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| The making of an English gentleman | The making of an English gentleman |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| By Tom Geoghegan BBC News Magazine | By Tom Geoghegan BBC News Magazine |
| Every time England crash out of a football tournament, the reputation of the late Bobby Moore is fortified just a little bit more. Now a statue of the man is being unveiled outside the new Wembley Stadium. | Every time England crash out of a football tournament, the reputation of the late Bobby Moore is fortified just a little bit more. Now a statue of the man is being unveiled outside the new Wembley Stadium. |
| Few figures have transcended sport in the same way as Bobby Moore. | Few figures have transcended sport in the same way as Bobby Moore. |
| The sight of him holding the Jules Rimet trophy aloft on 30 July 1966 is one of the enduring images of that decade, instantly recognisable to those who have never paid any interest in football. | The sight of him holding the Jules Rimet trophy aloft on 30 July 1966 is one of the enduring images of that decade, instantly recognisable to those who have never paid any interest in football. |
| Moments earlier, millions watched as he climbed the Wembley steps, wiping his hand on his shorts so he could offer a clean handshake to the Queen. In that moment his mythic status as an English gentleman was sealed. | Moments earlier, millions watched as he climbed the Wembley steps, wiping his hand on his shorts so he could offer a clean handshake to the Queen. In that moment his mythic status as an English gentleman was sealed. |
| Looking back now, the image of the handsome captain in the red shirt evokes a lost age of innocence, grace, hard work and, above all, sporting success. | Looking back now, the image of the handsome captain in the red shirt evokes a lost age of innocence, grace, hard work and, above all, sporting success. |
| A statue of Moore, who died in 1993 aged 51, is to be unveiled at the new Wembley Stadium on Friday. Decades after English football's greatest hour, his hold on a nation's affection seems undiminished. Why? | A statue of Moore, who died in 1993 aged 51, is to be unveiled at the new Wembley Stadium on Friday. Decades after English football's greatest hour, his hold on a nation's affection seems undiminished. Why? |
| It's about time the gesture was made with this statue but he should have had a knighthood Alan MulleryEx-England and Fulham class="" href="/1/hi/england/6645383.stm">Wembley's Moore statue unveiled Alan Mullery, who played with Moore for England and Fulham, says his appeal in and outside the game stems simply from his talent and decency. | |
| "He was a great fella and footballer and a lovely man. If he walked in the room everyone knew he was an England captain. He had that sort of charisma. And he had a wicked sense of humour. | "He was a great fella and footballer and a lovely man. If he walked in the room everyone knew he was an England captain. He had that sort of charisma. And he had a wicked sense of humour. |
| "It's about time the gesture was made with this statue but he should have had a knighthood. But it wouldn't have bothered him in the least, he would have laughed at it." | "It's about time the gesture was made with this statue but he should have had a knighthood. But it wouldn't have bothered him in the least, he would have laughed at it." |
| There was little evidence of his world class talent when the East End boy showed promise, if not outrageous talent, as a young footballer and cricketer in the 1950s. | There was little evidence of his world class talent when the East End boy showed promise, if not outrageous talent, as a young footballer and cricketer in the 1950s. |
| Outcry | Outcry |
| A career at West Ham and three World Cup finals later, came the recognition from peers like Pele and Franz Beckenbauer that here was one of the greatest - and certainly one of the most graceful - defenders ever to play the game. But while both Pele and Beckenbauer became major figures in world football after hanging up their boots Moore struggled in his post-playing days. | A career at West Ham and three World Cup finals later, came the recognition from peers like Pele and Franz Beckenbauer that here was one of the greatest - and certainly one of the most graceful - defenders ever to play the game. But while both Pele and Beckenbauer became major figures in world football after hanging up their boots Moore struggled in his post-playing days. |
| The statue in its scultptor's studio and, inset, at WembleyAfter ending his playing days in England at Fulham in 1977, Moore wrote to the FA to express an interest in the England manager's job when a vacancy became available - but never received a reply. | |
| His first league coaching role came six years later at Southend but he spent three years there without success. These were the days when former players, however successful, needed to find second careers. | His first league coaching role came six years later at Southend but he spent three years there without success. These were the days when former players, however successful, needed to find second careers. |
| He then worked for the Sunday Sport and Capital Gold Radio before his death from bowel cancer, which sparked a media campaign calling for his posthumous knighthood. There was an outcry that his talents were wasted after he retired and his Westminster Abbey memorial service resembled a state occasion. | He then worked for the Sunday Sport and Capital Gold Radio before his death from bowel cancer, which sparked a media campaign calling for his posthumous knighthood. There was an outcry that his talents were wasted after he retired and his Westminster Abbey memorial service resembled a state occasion. |
| Even the Football Association's Sir Trevor Brooking has admitted he should have been honoured earlier: "Bobby's contribution to football and history has sadly only been recognised after his premature death." | Even the Football Association's Sir Trevor Brooking has admitted he should have been honoured earlier: "Bobby's contribution to football and history has sadly only been recognised after his premature death." |
| In Moore's day the gulf between the FA and the players was a wide one, neatly illustrated by a story he told his close friend, the BBC commentator Jonathan Pearce. | In Moore's day the gulf between the FA and the players was a wide one, neatly illustrated by a story he told his close friend, the BBC commentator Jonathan Pearce. |
