldn’t run fast, tackle or head the ball. His peers would call him Tubby due to this. He was better at cricket than at football and it seemed that he would make it as a professional cricketer. He represented Tom Hood Grammar School in Leyton in both cricket and football and played county cricket for the Essex Youth team.  

6. Moore was very professional

the Queen presenting the 1966 World Cup to Bobby Moore By National Media Museum from the UK –Wikimedia Commons

Bobby was fanatical about his fitness, and always trained and ate healthily. He was known to be extremely tidy and upheld meticulously in his habits. When receiving the Jules Rimet trophy at the 1966 World Cup from Queen Elizabeth at Wembley, Moore was nervous to dirty her white gloves. He wiped his muddy, sweaty hands on the velvet lining of the royal box and shook the Queen’s hands feeling embarrassed that he had dirtied her gloves.

7. He never shared details of his ailments

At the age of 23, Bobby was diagnosed with testicular cancer which at the time was devastating as he was at the height of his career. He had to take a three-month break from football and urged his wife to keep his medical condition secret. He had his testicle removed and the following year, Moore captained West Ham as they beat TSV Munich 1860 in the European Cup Winners’ Cup final at Wembley.

In 1991 he underwent an operation for suspected colorectal cancer and told the press it was an emergency stomach operation. Bobby finally announced that he was suffering from colorectal and liver cancer on February 14^th, 1993. He made his last public appearance 3 days later while attending a dinner and just seven days later on the 24^th, Bobby Moore died at the age of 51.

8. Bobby appeared in various films

Moore made cameos and had guest roles as himself in several episodes of Till Death Do Us Part. He also starred in the Alf Garnett Saga 1972 British comedy film a Till Death Do Us Part spinoff. In the 1981 film Escape to Victory a sports war film where Booby Moore starred as Terry Brady.

He starred alongside Sylvester Stallone. All the films he was associated with did well at the box office. Bobby was a columnist for The Sunday Sport in the 90s, as well as a football analyst and commentator for Capital Gold.

In January 2017, Bobby and Tina a British television series based on the relationship between footballer Bobby Moore and Tina Moore premiered. The three-part series was repeated in August 2020 on ITV with Lorne MacFadyen playing Bobby Moore.

9. Bobby Moore has received many awards and accolades

Bobby Moore figure at Madame Tussauds London By Luke Rauscher – Wikimedia Commons

Throughout his career, Bobby won a total of 108 caps for the English team and continued to receive many awards;

• Footballer of the Year in 1964
• BBC Sports Personality of the Year 1966
• He was facilitated with Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1967
• Returned as a winner of UEFA Euro Team of the Tournament in 1968
• Won a bronze medal at the UEFA Euro in 1968
• European Cup Winners Cup – 1965
• English Football Hall Of Fame – 2002
• Four-time award winner (1961, 1963, 1968, and 1970) of West Ham Player of the Year
• He was named the Golden Player of England by The Football Association as their most outstanding player of the previous 50 years to commemorate UEFA’s Jubilee

10. Bobby was honored after his death

Booby Moore statue outside Wembley stadium By John Dobson – Wikimedia Commons

After his death, The Bobby Moore Fund was established in 1993 by Stephanie Moore and Cancer Research UK (CRUK) in memory of Bobby. The foundation aims to raise public awareness and money for bowel cancer research. They also ran a fundraising initiative “Make Bobby Proud” in 2013 raising £18.8 million for bowel cancer research.

A twice-life-size bronze statue of Bobby Moore was unveiled outside the entrance of the Wembley Stadium in 2007. Moore is depicted gazing down Wembley Way. In 2017 The Bobby Moore Academy primary and secondary schools were founded near the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Newnham.

Bobby continues to be an inspirational football legend and will forever be remembered for his contributions to British football.