بيتر بونيتي

بيتر بونيتي

بيتر بونيتي (بالإنجليزية: Peter Bonetti)‏ مواليد 27 سبتمبر 1941 في لندن، إنجلترا، هو لاعب كرة قدم إنجليزي دولي سابق كان يلعب كحارس مرمى. سبق له أن لعب في كأس العالم لكرة القدم مع منتخب بلاده.

Peter Bonetti

Peter Bonetti

Peter Phillip Bonetti (27 September 1941 – 12 April 2020) was an English footballer, goalkeeper for Chelsea, the St. Louis Stars, Dundee United and England. Bonetti was known for his safe handling, lightning reflexes and his graceful style, for which he was given the nickname, "The Cat". He was one of several goalkeepers (Gordon West of Everton was another) who specialised in a one-armed throw which could achieve a similar distance to a drop kick.

Bonetti played seven times for England, but mainly served the team as a back-up to Gordon Banks. Bonetti was part of the winning England squad for the 1966 FIFA World Cup, but did not play. He belatedly received a winners' medal in 2009, after the Football Association led a successful campaign for non-playing members of the squad to be recognised. After Banks fell ill before the 1970 FIFA World Cup quarter-final, Bonetti played as England lost 3–2 to West Germany.

Early life

In 1948 Bonetti's family moved from London to Worthing on the Sussex coast. His parents ran a cafe on the seafront next to the Worthing Dome. Bonetti shone at an early age, playing for Worthing.

Career

Chelsea

Chelsea signed him from the Reading youth team after his mother had written to then manager Ted Drake, requesting that he give her son a trial. Whilst a Chelsea junior, Bonetti made five appearances for Croydon Amateurs in the Surrey Senior League thanks to youth team coach Albert Tennant who was also coaching Croydon at that time.[2] He made his first team debut in 1960 and a few weeks later helped the Chelsea youth side win the FA Youth Cup. From the 1960–61 season onwards, he was Chelsea's first choice goalkeeper, a position he held more or less constantly for the next nineteen years. Chelsea were relegated in Bonetti's second full season, which saw the appointment of Tommy Docherty as manager. Bonetti emerged as a key figure in a talented young side which included Bobby Tambling, Terry Venables, John Hollins and Barry Bridges. The team went into the penultimate match of the season needing to beat promotion rivals Sunderland to have a chance of going up. Chelsea won 1–0, with Bonetti making a brilliant last minute save to deny George Mulhall and maintain his side's promotion chances; a 7–0 win over Portsmouth secured instant promotion back to the First Division.

The new Chelsea side challenged for honours during the 1960s, with Bonetti a key figure throughout, although more often than not the team narrowly missed out. Chelsea won the League Cup in 1965 with a 3–2 aggregate victory over Leicester City. Leicester put Chelsea under heavy pressure in the second leg at Filbert Street, but an inspired performance from Bonetti helped secure a 0–0 draw for his side and thus the trophy. For most of the same season, Chelsea were on course to add both the league title and the FA Cup but ultimately missed out. They were beaten by Liverpool in the FA Cup while the title challenge was ended with a few games left after a bust-up between Docherty and several of his first-team players – though not Bonetti – meaning that a much-weakened team was fielded in a key match against Burnley, in which Bonetti conceded six goals.

Bonetti played in every game of Chelsea's Fairs Cup run the following season, putting in a series of impressive displays against the likes of AS Roma, AC Milan and FC Barcelona, though the side were eventually knocked out in the semi-finals, as they were in the FA Cup for the second consecutive year. The signing of Alex Stepney at the end of that season briefly threatened his position as Chelsea's first choice goalkeeper and he considered putting in a transfer request, but Stepney ultimately played only one game for the club and was sold to Manchester United a few months later. Chelsea eventually reached an FA Cup final in 1967, where they faced Tottenham Hotspur, but the team got outplayed on the day and Bonetti could do little to stop Spurs winning 2–1.

That was the closest he came to winning another trophy with Chelsea until 1970, by which time Docherty had been succeeded by Dave Sexton. In 1970, Chelsea again reached the FA Cup final and this time faced reigning league champions Leeds United. Over the two fiercely contested games, Bonetti had what was perhaps the finest moment of his playing career. Chelsea were outplayed for large spells in the first final at Wembley and he made a series of crucial saves to help them emerge with a 2–2 draw. Shortly into the replay at Old Trafford, his left knee was badly injured after a challenge from Leeds' Mick Jones. He returned to the field after treatment, but was effectively playing on one leg for the rest of the match and was powerless to stop Jones scoring the opener a few minutes later. In spite of the injury, and being targeted by the Leeds forwards, he made crucial saves throughout the match, denying both Peter Lorimer and Terry Cooper, and resisted more pressure from Leeds after Chelsea had taken the lead in extra time to help secure a 2–1 win. Such were Bonetti's performances that season, he was voted runner-up in the FWA Footballer of the Year awards.

