Norman Hunter is a former English professional footballer, and an unused member of the famous England 1966 World Cup Winning Squad. Hunter was born in Gateshead on 29th October 1943 and first played football as an inside forward, before being moulded into a central defender by Leeds United who he signed for at the age of 15. He was spotted by Leeds playing for an amatuer side, in a similar way that the clubs scouts discovered the older Jack Charlton. Hunter and Charlton would later form a famous partnership together at the centre of the Leeds defence.

Norman Hunter - Leeds United (Pre-World Cup)

Hunter made his Leeds debut in 1962 as a teenager and immediately formed a strong partnership alongside Jack Charlton, which would last a decade and see the club promoted to England's top tier after winning the Football League Second Division in the 1963/64 season. Withjn a year they were competing amongst the best in the division, almost completing the 'double' but missing out on the League Championship on goal difference and losing 2-1 in the 1965 FA Cup final.

Hunter made his England debut in 1965 at a time when Alf Ramsey was experimenting with young players to find his squad for the forthcoming World Cup in 1966, a tournament that was to be held in England. Hunter impressed, and was included in Ramsey's final 22-man England World Cup 1966 Squad, but did not feature in any of England's games on route to becoming World Champions - with the formidable partnership of Bobby Moore and Jack Charlton blocking his route. During that time only players who featured in the final were awarded a winners medal, meaning that Hunter missed out. After a long campaign led by the FA, the 11 players who missed out on a medal were presented one by Gordon Brown at a ceremony in June 2009; meaning that Hunter was finally acknowledged as a World Champion.

Hunter went on to achieve further success with Leeds United winning the League Cup and the Fairs Cup in 1968, followed by his first Division One League Championship Title in 1969. In 1970 he was part of a Leeds team that sought out a unique treble, and came close to achieving it, before finishing with no honours at all. Ramsey included Hunter in his squad for the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, a tournament for which England were the favourites, but Hunters sole appearance was as a substitute in the knockout round defeat to rivals West Germany.

Hunter was to achieve further success with Leeds in 1972 as they won the FA Cup for the first time in their history, meaning that Hunter had now achieved every possible domestic success. Leeds, and Hunter, nearly managed to win the FA Cup in 1973 for the second consecutive year before only to fall at the last hurdle with a defeat against Sunderland. In the same year the team also reached the final of the European Cup Winners Cup before losing to AC Milan, a game which many believe to have been "fixed" at a time when Italian football was placed under increasing scrutiny for cheating. It was during this game that Hunter was sent off for retaliation. Hunter was honoured in 1974 by fellow professionals by winning the Players Player of the Year, the first time that the award was given.

In the 1974/75 season Hunter was to win the League Title for the second time, with Hunter now playing alongside Gordon McQueen at the back after the retirement of Jack Charlton. Leeds went 29 games beaten on-route to the title before manager Don Revie left Leeds at the end of the season to become the England manager. It would be Revie who would axe a 32 year old Hunter from the England squad with his last game being played in 1975 following 28 International Caps and 2 International Goals. Hunter's International appearances were almost certainly restricted by the formidable partnership of Bobby Moore and Jack Charlton in the late sixties and early seventies. Hunter would play just one more season for Leeds before leaving to join Bristol City, having played in 540 league games for Leeds over a 14 year period, and scoring 18 goals.

He would remain at Bristol City for three years, featuring in 108 league games for the club, before leaving to join Barnsley. He soon became the clubs manager, adopting a side that had just secured their promotion to the Third Division and Hunter was able to take them up to the Second Division in 1981 in just his second season in charge. Hunter spent wisely in pre-season and the team finished a credible 6th in its first season in Division Two. The following season was not as impressive however with the team finishing in mid-table in 1983, before he was sacked in February 1984 as Barnsley fought against relegation towards the bottom of the table. Hunter was still registered as a player throughout his managerial reign and made an occassional appearance, with his last competitive game being played in the 1982/83 season, at the age of 39. Hunter subsequently had various jobs in football including a two year stint as manager of Rotherham United and a brief spell as caretaker manager of Leeds United in 1988. He quit football altogether in 1990 and went into business selling insurance and sporting goods, as well as making an additional income on the after-dinner circuit and in local radio. His autopbiography was released in 2004.