The life and career of the late West Ham United and England captain Bobby Moore will be celebrated at the National Portrait Gallery this Friday 1 June.
In Conversation: Bobby Moore, First Gentleman of English Football will see the 1966 FIFA World Cup winner’s daughter Roberta, his biographer Jeff Powell, teammate, football manager and pundit Harry Redknapp and friend and sports presenter Matt Lorenzo discuss his life and legacy, illustrated by previously unseen photographs. The event kicks-off at 7pm in the Gallery’s Ondaatje Wing Theatre in St Martin’s Place in central London.
Seeing all the wonderful images beautifully framed for posterity in such a prestigious setting makes me incredibly proud
Roberta Moore
The Gallery is also playing host to the Bobby Moore: First Gentleman of English Football exhibition until New Year’s Day 2019.
The display, which is situated in the Gallery’s Room 32, includes iconic images of the Barking-born defender, who passed away in 1993 at the age of just 51, following a courageous battle with bowel cancer.
The collection ‘celebrates a sporting icon who inspired a generation of football fans’ and says ‘vintage press prints recently acquired by the Gallery provide an insight into the professional and personal life of one of England’s best-loved sporting heroes’.
“I am so looking forward to the event on Friday at the National Portrait Gallery, and to sharing the moment with my family and Harry, Jeff and Matt who’ve so kindly agreed to be part of the panel talk surrounding the Gallery’s display," said Roberta.
"Seeing all the wonderful images beautifully framed for posterity in such a prestigious setting makes me incredibly proud that his legacy lives and brings back very special memories.
"My father emanated grace both on and off the pitch; he was self-effacing, kind and and humble with a dry humour and tremendous sense of fun. This display is a wonderful tribute to the high esteem in which he is held.”
Among the photographs included are one of Bobby meeting young fans before training in east London and another striking image of Moore winning the ball from George Best while playing against Northern Ireland in 1964.
Several portraits show Moore relaxing off the pitch, including a Daily Mirror photograph from a family holiday, taken at the peak of his footballing career in 1971.
A portrait of Moore with footballer Johnny Byrne jumping in the rain holding umbrellas by Daily Mirror sports photographer Monte Fresco captures the two friends after training at the Boleyn Ground.
A family picture of Moore with his first wife Tina, whom he married shortly after the 1962 World Cup, shows football’s golden couple, outside their home in Chigwell, Essex. Photographed with their son Dean and daughter Roberta by Terry O’Neill, they attracted unprecedented media attention.
Another Terry O’Neill mid-1970s portrait shows Moore with renowned West German defender Franz Beckenbauer, Moore’s rival in the 1966 World Cup final, engaged in a game of chess, exemplifying Moore’s reputation as a cool and calculated tactician.
Admission to the National Portrait Gallery and Bobby Moore: First Gentleman of English Football are both free of charge, although donations are welcome.
Tickets for In Conversation: Bobby Moore, First Gentleman of English Football are available online or in person now, priced £10 for Adults and £8 for Concessions and Gallery Supporters.