A year later, the team added the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup after another replayed win in the final, this time over Spanish giants Real Madrid in Athens. Chelsea took a 2–0 lead in the replay, but Real dominated for much of the second half and it was another inspired performance from Bonetti, which helped them hold on for a 2–1 win. [3]

That was his last trophy with the club, although they narrowly missed out on more in the following years, losing in the 1972 League Cup final to Stoke City and in the semi-finals of the same competition to Norwich City a year later. Financial and disciplinary problems within the club prevented them from building on their success.

St Louis Stars

Bonetti left on a free transfer in 1975, joining the St. Louis Stars of the North American Soccer League (NASL). That year, he played 21 games for the side and helped them top the Central Division that summer and reach the play-off semi-finals.

Return to Chelsea

He then returned to Chelsea, where his experience proved invaluable in helping new manager Eddie McCreadie's young side gain promotion in 1976–77. Two years later, in May 1979, he played his final game for Chelsea, a 1–1 draw with Arsenal, having made a total of 729 appearances for the club in nineteen years – only Ron Harris has made more – and kept over 200 clean sheets. He conceded one goal or less in two-thirds of his games for Chelsea.

England

Bonetti earned seven caps for England, kept out of the team by Gordon Banks. He was a member of England's successful 1966 World Cup squad, but did not make an appearance.[4]

Bonetti's England career is largely remembered for one match – the 1970 FIFA World Cup quarter-final against West Germany in Mexico. He was thrust into the starting line-up as a late replacement for Banks, who was suffering from severe food poisoning. During the match England relinquished a 2–0 second-half lead and lost 3–2 after extra time. Bonetti received a large amount of blame from the public for the loss, and never played for England again.[5]

In the 1966 World Cup final only the 11 players on the pitch at the end of the 4–2 win over West Germany received medals. Following a Football Association-led campaign to persuade FIFA to award medals to all winning squad members, Bonetti was presented with his medal by prime minister Gordon Brown at a ceremony at 10 Downing Street on 10 June 2009.[4]

Retirement

After leaving Chelsea, Bonetti moved to the Isle of Mull where he ran a guesthouse and became a postman.[6] While living in Scotland, he briefly came out of retirement to play several games for Dundee United as understudy to Hamish McAlpine. Following his retirement from playing, Bonetti moved into coaching and had spells with Chelsea and the England national side, as well as working with Kevin Keegan at Newcastle United, Fulham and Manchester City.[7] During his time as a Chelsea coach, he was persuaded to play two games for Isthmian League Division 2 side, Woking, including an FA Cup debut in a 1–0 win over Football Conference side Weymouth. At one time he held the record for the most appearances for a single club by a goalkeeper, but was overtaken in the 1990s by Portsmouth's Alan Knight.

Since 2005, Bonetti made several appearances for an Old England XI in various charity games, notably against celebrity sides, usually coming on for the last 10 minutes of each game.

Bonetti died on 12 April 2020, aged 78, following a long illness

Easter

Easter

Easter,[nb 1] also called Pascha (Greek, Latin)[nb 2] or Resurrection Sunday,[5][6] is a festival and holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in the New Testament as having occurred on the third day after his burial following his crucifixion by the Romans at Calvary c. 30 AD.[7][8] It is the culmination of the Passion of Jesus, preceded by Lent (or Great Lent), a 40-day period of fasting, prayer, and penance.

Most Christians refer to the week before Easter as "Holy Week", which contains the days of the Easter Triduum, including Maundy Thursday, commemorating the Maundy and Last Supper,[9][10] as well as Good Friday, commemorating the crucifixion and death of Jesus.[11] In Western Christianity, Eastertide, or the Easter Season, begins on Easter Sunday and lasts seven weeks, ending with the coming of the 50th day, Pentecost Sunday. In Eastern Christianity, the season of Pascha begins on Pascha and ends with the coming of the 40th day, the Feast of the Ascension.

Easter and the holidays that are related to it are moveable feasts which do not fall on a fixed date in the Gregorian or Julian calendars which follow only the cycle of the Sun; rather, its date is offset from the date of Passover and is therefore calculated based on a lunisolar calendar similar to the Hebrew calendar. The First Council of Nicaea (325) established two rules, independence of the Jewish calendar and worldwide uniformity, which were the only rules for Easter explicitly laid down by the council. No details for the computation were specified; these were worked out in practice, a process that took centuries and generated a number of controversies. It has come to be the first Sunday after the ecclesiastical full moon that occurs on or soonest after 21 March.[12] Even if calculated on the basis of the more accurate Gregorian calendar, the date of that full moon sometimes differs from that of the astronomical first full moon after the March equinox.[13]

Easter is linked to the Jewish Passover by much of its symbolism, as well as by its position in the calendar. In most European languages the feast is called by the words for passover in those languages; and in the older English versions of the Bible the term Easter was the term used to translate passover.[14] Easter customs vary across the Christian world, and include sunrise services, exclaiming the Paschal greeting, clipping the church,[15] and decorating Easter eggs (symbols of the empty tomb).[16][17][18] The Easter lily, a symbol of the resurrection,[19][20] traditionally decorates the chancel area of churches on this day and for the rest of Eastertide.[21] Additional customs that have become associated with Easter and are observed by both Christians and some non-Christians include egg hunting, the Easter Bunny, and Easter parades.[22][23][24] There are also various traditional Easter foods that vary regionally.

