Norman Hunter (29 October 1943 – 17 April 2020) was an English

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played for

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

, Barnsley and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. He was part of the 1966 FIFA World Cup winning squad, receiving a winner's medal in 2007. He was the first winner of the

PFA Players' Player of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Men's Players' Player of the Year (often called the PFA Men's Players' Player of the Year, the Players' Player of the Year, or simply the Player of the Year) is an annual award given to the player who is ...

award in 1974, and was included in the

Football League 100 Legends The Football League 100 Legends is a list of 100 great association football players who played part or all of their professional career in English Football League and Premier League football. The players were selected in 1998 by a panel of journa ...

. A tough tackling

centre-half In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

and

defensive midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundari ...

, he was nicknamed "Bites Yer Legs" Hunter. The nickname originated from a banner held up by Leeds United fans at the

1972 FA Cup Final The 1972 FA Cup Final took place on 6 May 1972 at Wembley Stadium. It was the centenary final (although only the 91st final due to the world wars) and the 44th to be played at Wembley. It was contested between cup holders Arsenal, who had won t ...

against Arsenal; the banner read "Norman bites yer legs". He played 726 games in total for Leeds, scoring 21 goals.

Playing career

Leeds United

Hunter was born in

Eighton Banks Eighton Banks is a small village in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, which is located around from Newcastle upon Tyne. The village is bordered by Birtley, Harlow Green and Wrekenton, and is located near to Antony Gormley's ''Angel of th ...

, Gateshead, in 1943 and joined Leeds at the age of 15, giving up a career as an electrical fitter to do so. He made his first-team debut against Swansea Town in September 1962, forming a partnership at the back with

Jack Charlton John Charlton (8 May 193510 July 2020) was an English footballer and manager who played as a defender. He was part of the England national team that won the 1966 World Cup and managed the Republic of Ireland national team from 1986 to 199 ...

which lasted for a decade. Leeds were promoted to the First Division in 1964, and Hunter picked up winner's medals as Leeds won the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

, the

Fairs Cup The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, sometimes referred to as the European Fairs Cup, Fairs Cities' Cup, or simply as the Fairs Cup, was a European football competition played between 1955 and 1971. It is often considered the predecessor to the UEFA Cup (no ...

in 1968 and 1971, and the League Championship in 1969. He was a consistent performer, playing 50 or more games for nine seasons in a row and playing all 42 league games in five separate seasons. In 1972, Leeds won the FA Cup via a goal from Allan Clarke. A famous photograph of Hunter's celebration when the goal went in has been published many times. At the end of the game, Hunter climbed the steps to the Royal box twice; once to collect his own medal, and then again to help Mick Jones negotiate his way up and down, as Jones had been receiving treatment for a

dislocated A joint dislocation, also called luxation, occurs when there is an abnormal separation in the joint, where two or more bones meet.Dislocations. Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford. Retrieved 3 March 2013 A partial dislocation is refe ...

elbow while his teammates had been getting their prizes. 1973 saw defeats in two finals, as Leeds lost in the FA Cup Final to Sunderland, and then a few days later, to A.C. Milan in the European Cup Winners' Cup, a game overshadowed by rumours of match-fixing. Hunter was sent off in the latter match for retaliation. In the 1973–74 season, Leeds started the season with a 29-match unbeaten run, which led them to the title, giving Hunter his second League winners medal. At the end of that season, Hunter was the first winner of the

award. As title holders Leeds thus entered the European Cup the following season, and Hunter was a member of the team that reached the 1975 European Cup Final, only to lose 2–0 to Bayern Munich.

Bristol City

After 540 Football League appearances and 726 in total for Leeds, Hunter signed for Bristol City on 28 October 1976 for £40,000, and remained there for three years, making 108 league appearances (122 in total) and scoring four goals.

Barnsley

Hunter finished his playing career with three seasons from 1979 to 1982 at Barnsley, where he was also manager from 1980 to 1984.

Managerial and coaching career

Hunter was appointed Barnsley manager on 16 September 1980 after ex-Leeds player Allan Clarke left to take over as manager at Leeds United. That season, Hunter took Barnsley to second place in the Third Division and won promotion to Division Two. Hunter had two good seasons, 1980-81 and 1981-82, but then a mediocre one in 1982-83. After that Barnsley started to struggle and Hunter was sacked on 8 February 1984 after a 3-2 home defeat by Cardiff City. He had a further managerial spell at

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around 1 ...

(24 June 1985 to 9 December 1987) and was assistant manager to Terry Yorath at

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. ...

, 1989 to February 1990. Hunter also worked as a coach for manager

Johnny Giles Michael John Giles (born 6 November 1940) is an Irish former association football player and manager best remembered for his time as a midfielder with Leeds United in the 1960s and 1970s. After retiring from management in 1985, Giles served as t ...

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...

International career

Hunter played three games for England under-23 before given his debut for the

team in 1965 by manager Alf Ramsey. On 8 December 1965, England played

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

in Madrid. Hunter came on in his first game, as a 35th minute substitute for

Joe Baker Joseph Henry Baker (17 July 1940 – 6 October 2003) was an England international footballer. Born in Woolton in Liverpool, England, he spent virtually his entire childhood growing up in Motherwell, Scotland. He is notable for being the first ...

