Howard Travis

When Harry Redknapp arranged to spend a day with Bobby Moore in 1993, he knew his old West Ham teammate was seriously ill. Moore was staying at the Royal Bath Hotel in Bournemouth, and the two had arranged to visit David Elsworth’s racing stables before going out for lunch. They had known each other for years, going right back to their playing days at West Ham, where Moore had captained England to the World Cup and established himself as one of the greatest defenders the country had ever produced. But when Redknapp arrived at the hotel to collect him, he could hardly believe what he was seeing. “I went to pick him up and when he came out I could have cried.” “He always had big, tree-trunk legs, but there was nothing of him, he was wasting away.” Redknapp had to pull himself together before they went out. It was particularly difficult for him because he had already spent years watching Moore struggle to find his place in football after retiring. In 1984, Redknapp had helped him get the manager’s job at Southend United, believing somebody of his ability deserved a chance. But things had not worked out, and Moore never got another opportunity to establish himself as a league manager. Redknapp remembered one freezing cold evening at Grimsby, when he spotted Moore sitting at the back of the stand eating fish and chips. England’s World Cup-winning captain was wearing a big hat to keep warm, earning £100 doing radio commentary. “All right, Bob?” “All right, H, yeah.” Redknapp walked away wondering how somebody who had achieved so much in football could have been left in that position. He had even spoken to the directors at West Ham about finding Moore a role at the club, but nothing ever came of it. And now, in 1993, his old friend was fighting cancer. They spent the day watching the racehorses working at David Elsworth’s yard before going out for lunch at a little fish restaurant. Moore was desperately ill by this point, and everyone close to him knew what was happening. But throughout the entire day, he never spoke about how ill he was. He did not complain about his condition or ask why it had happened to him. For Redknapp, it was exactly the sort of man he had always known. Someone who carried himself with dignity, even when things were going terribly wrong. That was the last time he ever saw him. Bobby Moore sadly passed away on the 24th of February 1993, aged just 51. After his death, West Ham began discussing plans to name a stand after him. Redknapp was furious. “When he was alive, you didn’t even give him a ticket, now you want to name a f****** stand after him?” He believed Moore should have been given a position at the club years earlier, rather than being celebrated only after he had gone. “He should have been sitting next to you every game.” “He should have been the figurehead of this f****** club.” But it was that final day together in Bournemouth that stayed with him. Even with his health deteriorating, Moore had spent the day with his old friend without once complaining about what was happening to him. “I knew the problem, we all did, but he never complained, never moaned, never said, why me?” “So I’ll say it instead: why him, for God’s sake?” #football