| He made footballers around him and everyone he met feel special Jonathan Pearce Moore was in Czechoslovakia in 1963, captaining England for the first time, when the heat of the hotel drove him to sleep outside on a park bench. When some FA officials walked through the park in the morning, they failed to recognise the England captain and asked the police to move the "vagrant" on. | |
| Unlikely to happen nowadays, says Pearce dryly. He thinks Moore should have been given a figurehead role to use his charisma to promote the game internationally, or as a junior coach. | Unlikely to happen nowadays, says Pearce dryly. He thinks Moore should have been given a figurehead role to use his charisma to promote the game internationally, or as a junior coach. |
| "He had a common touch and treated princes and paupers exactly the same. When we were travelling on trains and everyone wanted to talk to him about football, he didn't mind. He made footballers around him and everyone he met feel special. He was interested in everyone and everything they had to say." | "He had a common touch and treated princes and paupers exactly the same. When we were travelling on trains and everyone wanted to talk to him about football, he didn't mind. He made footballers around him and everyone he met feel special. He was interested in everyone and everything they had to say." |
| Moore and Mullery, centre, at FulhamHe was neglected, Pearce believes, because the establishment was suspicious about his friendships with shady businessmen and there were lingering doubts about his arrest for allegedly stealing a bracelet in Colombia in 1970. That accusation was later revealed to be groundless. | |
| There was also a resistance by English football to invoke the past glories of the 66 team because it was believed more success was around the corner. | There was also a resistance by English football to invoke the past glories of the 66 team because it was believed more success was around the corner. |
| His humility and stoicism have been recognised more since his death, says Pearce, and he was never bitter about the riches and adulation showered on the players that followed in his footsteps. | His humility and stoicism have been recognised more since his death, says Pearce, and he was never bitter about the riches and adulation showered on the players that followed in his footsteps. |
| "He was far too nice to be a football manager, too gentle. Only once did he ever criticise anyone within the game. He had this extraordinary humility and grace about him." | "He was far too nice to be a football manager, too gentle. Only once did he ever criticise anyone within the game. He had this extraordinary humility and grace about him." |
| I think there's a lot of guilt involved in our relationship with Bobby Moore Jim WhiteDaily Telegraph Such affection won't ever be felt for a footballer again because the sport has become more money-driven and there's a distance between the players and the fans, says Pearce. | |
| Moore's widow Stephanie says he had been hugely popular with the public while he was alive, but the outpouring of grief surprised her. | Moore's widow Stephanie says he had been hugely popular with the public while he was alive, but the outpouring of grief surprised her. |
| "What was very supportive was that the entire nation mourned and it was only then that I realised what a legend he was. If he knew it he never let on. I'm warmed that people should feel so emotional about that. It shows how much they appreciated Bobby." | |
| She set up a bowel cancer charity in his memory and it has so far raised £9m, with two "Race for Moore" events coming up in the summer. | She set up a bowel cancer charity in his memory and it has so far raised £9m, with two "Race for Moore" events coming up in the summer. |
| Moore with first wife Tina and daughter Roberta, in November 1966She says that despite the media stories about him being neglected in retirement, they had a wonderful life together, although it was tragically cut short 14 years after they met. And he never expressed any regrets. | |
| "He didn't get the breaks he should have got, the opportunities a man of his stature should have had. | "He didn't get the breaks he should have got, the opportunities a man of his stature should have had. |
| "But he had a full life. I did ask him how he felt about it. He said that relative to the time the game had given him a very good standard of living. And he achieved things which men and boys would have given their right arms for." | "But he had a full life. I did ask him how he felt about it. He said that relative to the time the game had given him a very good standard of living. And he achieved things which men and boys would have given their right arms for." |
| The legend of Bobby Moore has grown with every failure of his successors in the national team, says Jim White of the Daily Telegraph. And his early death meant he never seemed to grow old, which adds to his allure. | The legend of Bobby Moore has grown with every failure of his successors in the national team, says Jim White of the Daily Telegraph. And his early death meant he never seemed to grow old, which adds to his allure. |
| Moore was unaware of his popularity, says second wife Stephanie"The 60s was a time of great forward-thinking. They were washing away the austerity and the grime of the 50s in culture, music and fashion. | |
| "Bobby Moore was an easy symbol for that. He was one of the figures of the 1960s, the easy way in which modernity was washing away the grit of the past. He looked handsome and elegant in that kit and he smiled modestly." | "Bobby Moore was an easy symbol for that. He was one of the figures of the 1960s, the easy way in which modernity was washing away the grit of the past. He looked handsome and elegant in that kit and he smiled modestly." |
| The fascination is also driven by regret that his talents were "scandalously squandered". | The fascination is also driven by regret that his talents were "scandalously squandered". |
| "I think there's a lot of guilt involved in our relationship with Bobby Moore," says White, "and a realisation that we should have treasured him at the time, so maybe we are compensating for that now." | "I think there's a lot of guilt involved in our relationship with Bobby Moore," says White, "and a realisation that we should have treasured him at the time, so maybe we are compensating for that now." |
Add your comments on this story, using the form below. | Add your comments on this story, using the form below. |