Winning the ultimate prize in football hasn’t always guaranteed you lucrative riches for years to come. Argentina reportedly received £30.7million for their triumph in Qatar in 2022, with much of the winnings shared between their 26-man squad.
The financial incentives weren’t quite as enticing in 1966. England’s home heroes received just £1,000 each for lifting the Jules Rimet, in addition to appearance fees of £60 per match. Indeed, just five years later, one of their key performers from the tournament quit football to enter a family business in order to support his family.
Defender Ray Wilson was one of just eight squad members to play all 570 minutes of England’s campaign. The left-back was crucial to Alf Ramsey’s formation, pushing forward regularly in games, and famously created the opening goal for Roger Hunt in the semi-final win over Portugal.
He went on to win 63 caps for the Three Lions and enjoyed club stints at Huddersfield Town, Everton, Oldham, and Bradford. After a short spell as caretaker manager of the latter, he retired in 1971 at the age of 36.
Renowned for keeping a low profile, Wilson then became an undertaker after joining his father-in-law’s business in Huddersfield. He used his new job to support his wife, Pat, whom he married in 1956, and their two sons.
He ran the firm until his retirement in 1997. Wilson was said to frequently use dark humour with friends and family, with George Cohen revealing he once told him, “I was ringing to offer you a deal,” after learning his ex-teammate had cancer.
In 2000, Wilson was recognised for his contribution 34 years earlier as he received an MBE. Just four years later, however, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
He died in May 2018 at the age of 83. He passed just two years after Huddersfield released a new second-change kit in his honour, released with the tag line ‘Legends Are Rarely Made’.