Everton’s former championship-winning centre-half, John Hurst, has died aged 76 after a long illness.
A graduate of the Blues’ youth system in the mid-1960s and an FA Youth Cup winner, “Gentleman Jack” was originally a forward but was converted to a defender by Harry Catterick and he partnered the legendary Brian Labone.
He had the discinction of being Everton’s first ever substitute when he replaced Fred Pickering at Stoke in August 1965, played in the 1968 FA Cup Final and was ever-present during the 1969-70 title-winning season.
In all he played 404 times for the club, putting him 18th on the all-time apperance leaders list, just ahead of another of his team-mates, Gordon West.
When it was time to call time on a decade with the Toffees, Hurst left for Oldham Athletic but returned to his boyhood club as a coach under Joe Royle in the mid-1990s.
The pair, who played together in that 1970 championship side, remained close friends and would meet every Thursday for coffee.
In Everton Player by Player, Ivan Ponting wrote of Hurst: “The tall, leggy, centre-back possessed one of the coolest heads in football, and when pressure mounted on the Everton goal, he would be found at the centre of the storm, defusing the danger efficiently and unfussily before seeking a chance to set up the Blues’ next attack.”