The modern English term Easter, cognate with modern Dutch ooster and German Ostern, developed from an Old English word that usually appears in the form Ēastrun, -on, or -an; but also as Ēastru, -o; and Ēastre or Ēostre.[nb 3] Bede provides the only documentary source for the etymology of the word, in his Reckoning of Time. He wrote that Ēosturmōnaþ (Old English 'Month of Ēostre', translated in Bede's time as "Paschal month") was an English month, corresponding to April, which he says "was once called after a goddess of theirs named Ēostre, in whose honour feasts were celebrated in that month".[25]

In Latin and Greek, the Christian celebration was, and still is, called Pascha (Greek: Πάσχα), a word derived from Aramaic פסחא (Paskha), cognate to Hebrew פֶּסַח (Pesach). The word originally denoted the Jewish festival known in English as Passover, commemorating the Jewish Exodus from slavery in Egypt.[26][27] As early as the 50s of the 1st century, Paul the Apostle, writing from Ephesus to the Christians in Corinth,[28] applied the term to Christ, and it is unlikely that the Ephesian and Corinthian Christians were the first to hear Exodus 12 interpreted as speaking about the death of Jesus, not just about the Jewish Passover ritual.[29] In most of the non-English speaking world, the feast is known by names derived from Greek and Latin Pascha.[4][30] Pascha is also a name by which Jesus himself is remembered in the Orthodox Church, especially in connection with his resurrection and with the season of its celebration.[31]

Theological significance

The New Testament states that the resurrection of Jesus, which Easter celebrates, is one of the chief tenets of the Christian faith.[32] The resurrection established Jesus as the Son of God[33] and is cited as proof that God will righteously judge the world.[34][35] For those who trust in Jesus' death and resurrection, "death is swallowed up in victory."[36] Any person who chooses to follow Jesus receives "a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead".[37] Through faith in the working of God those who follow Jesus are spiritually resurrected with him so that they may walk in a new way of life and receive eternal salvation, being physically resurrected to dwell in the Kingdom of Heaven.[35][38][39]

Easter is linked to Passover and the Exodus from Egypt recorded in the Old Testament through the Last Supper, sufferings, and crucifixion of Jesus that preceded the resurrection.[30] According to the New Testament, Jesus gave the Passover meal a new meaning, as in the upper room during the Last Supper he prepared himself and his disciples for his death.[30] He identified the matzah and cup of wine as his body soon to be sacrificed and his blood soon to be shed. Paul states, "Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed";[40] this refers to the Passover requirement to have no yeast in the house and to the allegory of Jesus as the Paschal lamb.[41]

Early Christianity

The first Christians, Jewish and Gentile, were certainly aware of the Hebrew calendar.[nb 4] Jewish Christians, the first to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, timed the observance in relation to Passover. Direct evidence for a more fully formed Christian festival of Pascha (Easter) begins to appear in the mid-2nd century. Perhaps the earliest extant primary source referring to Easter is a mid-2nd-century Paschal homily attributed to Melito of Sardis, which characterizes the celebration as a well-established one.[42] Evidence for another kind of annually recurring Christian festival, those commemorating the martyrs, began to appear at about the same time as the above homily.[43]

While martyrs' days (usually the individual dates of martyrdom) were celebrated on fixed dates in the local solar calendar, the date of Easter was fixed by means of the local Jewish[44] lunisolar calendar. This is consistent with the celebration of Easter having entered Christianity during its earliest, Jewish, period, but does not leave the question free of doubt.[45]

The ecclesiastical historian Socrates Scholasticus attributes the observance of Easter by the church to the perpetuation of its custom, "just as many other customs have been established", stating that neither Jesus nor his Apostles enjoined the keeping of this or any other festival. Although he describes the details of the Easter celebration as deriving from local custom, he insists the feast itself is universally observed.[46]

Date

تيسكو

تيسكو

تيسكو (بالإنجليزية: Tesco)‏، هي شركة عمومية محدودة دولية مقرها الرئيس المملكة المتحدة تعمل في مجال التموينات وسلاسل متاجر التجزئة الكبرى. وهي أكبر سلسلة متاجر بريطانية من حيث المبيعات العالمية وحصة السوق بإجمالي أرباح يتعدى 3 مليارات جنيه إسترليني. وهي حاليا في المركز الثالث عالميا من حيث الدخل بعد وول مارت وكارفور، ولكنها الثانية من حيث الأرباح متقدمة على كارفور.

