Watch VideoBobby Moore, a dog called Pickles, and England’s greatest sporting triumph

ENGLAND captain, the late Bobby Charlton, is lifted by teammates as he hoists high the 1966 Fifa World Cup trophy. Many a South African household, especially mine — where there were four sports-mad brothers — would look forward to our weekly dose of comics such asTiger and Scorcher, which were flown in from the UK and sold at the local CNA. Many a South African household, especially mine — where there were four sports-mad brothers — would look forward to our weekly dose of comics such as , which were flown in from the UK and sold at the local CNA.

There were also the comics that appealed to the (still rising) testosterone levels of boys, withValiantandHotspurbursting with tales of war and adventure, butTiger and Scorcherwas my favourite. It had much-adored heroes such as Roy of the Rovers, Nipper, and Hot Shot Hamish, who each week were involved in footballing intrigue and derring-do. There were also the comics that appealed to the (still rising) testosterone levels of boys, with was my favourite.

But along with the comic strips were “serious” stories about soccer, notably informative pieces about real-life stars, complete with action photos. It was from these engaging pages that I learned about the greatest sporting victory in England’s history, the 1966 World Cup final defeat of West Germany at Wembley. That was 60 years ago, and one year before I was born, so when I was a primary school kid, the comics were still glowing with tributes to the 11 illustrious conquerors: Jack Charlton (Leeds United), Bobby Charlton, Nobby Stiles (both Manchester United), Gordon Banks (Leicester City), Ray Wilson, Alan Ball (both Everton), Roger Hunt, Ian Callaghan (both Liverpool). Still, it was the West Ham contingent that stood above them all —the final’s hat-trick hero Geoff Hurst, fellow goal scorer Martin Peters, and the magnificent captain Bobby Moore.