London [UK], Dec 22 : England’s 1966 World Cup final goal scorer, Martin Peters aged 76 died on Saturday night following a long battle against Alzheimer’s disease.
Peters was part of West Ham United trio who featured in the famous final at Wembley, with club teammate Geoff Hurst scoring a hat-trick in the 4-2 triumph against West Germany and Bobby Moore captaining the only England side to win football’s top honour.
“Born in Plaistow, east London on November 8, 1943, Peters joined West Ham United as a 15-year-old apprentice in the summer of 1959. An England schoolboy international, he had already been widely regarded as a young player of supreme natural talent, able to excel in a number of positions, both attacking and defensive,” West Ham said in a statement.
The glory of 1966 elevated the three Hammers to superstar status and Peters took his performances to an even greater level, netting a staggering 19 league goals from midfield in the 1968-69 season. Famously described by Ramsey as ’10 years ahead of his time’, Martin went on to win 70 full England caps and scored 100 goals in 364 first-team appearances in the claret and blue.
In 1970, he joined London rivals Tottenham Hotspur in a swap deal that saw Jimmy Greaves head to the Hammers and went on to enjoy further success at White Hart Lane, before finishing his career with spells at Norwich City and Sheffield United, ending up with a total of more than 700 appearances and 174 goals in English football.
After being awarded an MBE in 1978 and hanging up his boots in 1981, Peters pursued a number of successful business interests and later regularly attended matches at Upton Park as a Club Ambassador, giving him the opportunity to share the memories and experiences from his illustrious career with Hammers supporters.
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