LONDON.- 50 years after England’s triumph against West Germany in the 1966 FIFA World Cup Final, Sotheby’s in London is set to offer for sale the England No. 10 football jersey worn by the key goal-scorer, Sir Geoff Hurst, during one of the most lauded performances in football history.

Hurst was a prolific goal-scorer at club level, scoring 40 goals in 59 games for West Ham during the 1965-66 season, however he had begun the World Cup on the substitutes’ bench. He was awarded a place in the starting line-up only when the nation’s top goal scorer – Jimmy Greaves – suffered an injury just ahead of the quarter-finals.

Nonetheless, Hurst soon proved his mettle, scoring in the 18th minute of the much-anticipated final, and then twice again in extra time, bringing England to a 4-2 victory immortalised by Kenneth Wolstenhome’s BBC television commentary: “…Here comes Hurst…Some people are on the pitch. They think it’s all over…it is now!”.

No other player has scored a hat-trick in a World Cup Final: none of the other prolific scorers such as Pele, Just Fontaine, Gerd Müller, Miroslav Klose or Ronaldo, have managed this feat. Now, Hurst’s fabled jersey will star in Sotheby’s 12 July sale of English Literature, History and Children’s Books, with an estimate of £300,000-500,000.

The viewing figures for 1966 final are still the highest ever recorded for an event broadcast on British television. The match was watched by over 96,000 spectators at Wembley Stadium and some 400 million people around the world. At the time, the win represented the first time in 32 years that the competition had been won by a host nation, and remains the only occasion in which England has won the Jules Rimet trophy.

Hurst’s second goal, scored in the 101th minute, is one of the most controversial in British footballing history. His shot sped past the goalkeeper, hit the underside of the bar, and bounced down perilously close to the line. The Swiss referee Gottried Dienst granted the goal, although its legitimacy is still hotly debated today.

“The 1966 World Cup Final is deeply embedded in the folk-memory of the English nation, vividly recalled as a rare moment of pure joy and uncomplicated triumph. Half a century on, the immense importance of this match to the English game and nation is being underlined once again with the extensive commemorations of the match's fiftieth anniversary.

This shirt, worn by the match’s star player, is the most significant obtainable artefact relating to this historic match. It represents a legendary moment in the annals of English football, and a sporting achievement that has never been repeated in half a century.” - Gabriel Heaton, Sotheby’s specialist

The red long-sleeved crew-neck football jersey was manufactured by the celebrated Manchester-based manufacturers Umbro - a company very well known for their long-running association with the England national team that lasted from 1954 - 2013.

Ahead of the sale, the jersey will be placed on public exhibition at Sotheby’s (34-35 New Bond Street, London) from Friday 8 July to Monday 11 July.