| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Roger Patrick Hunt | ||
| Date of birth | (1943-03-17)17 March 1943 | ||
| Place of birth | Swindon, England | ||
| Date of death | 20 June 2018(2018-06-20) (aged 75) | ||
| Place of death | Gloucestershire, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | ||
| Position | Inside forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1957–1959 | Swindon Town | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1959–1965 | Swindon Town | 214 | (82) |
| 1965–1967 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 74 | (32) |
| 1967 | →Los Angeles Wolves | 10 | (4) |
| 1967–1968 | Everton | 14 | (3) |
| 1968–1973 | Coventry City | 146 | (45) |
| 1973 | →Doncaster Rovers (loan) | 9 | (1) |
| 1973–1974 | Bristol City | 12 | (2) |
| 1974–? | Atherstone Town | ||
| Ledbury Town | |||
| Total | 479+ | (169+) | |
| International career | |||
| 1963–1966 | England U23 | 3 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Roger Patrick "Ernie" Hunt (17 March 1943 – 20 June 2018) was an Englishfootballer who played inthe Football League forSwindon Town,Wolverhampton Wanderers,Everton,Coventry City,Doncaster Rovers andBristol City,[1] and for theLos Angeles Wolves in theUnited Soccer Association. At international level, he wascapped three times for theEngland under-23 team. He was known as "Ernie" – a contraction of Ernest, his father's name – to avoid confusion withLiverpool andEngland strikerRoger Hunt. In 1971 he was the winner of the inauguralBBC Goal of the Season award.
Born inSwindon, Hunt was working forBritish Rail when he was signed as an amateur bySwindon Town in 1957.[2] He progressed through their youth ranks, made his debut on 15 September 1959 in a 3–0 defeat in theThird Division atGrimsby Town, which made him Swindon's youngest ever first-team player, aged 16 years 182 days, a record which stood until 1980, and signed professional forms in March 1960.[3]
He finished as the club's top goalscorer for four consecutive seasons, and helped them winpromotion to theSecond Division in 1963.[3] Hunt made his debut for theEngland under-23 team on 2 June 1963 in a 1–0 defeat to their Romanian counterparts, the first of threecaps he won at that level.[4] Swindon were relegated at the end of the1964–65 campaign, and Hunt left to joinWolverhampton Wanderers in September 1965, for a fee of £40,000, which was at the time Swindon's record transfer receipt.[5] In all competitions, he scored 88 goals from 237 games for Swindon.[3]
Hunt was Wolves' leading scorer with 20 goals as they won promotion to theFirst Division in1966–67,[2] and was part of the Wolves squad who, playing as theLos Angeles Wolves, won the 1967United Soccer Association title.[6][7] However, he made just six outings in the top flight for Wolves before the club sold him toEverton for £80,000 in September 1967. His time atGoodison Park was short-lived as he failed to settle,[8] making only 12 appearances before a £65,000 transfer toCoventry City in March 1968, just six months after arriving.[9]
The striker was a fans' favourite during his five-year spell at Coventry and scored one of the most famous goals in English football history in October 1970, against his previous team Everton. Awarded a free kick just outside the penalty area,Willie Carr gripped the ball between his heels and flicked it up for Hunt to volley home. The match was televised onBBC'sMatch of the Day, and the goal was awarded the programme's Goal of the Season, so gained huge fame.[10] The move was outlawed at the end of the season.[11][12][13]
He spent a loan spell atDoncaster Rovers before leaving Coventry to joinBristol City, where he ended his league career in the 1973–74 season.[14] He subsequently served a number ofnon-League clubs.[5]
After retiring from the game, he did a variety of jobs, including running apub inLedbury,Herefordshire, called The Full Pitcher and window cleaning. In 2008, he was living inGloucester.[8]
Hunt died on 20 June 2018 aged 75 in a care home. He had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease.[15][16]
It was a real circus trick, almost a whodunit, which had the whole company on their feet cheering their heads off which the sheer audacity and unexpectedness of it all.