‘The King’ – the great Charlie Hurley
Sunderland AFC legends Jimmy Montgomery and Micky Horswill have been paying their personal tributes to Charlie Hurley after the Black Cats’ Player of the Century passed away at the age of 87.
The death of the man known to a generation of Roker Park faithful simply as ‘The King’ was announced yesterday.
The centre half was voted Sunderland’s Player of the Century after making 402 appearances for the club from 1957 to 1969 and scoring 26 goals.
Charlie was already an established Fulwell End favourite when Monty made his first team debut in 1960. The Irishman had arrived from Millwall three years earlier and the two would be teammates until Hurley’s transfer to Bolton in 1969.
“Charlie was instrumental in looking after me when I got into the first team,” said Jimmy.
“He just looked after you. He was a good laugh, he was a great captain and he looked after all the players.
“It was a bit different in those days – you weren’t supposed to speak to the senior players unless they spoke to you.
“But Charlie was different. You could go up and have a chat with him on anything you wanted.”
It had been a pleasure to play with the great man, said Jimmy.
“Playing behind Charlie, you really didn't have to come out for many crosses because he was such a commanding figure,” he said.
While football has changed over the years, Jimmy believes Charlie would have been right at home in the modern game: “We talk about playing out from the back now and that would have been the ideal scenario for Charlie,” he said.
“He could control the ball, he could bring it out and he could run the game.”
Jimmy’s fellow 1973 legend Micky Horswill was too young to play alongside Charlie in the first team – but did come up against him on the training pitch as an apprentice: “He was such a gent,” said Micky.
“I played against him in practice matches – the first team used to pay against us as a warm-up – and he would smash you but then he would pick you up and look after you.”
Charlie had been a hero to the youngsters: “I used to clean his boots. Everybody wanted to clean Charlie's boots – we hated the job but everybody wanted to clean Charlie’s boots.”
And Micky recalled the encouragement and support Charlie had given him at a time he feared his career might be over even before it had begun.
He said: “I broke both my legs, one after the other. After the second break, I had had an operation and I was sitting in the dressing rom with my leg in plaster, waiting for my dad to come and pick me up when Big Charlie came in.
“He said, ‘I have only got a few years left and when I finish playing football, I want to be a manager and I might just come back to Sunderland to sign you, I would want to sign you’.
“He was just a lovely bloke who tried to help everybody and they all looked up to him.”
Charlie visited Sunderland in 2016, to see the gates from the club’s former training ground, which bore his name, moved to a new home close to the Stadium of Light’s main reception.
He was joined by members of the 196364 squad for the big day: “Everybody was cheering him and he put his hand to his ear just like he used to when he scored,” said Micky.
“Half of them were too young to have seen him play but they knew who Charlie was.
“I don't think we will ever get somebody as big as Charlie again. He was always immaculate. We would all turn up in jeans but Charlie was dressed as though he was going into the office.”
And the big man’s reputation had extended far beyond Wearside, as Micky discovered on his move to Manchester City in 1974.
“When I signed, I was getting changed and Mick Summerbee came over.
He said: ‘In all the games I have played, my biggest claim to fame is that a couple of seasons ago, we went to Roker Park, I was playing centre forward, Charlie Hurley was playing centre half, and I beat him in the air’.
“He hadn’t actually scored or anything, but he still said ‘That is my biggest claim to fame’ just because he had beaten Charlie to the ball.”