Martin Peters – An Obituary
On 21st December, another member of the 1966 World Cup winning team passed away. Martin Peters, scorer of England’s second goal (as seen in the top photo) in the 1966 World Cup Final sadly passed away at the age of 76.
Peters was a midfielder by trade but over the course of his career at first club West Ham United, played in ever position on the pitch at one time or another. In his third appearance for West Ham, Peters took the place of Brian Rhodes, West Ham’s regular goakeeper, when the Hammers’ number one got injured!
The West Ham midfielder was described as a “complete midfielder” due to his abilities in all aspects of his midfield duties. He was equally capable with either foot, a real bonus for any footballer and great at free-kicks.
By the time the 1966 World Cup Finals came around, Peters had been playing in the West Ham United first team for just over four years. Both of his West Ham team mates Bobby Moore and Geoff Hurst were also members of the squad selected for the England squad.
Peters was only 22 years of age but his performances over the course of the tournament were that of someone much older. He didn’t feature in England’s opening group game against Uruguay but played in every game after.
Whilst the 1966 World Cup Final is remembered for the hat-trick that Geoff Hurst scored, it was Martin Peters who scored the other goal for England in that game. A picture of this goal is at the top of the article.
Bobby Moore and Geoff Hurst
Four years after the World Cup success and with the 1970 World Cup approaching, Tottenham Hotspur offered £150,000 and Jimmy Greaves to West Ham for Peters. He became the first player in British football to move for £200,000.
In the 1970 World Cup, Peters scored England’s second goal against West Germany in the knockout stages. With England 2-0 up, Sir Alf Ramsey made a tactical change by taking Peters and Bobby Charlton off. England then conceded three goals after the substitution and lost the game 3-2.
After five years at White Hart Lane, Peters was on the move again, this time it was to Norwich City. He would remain there until 1980 when he left for Sheffield United to become a player-coach before taking over as manager at Bramall Lane.
In the five months in charge of Sheffield United, Peters was unable to prevent United from being relegated from the Third to the Fourth Division. He left his role at the end of the 1980/81 season.
In Martin Peters’ later years, he worked for both West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur, the first clubs of his professional career. He will be sorely missed by many within the game and his name will live on in legend as he was one of the eleven England players to win the World Cup.
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