BOBBY MOORE

1958- 74 GAMES 647 CLUB WEST HAM

BEFORE West Ham had just begun their first top- tier season since 1932 when a teenage Moore debuted against Manchester United.

LEGACY Lionised icon of club and country; the Hammers’ all- time hero who led their FA Cup ( 1964) and European Cup Winners’ Cup ( 1965) triumphs. But while 1964 should have been his greatest 12 months to date, it nearly proved fatal after Moore was diagnosed with testicular cancer and hid his illness from the world. Mercifully, it hadn’t spread before he was forced to have a testicle removed and the treatment kept him out for three months – after which, the Barking native returned to secure European glory over 1860 Munich at Wembley. A year on, he lifted the World Cup there and cemented his legacy.

Off the field, Moore was more unassuming: no doubt affected by the illness which caused him private anguish. As England team- mate Jack Charlton opined in Moore biography The

Man in Full, “I believe centre- backs should be shouters, because they’re the people who do less than anyone else. But not Bob.” Charlton added in documentary Hero, “He wasn’t like us. He was one of us, but he wasn’t like us.”

But Moore always commanded that most difficult of qualities to win among colleagues: respect. He wasn’t the quickest, nor the best aerially, but his unrivalled intelligence meant he could match elite foes. England comrade George Cohen summed it up: “He invented ways of defending – he was simply special.” In east London, he will forever be peerless.

BEST MOMENT At club level, becoming the youngest ever FWA Player of the Year in 1964 recognised a fine personal year on the pitch.