و بعد إن كانت متخصصة في الأطعمة والمشروبات، فقد نوعت أعمالها لتشمل أنشطه جديدة مثل بيع الملابس، الإليكترونيات المنزلية، الخدمات المالية، الاتصالات عن بعد، تأمين المنازل، التأمين الصحي، تأمين المركبات، تأمين علاج الأسنان، بيع وتأجير أقراص الدي في دي و الأقراص المضغوطه، تنزيل المقطوعات الموسيقية، كمزود خدمة الإنترنت وبيع برمجيات الحاسوب.

Tesco Express

Tesco Express

Tesco plc (/ˈtɛs.koʊ/), trading as Tesco, is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer with headquarters in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom.[3] It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues[4][5] and the ninth-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues. It has shops in seven countries across Asia and Europe, and is the market leader of groceries in the UK (where it has a market share of around 28.4%), Ireland, Hungary[6] and Thailand.[7][8]

Tesco was founded in 1919 by Jack Cohen as a group of market stalls.[9] The Tesco name first appeared in 1924, after Cohen purchased a shipment of tea from T. E. Stockwell and combined those initials with the first two letters of his surname,[10] and the first Tesco shop opened in 1931 in Burnt Oak, Barnet.[11][12][13] His business expanded rapidly, and by 1939 he had over 100 Tesco shops across the country.[14]

Countries served by Tesco stores.

Originally a UK grocer, Tesco has expanded globally since the early 1990s, with operations in 11 other countries in the world. The company pulled out of the US in 2013, but as of 2018 continues to see growth elsewhere. Since the 1960s, Tesco has diversified into areas such as the retailing of books, clothing, electronics, furniture, toys, petrol, software, financial services, telecoms and internet services. In the 1990s Tesco repositioned itself from being a down-market high-volume low-cost retailer, to one designed to attract a range of social groups by offering products ranging from low-cost "Tesco Value" items (launched 1993[9]) to its "Tesco Finest" range.

Tesco is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It had a market capitalization of approximately £18.1 billion as of 22 April 2015, the 28th-largest of any company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange

History

Origins

Jack Cohen, the son of Jewish migrants from Poland, founded Tesco in 1919 when he began to sell war-surplus groceries from a stall at Well Street Market, Hackney, in the East End of London.[10] The Tesco brand first appeared in 1924. The name came about after Jack Cohen bought a shipment of tea from Thomas Edward Stockwell. He made new labels using the initials of the supplier's name (TES), and the first two letters of his surname (CO), forming the word TESCO.[10] After experimenting with his first permanent indoor market stall at Tooting in November 1930, Jack Cohen opened the first Tesco shop in September 1931 at 54 Watling Street, Burnt Oak, Edgware, Middlesex.[11][12][13] Tesco was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1947 as Tesco Stores (Holdings) Limited.[10] The first self-service shop opened in St Albans in 1956 (which remained operational until 2010 before relocating to larger premises on the same street, with a period as a Tesco Metro),[16] and the first supermarket in Maldon in 1956.[10] In 1961 Tesco Leicester made an appearance in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest shop in Europe.[9]

Expansion

During the 1950s and 1960s, Tesco grew organically, and also through acquisitions, until it owned more than 800 shops.[17] The company purchased 70 Williamson's shops (1957), 200 Harrow Stores outlets (1959), 212 Irwins shops (1960), 97 Charles Phillips shops (1964) and the Victor Value chain (1968) (sold to Bejam in 1986).[17][18]

Jack Cohen's business motto was "pile it high and sell it cheap",[19] to which he added an internal motto of "YCDBSOYA" (You Can't Do Business Sitting On Your Arse) which he used to motivate his sales force.

In May 1987, Tesco completed its hostile takeover of the Hillards chain of 40 supermarkets in the North of England for £220 million.[20]

In 1994, the company took over the supermarket chain William Low after fighting off Sainsbury's for control of the Dundee-based firm, which operated 57 shops. This paved the way for Tesco to expand its presence in Scotland, in which its presence was weaker than in England.[21]

Tesco introduced a loyalty card, branded 'Clubcard' in 1995,[22] and later an Internet shopping service. In 1996 the typeface of the logo was changed to the current version with stripe reflections underneath, whilst the corporate font used for shop signage was changed from the familiar "typewriter" font that had been used since the 1970s. Overseas operations were introduced the same year.[9] Terry Leahy assumed the role of Chief Executive on 21 February 1997, the appointment having been announced on 21 November 1995.[23][24]

On 21 March 1997, Tesco announced the purchase of the retail arm of Associated British Foods, which consisted of the Quinnsworth, Stewarts and Crazy Prices chains in Ireland and Northern Ireland, and associated businesses, for £640 million.[25] The deal was approved by the European Commission on 6 May 1997.[26]

The company was the subject of a letter bomb campaign lasting five months from August 2000 to February 2001 as a bomber calling himself "Sally" sent letter bombs to Tesco customers and demanded that Clubcards be modified to be capable of withdrawing money from cash machines.[27]

Yorkshire pudding

Yorkshire pudding

Yorkshire pudding is a common English side dish consisting of a baked pudding made from batter consisting of eggs, flour, and milk or water.[1] It is a versatile food that can be served in numerous ways depending on the choice of ingredients, the size of the pudding, and the accompanying components of the dish. As a first course, it can be served with onion gravy. For a main course, it may be served with beef and gravy, and is part of the traditional Sunday roast, but can also be filled with foods, such as bangers and mash to make a meal.

