Norman Hunter sadly passed away on Friday 17th April at the age of 76 after testing positive for the Covid-19 virus.
Nicknamed ‘Bites Yer Legs’, Hunter was part of the successful Leeds United team of the late 60’s and early 70’s. He was known for his tough tackling and no-nonsense approach that struck fear into opposing forwards.
The Leeds United side at the time were referred to as ‘Dirty Leeds’, gaining the title for their disciplinary record. Players like Hunter, Billy Bremner, Joe Jordon and Johnny Giles were renowned for their fierce approach to the game.
Norman Hunter began his Leeds United career in 1962 and made 726 appearances for the club before joining Bristol City when they moved up to the First Division in 1976.
His regular position was as a centre-back but also played in the role of a defensive midfielder. He was an integral part of Revie’s Leeds side, in five separate seasons he played in all 42 league games.
In his time at Leeds United, Hunter won the Second Division in his second season at the club and the First Division twice. Leeds won the FA Cup in 1972 and also were runners-up on three occasions.
He also won the 1968 League Cup Final. In Europe, Hunter was part of the Leeds side who won the Fairs Cup in 1968 and 1971. They also were runners-up in all three Europeans competitions, losing the 1967 Fairs Cup Final, 1973 Cup Winners Cup Final and 1975 European Cup Final.
Hunter won his first cap for England in December 1965, coming on as a first-half substitute in a friendly against Spain in Madrid. He made the 1966 World Cup squad but didn’t play in any of the matches. Alf Ramsey chose to play his regular defensive partnership of Bobby Moore and Jack Charlton.
He made the squad for the World Cup in Mexico four years later. The only time he got on the pitch was as a late substitute for in the Quarter Final defeat to West Germany.
Hunter came on for striker Martin Peters with England winning 2-1. Within a minute, West Germany equalised before winning the game in extra-time.
In the crunch World Cup qualifier with Poland in 1973 at Wembley, England needed a win to qualify for the 1974 World Cup. Any other result would mean that the visitors would go to West Germany the following summer.
With the score at 0-0, the Poles began a counter-attack on 57 minutes. Hunter went in to disposses Poland’s Grzegorz Lato as he reached the halfway line, but made a hash of the challenge and Lato broke free. The Pole then squared the ball to Jan Domarski who hit a shot under Peter Shilton into the back of the net.
Six minutes later, Hunter’s Leeds team-mate Allan Clarke equalised from the penalty spot but England just couldn’t find the winning goal. It was a huge disappointment for English football.
Hunter left Leeds for Bristol City in the summer of 1976, making 122 appearances for City in three years. He then moved back to Yorkshire, signing in 1979 and becoming Player/Manager a year later.
He hung up his boots in 1982 having made a total of 882 career appearances. Hunter stayed on in the Barnsley dugout for another two years before being sacked in early 1984. A two year spell at Rotherham United followed before he tried his hand at various coaching roles.
Football has completely changed from the game that Hunter played. One of his key characteristics was loyalty and that is definitely something that modern players could learn a thing or two about.
Hunter may not have been the cleanest player but his loyalty to the Leeds United cause was fervid. You don’t get many players who care as much as he did about the club he played for.
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