When Three West Ham Boys Won the World Cup

July 30th, 1966. I was twelve years old, sitting in our front room in Custom House with my whole family crammed around our little black and white television. England were playing West Germany in the World Cup final at Wembley, and three West Ham lads were in the team. Bobby Moore was our captain, of course. We all knew he was special - had done ever since he broke into the first team. But seeing him lead out England at Wembley was something else entirely. My mum kept saying "That's our Bobby" every time the camera showed him. When Hurst scored to make it 2-1, the street outside erupted. You could hear the cheers from every house. Then West Germany equalised in the last minute, and my dad threw his cap at the television in disgust. Extra time. Geoff Hurst's controversial goal. "They think it's all over..." - Kenneth Wolstenholme's words are burned into my memory forever. When Geoff completed his hat-trick, running onto Bobby's perfect pass, our street became a carnival. Martin Peters had scored too, of course. Three West Ham men, three goals, one World Cup. The whole of East London celebrated that night. Strangers danced in the streets, pubs stayed open past closing time (the police didn't seem to mind), and everywhere you went, people were singing. The next morning, I cut out every newspaper picture I could find and stuck them on my bedroom wall. Those pictures stayed there until I got married. My wife made me take them down, but I've still got them in a box in the attic. Some memories you never let go of.