Yorkshire puddings are similar to popovers, an American light roll made from basically the same recipe,[2] and to Dutch babies.

When wheat flour began to come into common use for making cakes and puddings, cooks in the north of England devised a means of making use of the fat that dropped into the dripping pan to cook a batter pudding while the meat roasted. In 1737, a recipe for "a dripping pudding" was published in the book The Whole Duty of a Woman:[4]

Make a good batter as for pancakes; put in a hot toss-pan over the fire with a bit of butter to fry the bottom a little then put the pan and butter under a shoulder of mutton, instead of a dripping pan, keeping frequently shaking it by the handle and it will be light and savoury, and fit to take up when your mutton is enough; then turn it in a dish and serve it hot.

Similar instructions were published during 1747 in the book The Art of Cookery made Plain and Easy by Hannah Glasse, with the name 'Yorkshire pudding'. It was she who renamed the original version, known as Dripping Pudding, which had been cooked in England for centuries, although these puddings were much flatter than the puffy versions made in modern times.[5] William Sitwell suggests that the pudding got the name 'Yorkshire' due to the region's association with coal and the higher temperatures this produced which helped to make the batter crispier.[6]

Originally, the Yorkshire pudding was served as a first course with thick gravy to dull the appetite with the low-cost ingredients so that the diners would not eat so much of the more expensive meat in the next course.[7] An early recipe appeared in Sir Alexander William George Cassey's The Whole Duty of a Woman during 1737. Because the rich gravy from the roast meat drippings was used with the first course, the main meat and vegetable course was often served with a parsley or white sauce.[8] In poorer households, the pudding was often served as the only course. Using dripping,[citation needed] a simple meal was made with flour, eggs and milk. This was traditionally eaten with a gravy or sauce, to moisten the pudding.

The Yorkshire pudding is meant to rise. The Royal Society of Chemistry suggested in 2008 that "A Yorkshire pudding isn't a Yorkshire pudding if it is less than four inches tall".[9]

Cooking method

Yorkshire pudding is cooked by pouring a batter made from milk (or water), flour and eggs into preheated and oiled baking pans, ramekins or muffin tins (in the case of miniature puddings). A basic formula uses ​1⁄3 cup flour and ​1⁄3 cup liquid per egg. Water produces a lighter, crisper, but less sweet pudding than using milk.[10] They can also be baked in the oven in muffin tins.[11] A 1926 recipe involves covering the pudding with greaseproof paper to steam it and then serving it with jam, butter and sugar.[12]

Yorkshire Pudding Day

National Yorkshire Pudding Day has been celebrated on the first Sunday in February in Britain since 2007.[10][13][14][15] It is celebrated on 13 October in the United States.

Stirling Moss

Stirling Moss

Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss, OBE (17 September 1929 – 12 April 2020) was a British Formula One racing driver. An inductee into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, he won 212 of the 529 races he entered across several categories of competition and has been described as "the greatest driver never to win the World Championship".[2][3][4] In a seven-year span between 1955 and 1961 Moss finished as championship runner-up four times and in third place the other three times.

Moss died in London on 12 April 2020 at the age of 90 following a long illness.

Early life

Moss was born in London, son of Alfred Moss, a dentist of Bray, Berkshire, and Aileen (née Craufurd).[5] His family was of Jewish descent and changed their surname from Moses to Moss.[6] He was brought up at Long White Cloud house on the south bank of the River Thames. His father was an amateur racing driver who had come 16th in the 1924 Indianapolis 500.[5] Aileen Moss had also been involved in motorsport, entering prewar hillclimbs at the wheel of a Singer Nine.[7] Stirling was a gifted horse rider as was his younger sister, Pat Moss, who became a successful rally driver and married the Swedish rally driver Erik Carlsson.[8]

Moss was educated at several independent schools: Shrewsbury House School in Surbiton, Clewer Manor Junior School, and the linked senior school, Haileybury and Imperial Service College, located at Hertford Heath, near Hertford.[9] He disliked school and did not attain a good academic performance. At Haileybury, he was subjected to antisemitic bullying because of his Jewish roots.[5] He concealed the bullying from his parents and used it as "motivation to succeed."[6] Moss received his first car, an Austin 7, from his father at the age of nine, and drove it on the fields around Long White Cloud. He purchased his own car at age 15 after he obtained a driving licence.[5] After the Second World War, Moss was ruled exempt from doing the mandatory two-year national service for men his age because he had nephritis.[10]

