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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Charles John Hurley | ||
| Date of birth | (1936-10-04)4 October 1936 | ||
| Place of birth | Cork,County Cork, Ireland | ||
| Date of death | 22 April 2024(2024-04-22) (aged 87) | ||
| Place of death | Ireland | ||
| Position | Centre half | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1953–1957 | Millwall | 105 | (2) |
| 1957–1969 | Sunderland | 402 | (23) |
| 1969–1971 | Bolton Wanderers | 43 | (3) |
| Total | 550 | (28) | |
| International career | |||
| 1957–1969 | Republic of Ireland | 40 | (2) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1972–1977 | Reading | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Charles John Hurley (4 October 1936 – 22 April 2024) was an Irish footballer who mainly played in thecentre half position. Nicknamed 'King', Hurley was a defender for both Sunderland, where he was named as "Player of the Century" by his fans in 1979, and theRepublic of Ireland. He ended his playing career atBolton Wanderers and was later manager ofReading. Hurley died on 22 April 2024, at the age of 87.[1][2][3]
Hurley was born in Cork, Ireland, and his family moved to inEssex, England, when Charlie was seven months old. He later survivedThe Blitz, in which one of his best friends was killed, and as a teenager worked as an apprentice toolmaker. His first offer of a football contract was from West Ham but he turned it down as he could earn more for his family by continuing with his apprenticeship. However, at the age of sixteen he did eventually accept a contract offer from Millwall.[4]
Hurley began his football career atMillwall in 1953, making his debut at the age of seventeen in a 2–2 draw away toTorquay United on 30 January 1954. He went on to make 16 league appearances in the season. He followed this up with 38 league games in 1954–55 and also played threeFA Cup ties. At the start of 1955–56, he representedLondon in the first English team to play in a European competition. London beatEintracht Frankfurt 3–2 atWembley in theFairs Cup. He was thus selected to play for the Republic of Ireland at aged 20, but a cruciate knee ligament injury, whilst representing the army side on his national service, ended any such plans. He recovered, but for the rest of his career he had to be particularly careful when making a sliding tackle and required constant treatment on his left knee.
On 19 May 1957, Hurley made his Irish debut againstEngland in Dublin.
In early October he was sold to Sunderland for a fee of £18,000. He was voted him the 'best ever player' in the Millwall fanzine The Lion Roars prior to the Dockers Day at the New Den in 2007.[5]
On 26 September 1957, Hurley arrived atRoker Park to begin a career that would span 12 seasons and 402 appearances.
Hurley's Sunderland career had a disastrous start; a 7–0 rout byBlackpool, coupled with him scoring an own goal on his debut, which was quickly followed by a 6–0 defeat byBurnley. Hurley had been unfortunate enough to have competed against centre forwards who would later go on to represent England. Eventually promotion was achieved in the 1963–64 season after two campaigns which had seen Sunderland miss out on top flight football due to consecutive last day failures againstSwansea Town andChelsea.
It took 124 league and cup appearances for Sunderland before he broke his scoring duck. A 1–1 Boxing Day draw in 1960 againstSheffield United was the first of 43.
Whilst the 1963–64 season was special for Sunderland, resulting in promotion, it was also personally highly satisfactory for Hurley, who came second toBobby Moore in voting forFWA Footballer of the Year.[6]
In the late sixties, alongsideJimmy Montgomery,Cecil Irwin,Len Ashurst,Martin Harvey andJim McNab, Hurley formed one of the most notable and most settled back fives in Sunderland's history.
Alan Brown's departure from Roker Park, to take over atSheffield Wednesday saw firstGeorge Hardwick and then ScotsmanIan McColl take over. During one match atOld Trafford in November 1966, first Hurley, and thenNorthern Ireland defenderJohn Parke went in goal, as Montgomery had to leave the game because of an injury sustained in the first half.
Hurley's last goal for Sunderland came againstArsenal in April 1968, typically a header. His last appearance in a red and white shirt was atTurf Moor,Burnley in April 1969.
In the FA Cup 5th round victory atCarrow Road in February 1961, he scored the only goal to dumpNorwich City out of the competition. Sunderland would then go on to succumb to aDanny Blanchflower-inspiredTottenham Hotspur side, who becamedouble winners for the first time in the 20th century.
In a poll on the occasion of the club's centenary in 1979, Sunderland fans voted him their player of the century.[7]
On 2 June 1969, Hurley moved to Bolton Wanderers on a free transfer. He spent three years atBurnden Park and was a well-liked figure in the heart of the defence, so much so that he was given the opportunity to manage the club upon the departure ofJimmy Meadows only to reluctantly turn the chance down because his wife missed living in the South of England.
He played 40 times for the Republic of Ireland and was their most-capped player at the time of his final appearance in 1969.[7]
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From 1972 to 1977 Hurley managedReading,[8] then based atElm Park. In the 4th round of the FA Cup in February 1972 he guided Reading, then a4th division club, to a 4th-round meeting with Arsenal. Over 20,000 people packed into Elm Park, and Hurley's charges narrowly lost 2–1 to a side containingGeorge Graham,Charlie George,Geordie Armstrong,Bob Wilson,Frank McLintock and other international-class players. Reading finished the season in sixteenth place in Division 4. During the 1972–73 season Hurley enjoyed an emotional 'home coming' when took his side to face Sunderland at Roker Park in the fourth round of the FA Cup. After a 1–1 draw, Sunderland won the replay 3–1. The following spring the Reading manager took a gamble by purchasingRobin Friday from non-leagueHayes In 1975–76 Reading won promotion.[9] Hurley quit on 26 February 1977. This was an historic moment as it was the first time a Football League manager had resigned at half time.
Charlie Hurley – "the greatest centre half the world has ever seen" by Mark Metcalf, published by Sportsbooks in 2008.