. The substitution of Hunter in a midfield position allowed Ramsey to deploy both

Bobby Charlton Sir Robert Charlton (born 11 October 1937) is an English former footballer who played either as a midfielder or a forward. Considered one of the greatest players of all time, he was a member of the England team that won the 1966 FIFA World ...

and Alan Ball in more attacking roles as England won 2–0. The existing partnership between Jack Charlton and Bobby Moore meant that he spent much of his international career as an understudy, winning 28 caps in total. He was in the squad which won the 1966

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

but did not play any games. Hunter scored the winning goal against Spain in England's quarter-final qualifying round for the 1968 European Championship, he then started in both the 1–0 semi final defeat to

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

and the 2–0 victory over the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

in the bronze medal match. He spent a short part of the 1970 season injured but he was in Alf Ramsey's squad for the summer's World Cup in Mexico, however his only appearance in the tournament was coming on as a late substitute in the 3–2 defeat by

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

. In 1973, Hunter was in the England team which needed to win their last qualifying tie for the

1974 World Cup The 1974 FIFA World Cup was the tenth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in West Germany (and West Berlin) between 13 June and 7 July. The tournament marked the first time that the ...

. The opposition at Wembley were

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, who just needed a draw to qualify at England's expense. It was 0–0 when Hunter went to make a tackle, but instead trod on the ball and lost it. Poland quickly made a counterattack allowing

Grzegorz Lato Grzegorz Bolesław Lato (Polish pronunciation: ; born 8 April 1950) is a Polish former professional football player and manager who played as a winger. He was a member of Poland's golden generation of football players who rose to fame in the ...

to run clear and set up

Jan Domarski Jan Andrzej Domarski (born 28 October 1946 in Rzeszów) is a Polish former footballer and bronze-medal winner in the 1974 World Cup tournament in Germany. He played in seventeen matches for the Poland national team and was a double-champion Stal ...

to score. Allan Clarke equalised with a penalty but England could not score again, and the 1–1 draw saw them miss out on a place at the World Cup.

Post-playing and managerial career

Hunter turned to the after-dinner circuit recounting his anecdotes, and from 1993 to 2020 he worked for local station BBC Radio Leeds and

Yorkshire Radio Yorkshire Radio was a British digital radio station serving Yorkshire on DAB. The station was owned by Leeds United A.F.C. and broadcast live coverage of all first-team games, alongside pop music from the 1960s to 2013. History Yorkshire Ra ...

as a summariser at Leeds games. In 1998, the Football League, as part of its centenary season celebrations, included Hunter on its list of 100 League Legends. Hunter released his autobiography, ''Biting Talk'', in 2004. In the

1966 World Cup final The 1966 FIFA World Cup Final was a association football, football match played at Wembley Stadium (1923), Wembley Stadium, London, on 30 July 1966 to determine the winner of the 1966 FIFA World Cup, the eighth FIFA World Cup. The match was conte ...

only the 11 players on the pitch at the end of the 4–2 win over West Germany received medals. Following a Football Association-led campaign to persuade FIFA to award medals to all the squad members, Hunter was presented with his winner's medal by

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Tony B ...

at a ceremony at 10 Downing Street on 10 June 2009. Hunter retained close links with Leeds United and its fans, and regularly appeared at Leeds matches and figured at club-hosted conferences and events; the eponymous "Norman Hunter Suite" is located in the West Stand at Elland Road. Following Hunter's death on 17 April 2020, Leeds United announced on 23 April that the South Stand at Elland Road would be renamed after Hunter.

Personal life

In 1968 Hunter married Susan Harper, and the couple had two children, Michael and Claire. On 10 April 2020, it was reported that Hunter was being treated in hospital after testing positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

. On 16 April he was described as being "severely unwell". The following day, Leeds United announced that Hunter died from the virus, aged 76, stating that " is deathleaves a huge hole in the Leeds United family ndhis legacy will never be forgotten".

Career statistics

Honours

Leeds United * Football League First Division: 1968–69, 1973–74 *

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third t ...

: 1963–64 *

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

: 1971–72; runners-up: 1964–65, 1969–70, 1972–73 * Football League Cup: 1967–68 * FA Charity Shield:

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

; runners-up: 1974 * Inter-Cities Fairs Cup: 1967–68, 1970–71; runners-up: 1966–67 * European Cup runners-up: 1974–75 *

European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...

runners-up: 1972–73 England *

: 1966 * European Championship third place:

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Janu ...

Individual *

: 1973–74 * PFA Team of the Year: 1973–74 *

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

* Leeds United Player of the Year: 1971

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Norman 1943 births 2020 deaths Footballers from Gateshead English footballers English football managers Barnsley F.C. managers Barnsley F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players Leeds United F.C. players Rotherham United F.C. managers England international footballers England under-23 international footballers Bradford City A.F.C. non-playing staff 1966 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 1968 players 1970 FIFA World Cup players FIFA World Cup-winning players English Football League players Association football defenders English Football League representative players English Football Hall of Fame inductees Association football player-managers English autobiographers English Football League managers Association football coaches West Bromwich Albion F.C. non-playing staff Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in England FA Cup Final players