Racing career

Moss raced from 1948 to 1962, winning 212 of the 529 races he entered, including 16 Formula One Grands Prix.[11] He would compete in as many as 62 races in a single year and drove 84 different makes of car over the course of his racing career.[12] He preferred to race British cars, stating, "Better to lose honourably in a British car than win in a foreign one".[13] At Vanwall, he was instrumental in breaking the German/Italian stranglehold on F1 racing (as was Jack Brabham at Cooper). He remained the English driver with the most Formula One victories until 1991 when Nigel Mansell overtook him after competing in more races.[14]

1948–1954

Moss began his career at the wheel of his father Alfred's 328 BMW, DPX 653. Moss was one of the Cooper Car Company's first customers, using winnings from competing in horse-riding events to pay the deposit on a Cooper 500 racing car in 1948. He then persuaded his father, who opposed his racing and wanted him to be a dentist,[15] to let him buy it. He soon demonstrated his ability with numerous wins at national and international levels, and continued to compete in Formula Three,[16] with Coopers and Kiefts, after he had progressed to more senior categories.[5]

His first major international race victory came on the eve of his 21st birthday at the wheel of a borrowed Jaguar XK120 in the 1950 RAC Tourist Trophy on the Dundrod circuit in Northern Ireland.[17] He went on to win the race six more times, in 1951 (Jaguar C-Type), 1955 (Mercedes-Benz 300SLR), 1958 and 1959 (Aston Martin DBR1), and 1960 and 1961 (Ferrari 250 GT).[18] Enzo Ferrari, the founder of Ferrari, approached Moss and offered him a Formula Two car to drive at the 1951 Bari Grand Prix before a full -season in 1952. Moss and his father went to Puglia, only to find out that the car would be driven by experienced driver Piero Taruffi and was incensed.[5]

Also a competent rally driver, he is one of three people to have won a Coupe d'Or (Gold Cup) for three consecutive penalty-free runs on the Alpine Rally (Coupe des Alpes).[17] He finished second in the 1952 Monte Carlo Rally driving a Sunbeam-Talbot 90 with Desmond Scannell and Autocar magazine editor John Cooper as co-drivers.[19]

In 1954, he became the first non-American to win the 12 Hours of Sebring, sharing the Cunningham team's 1.5-liter O.S.C.A. MT4 with American Bill Lloyd.[20]

In 1953 Mercedes-Benz racing boss Alfred Neubauer had spoken to Moss's manager, Ken Gregory, about the possibility of Moss's joining the Mercedes Grand Prix team. Having seen him do well in a relatively uncompetitive car, and wanting to see how he would perform in a better one, Neubauer suggested Moss buy a Maserati for the 1954 season. He bought a Maserati 250F, and although the car's unreliability prevented his scoring high points in the 1954 Drivers' Championship he qualified alongside the Mercedes front runners several times and performed well in the races.[21] He achieved his first Formula One victory when he won the non-Championship Oulton Park International Gold Cup in the Maserati.[16]

In the Italian Grand Prix at Monza he passed both drivers who were regarded as the best in Formula One at the time—Juan Manuel Fangio in a Mercedes and Alberto Ascari in a Ferrari—and took the lead. Ascari retired with engine problems, and Moss led until lap 68 when his engine also failed.[22] Fangio took the victory, and Moss pushed his Maserati to the finish line. Neubauer, already impressed when Moss had tested a Mercedes-Benz W196 at Hockenheim, promptly signed him for 1955.[23]

1955

Moss's first World Championship victory was in the 1955 British Grand Prix at Aintree, a race he was also the first British driver to win. Leading a 1–2–3–4 finish for Mercedes, it was the first time he beat Fangio, his teammate and arch rival, who was also his friend and mentor. It has been suggested that Fangio sportingly allowed Moss to win in front of his home crowd. Moss himself asked Fangio repeatedly, and Fangio always replied: "No. You were just better than me that day."[24] The same year, Moss also won the RAC Tourist Trophy,[25] the Targa Florio (sharing the drive with Peter Collins)[26] and the Mille Miglia.[27]

Mille Miglia

In 1955 Moss won Italy's thousand-mile Mille Miglia road race, an achievement Doug Nye described as the "most iconic single day's drive in motor racing history."[28]He was paired with motor racing journalist Denis Jenkinson, who prepared pace note for Moss, and the two completed the race in ten hours and seven minutes.[5] Motor Trend headlined it as "The Most Epic Drive. Ever."[29] Before the race, he had taken a "magic pill" given to him by Fangio, and he has commented that although he did not know what was in it, "Dexedrine and Benzedrine were commonly used in rallies. The object was simply to keep awake, like wartime bomber crews." After the win, he spent the night and the following day driving his girlfriend to Cologne, stopping for breakfast in Munich and lunch in Stuttgart.[28]

1956–1962

Moss won the Nassau Cup at the 1956 and 1957 Bahamas Speed Week.[30] Also in 1957 he won on the longest circuit ever to hold a World Championship Grand Prix, the 25 km (16 mi) Pescara Circuit, where he again demonstrated his mastery of long-distance racing. The event lasted three hours and Moss beat Fangio, who started from pole position, by a little over 3 minutes.[16]

