World Cup star Martin Peters dies aged 76
FAMILY and former teammates last night paid tributes to World Cup winner Martin Peters, who died yesterday aged 76.
Peters, from East London, scored England’s second goal in the 4-2 victory over West Germany in 1966, and the England manager Alf Ramsey described him as a player who was ‘ten years ahead of his time’.
Peters’s daughter LeeAnn recalled her father’s description of what happened after the victory: ‘He told me that after the game he had to shake hands with the Queen, so he wiped them on his shorts. He’d just won the World Cup and he was worried about mud. That’s my dad all over.’
After a celebratory banquet, Peters decided that, rather than hitting London’s trendy nightspots, he would prefer a quiet cup of tea with his wife Kathleen, whom he had first met at a Dagenham bowling alley when they were teenagers.
Last night, tributes were led by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who tweeted: ‘No England fan will ever forget the heroics of Martin Peters and his fantastic teammates.’
Sir Geoff Hurst, who scored the other goals on that famous day, said it was ‘a very sad day for football and for me personally. Martin Peters was one of the all-time greats’. His family said: ‘A beloved husband, dad and granddad, and a kind, gentle and private man, we are devastated by his loss but so very proud of all that he achieved.’
Peters, who had Alzheimer’s, died after ‘a long, courageous battle,’ said his old club, West Ham.