In 1958, Moss's forward-thinking attitude made waves in the racing world. Moss won the first race of the season in a rear-engined F1 car, which became the common design by 1961. At Monza that year, he raced in the "Eldorado" Maserati, the first single-seater car in Europe to be sponsored by a non-racing brand—the Eldorado Ice Cream Company. This was the first case in Europe of contemporary sponsorship, with the ice cream maker's colors replacing the ones assigned by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA).[31]

Moss's sporting attitude cost him the 1958 Formula One World Championship. When rival Mike Hawthorn was threatened with a penalty after the Portuguese Grand Prix, Moss defended him.[32] Hawthorn was accused of reversing on the track after spinning and stalling his car on an uphill section. Moss had shouted advice to Hawthorn to steer downhill, against traffic, to bump-start the car. Moss's quick thinking, and his defence of Hawthorn before the stewards, preserved Hawthorn's 6 points for finishing second behind Moss. Hawthorn went on to beat Moss for the championship title by one point, even though he had won only one race that year to Moss's four. Moss's loss in the championship could also be attributed to an error in communication between his pit crew and the driver at one race. A point was given for the fastest lap in each race, and the crew signaled "HAWT REC" meaning Hawthorn had set a record lap. Moss read this as "HAWT REG" and thought Hawthorn was making regular laps, so did not try to set a fast lap. The crew was supposed to signal the time of the lap, so Moss would know what he had to beat.[33]

Moss was as gifted in sports cars as in Grand Prix cars. To his victories in the Tourist Trophy, the Sebring 12 Hours and the Mille Miglia he added three consecutive wins (1958–1960) in the 1000 km Nürburgring, the first two in an Aston Martin (in which he did most of the driving),[34][35] and the third in a Tipo 61 "birdcage" Maserati, co-driving with the American Dan Gurney. The pair lost time when an oil hose blew off, but despite the wet-weather, they made up the time and took first place

In the 1960 Formula One season, Moss won the Monaco Grand Prix in Rob Walker's Coventry-Climax-powered Lotus 18.[37] Seriously injured in an accident at the Burnenville curve during practice for the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps, he missed the next three races but recovered sufficiently to win the final one of the season, the United States Grand Prix at Riverside, California

For the 1961 Formula One season, run under new 1.5-litre rules, Enzo Ferrari fielded the "sharknose" Ferrari 156 with an all-new V6 engine.[38] Moss's Climax-engined Lotus was comparatively underpowered, but he won the 1961 Monaco Grand Prix by 3.6 seconds, beating the Ferraris of Richie Ginther, Wolfgang von Trips, and Phil Hill,[38] and went on to win the partially wet 1961 German Grand Prix.[5]

In 1962, he crashed his Lotus heavily during the Glover Trophy at Goodwood held on Monday 23 April. The accident put him in a coma for a month, and for six months the left side of his body was partially paralysed.[13][39] He recovered, but retired from professional racing after a private test session in a Lotus 19 the following year, when he lapped a few tenths of a second slower than before. He felt he had not regained his previously instinctive command of the car. He had been runner-up in the Drivers' Championship four years in succession, from 1955 to 1958, and third in each of the next three years.[40][41]

Speed records

1950

At the Autodrome de Montlhéry, a steeply banked oval track near Paris, Moss and Leslie Johnson took turns at the wheel of the latter's Jaguar XK120 to average 107.46 mph (172.94 km/h) for 24 hours, including stops for fuel and tyres. Changing drivers every three hours, they covered a total of 2579.16 miles. It was the first time a production car had averaged over 100 mph (160.93 km/h) for 24 hours.[42]

1952

Revisiting Montlhéry, Moss was one of a four-driver team, led by Johnson, who drove a factory-owned Jaguar XK120 fixed-head coupé for 7 days and nights at the French track.[43] Moss, Johnson, Bert Hadley and Jack Fairman averaged 100.31 mph (161.43 km/h) to take four World records and five International Class C records, and covered a total of 16,851.73 mi (27,120.23 km).[44]

1957

In August Moss broke five International Class F records in the purpose-built MG EX181 at Bonneville Salt Flats. The streamlined, supercharged car's speed for the flying kilometer was 245.64 mph, which was the average of two runs in opposite directions.[45]

Broadcasting career

Away from driving, in 1962 he acted as a colour commentator for ABC's Wide World of Sports for Formula One and NASCAR races. He eventually left ABC in 1980. Moss narrated the official 1988 Formula One season review along with Tony Jardine.[46][47]

Moss also narrated the popular children's series Roary the Racing Car, which stars Peter Kay.[48]

Return to racing

Although ostensibly retired from racing since 1962, Moss did make a number of one-off appearances in professional motorsport events in the following two decades. He also competed in the 1974 London-Sahara-Munich World Cup Rally in a Mercedes-Benz, but retired from the event in the Algerian Sahara.[51] The Holden Torana he shared with Jack Brabham in the 1976 Bathurst 1000 was hit from behind on the grid and eventually retired with engine failure. Moss, at the wheel of the Torana when the V8 engine let go, was criticised by other drivers for staying on the racing line for over ⅔ of the 6.172 km long circuit while returning to the pits as the car was dropping large amounts of oil onto the road.[52] He also shared a Volkswagen Golf GTI with Denny Hulme in the 1979 Benson & Hedges 500 at Pukekohe Park Raceway in New Zealand.[53][54]

In 1980 he made a comeback to regular competition, in the British Saloon Car Championship with the works-backed GTi Engineering Audi team.[55] For the 1980 season Moss was the team's number two driver to team co-owner Richard Lloyd.[56] For the 1981 season Moss stayed with Audi, as the team moved to Tom Walkinshaw Racing management, driving alongside Martin Brundle.[57]

Throughout his retirement he raced in events for historic cars, driving on behalf of and at the invitation of others, as well as campaigning his own OSCA FS 372 and other vehicles.[58] On 9 June 2011 during qualifying for the Le Mans Legends race, Moss announced on Radio Le Mans that he had finally retired from racing, saying that he had scared himself that afternoon. He was 81.[59]

Post racing career

Lister Cars announced the build and sale of the Lister Knobbly Stirling Moss at the Royal Automobile Club in London in June 2016.[60] The car is built to the exact specification of the 1958 model, and is the only magnesium-bodied car in the world, and would be the only car endorsed by Moss.[61] Brian Lister invited Moss to drive for Lister on three separate occasions, at Goodwood in 1954, Silverstone in 1958 and at Sebring in 1959,[62] and to celebrate these races, 10 special edition lightweight Lister Knobbly cars are being built. The company announced that the cars will be available for both road and race use, and Moss would personally be handing over each car.[63][64]

Honours

In 1990, Moss was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.[65]

In the New Year Honours 2000 List, Moss was made a Knight Bachelor for services to motor racing. On 21 March 2000, he was knighted by Prince Charles, standing in for the Queen, who was on an official visit to Australia.[66]

He received the 2005 Segrave Trophy.[67]

In 2006, Moss was awarded the FIA gold medal in recognition of his outstanding contribution to motorsport.[68]

In December 2008, McLaren-Mercedes unveiled their final model of the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. The model was named in honour of Stirling Moss, hence, Mercedes McLaren SLR Stirling Moss, which has a top speed of 217 mph (349 km/h) with wind deflectors instead of a windscreen.[69]

In 2016, in an academic paper that reported a mathematical modelling study that assessed the relative influence of driver and machine, Moss was ranked the 29th best Formula One driver of all time.[70]

Biographies

In 1957, Stirling Moss published an autobiography called In the Track Of Speed, first published by Muller, London.[23] In 1963, motorsport author and commentator Ken Purdy published a biographical book entitled All But My Life about Stirling Moss (first published by William Kimber & Co, London), based on material gathered through interviews with Moss.[71] In 2015, when he was 85, Moss published a second autobiography entitled My Racing Life, written with motor sports writer Simon Taylor.[72]

Popular culture

During his driving career, Moss was one of the most recognised celebrities in Britain, leading to many media appearances. In March 1958, Moss was a guest challenger on the TV panel show What's My Line? (episode with Anita Ekberg).[73] In 1959 he was the subject of the TV programme This Is Your Life.[74] On June 12 the following year he was interviewed by John Freeman on Face to Face; Freeman later said that he had thought before the interview that Moss was a playboy, but in their meeting he showed "cold, precise, clinical judgement... a man who could live so close to the edge of death and danger, and trust entirely to his own judgement. This appealed to me".[75] Moss also appeared as himself in the 1964 film The Beauty Jungle, and was one of several celebrities with cameo appearances in the 1967 version of the James Bond film Casino Royale. He played Evelyn Tremble's (Peter Sellers) driver.[76]

For many years during and after his career, the rhetorical phrase "Who do you think you are, Stirling Moss?" was supposedly the standard question all British policemen asked speeding motorists. Moss relates he himself was once stopped for speeding and asked just that; he reports the traffic officer had some difficulty believing him.[77] Moss was the subject of a cartoon biography in the magazine Private Eye that said he was interested in cars, women and sex, in that order. The cartoon, drawn by Willie Rushton, showed him continually crashing, having his driving licence revoked and finally "hosting television programmes on subjects he knows nothing about". It also made reference to the amnesia Moss suffered from as a result of head injuries sustained in the crash at Goodwood in 1962. Although there were complaints to the magazine about the cartoons, Moss rang Private Eye to ask if he could use it as a Christmas card.[78]

He was one of the few drivers of his era to create a brand from his name for licensing purposes, which was launched when his website was revamped in 2009 with improved content. In 2004, Moss was a supporter of the UK Independence Party.[79]

Moss was a Mercedes-Benz Brand Ambassador, having kept a close relationship with the brand, and remained an enthusiast and collector of the brand, which includes the Mercedes-Benz W113, Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Stirling Moss among others