Moore became a national icon as a consequence of England's success, with he and the other two West Ham players taking the World Cup around the grounds which West Ham visited during the following domestic season. He was awarded the coveted
BBC Sports Personality of the Year title at the end of 1966, the first footballer to do so, and remaining the only one for a further 24 years. He was also given an OBE in the New Year Honours List. He continued to play for West Ham and England, earning his 50th cap in a 5–1 win over
Wales at the end of 1966 in a Home International match which also doubled up as a qualifier for the
1968 European Championships. England ultimately reached the semi-finals (the tournament was just a four-team event) where they played
Yugoslavia in
Florence and lost 1–0. England, as champions, did not have to qualify for the next World Cup, and Moore remained the first name on Ramsey's team sheet, winning his 78th cap prior to the squad's flight to
South America for a short period of altitude-acclimatisation, before going on to the finals in
Mexico. It continues to be shown on television around the world. Brazil still won the game 1–0, but England progressed through the group. Moore swapped shirts with
Pelé after the game. A 1–0 win over Czechoslovakia allowed England to finish second in the group and advance to the knockout stage. At the Quarter Final stage, a rematch of the 1966 World Cup against West Germany, England took a 2–0 lead but lost 3–2 in extra time. At the end of the year, Moore was voted runner-up (behind
Gerd Müller of West Germany) for the 1970
European Footballer of the Year award.
Final years at the top On 10 August 1970, Moore received an anonymous threat to kidnap his wife and hold her to a £10,000 ransom. This caused him to pull out of pre-season friendlies against
Bristol City and
AFC Bournemouth. However, his services to West Ham were rewarded with a testimonial match against
Celtic at the end of 1970. Although Moore was seen as an icon and a perfect influence on the game, he was not without his faults or controversies. On 7 January 1971, he and three West Ham teammates,
Jimmy Greaves,
Brian Dear and
Clyde Best, were all fined a week's wages by West Ham manager Greenwood after going out drinking in a nightclub until the early hours of the morning prior to an FA Cup third round tie against
Blackpool. West Ham lost the tie 4–0. The nightclub in Blackpool was owned by boxer
Brian London, a friend of Moore. Blackpool were the bottom side in
Division One at the time, and were relegated at the end of the season. Coincidentally, on the previous night, Moore was featured on TV as the subject on
This Is Your Life.
Brian Glanville stated that it was not uncommon for Moore to drink heavily, but he was often seen training with West Ham the next day, working off the
alcohol he had consumed the previous night. On 12 June 1972, he also played for the
Greek side
Olympiacos, as their captain, in a friendly match against the
Brazilian club
Corinthians. Moore surpassed West Ham's appearances record in 1973 when he played for the club for the 509th time. Three days earlier, on 14 February 1973, he won his 100th cap for England in a comprehensive 5–0 win over
Scotland at
Hampden Park By this stage, only Peters and
Alan Ball from the 1966 squad were also still involved with the England team. Later the same year, Moore was exposed defensively by
Poland in a qualifier for the
1974 FIFA World Cup in
Chorzów, deflecting a free kick past goalkeeper
Peter Shilton to put the home side ahead, and then losing possession to
Wlodzimierz Lubanski, who scored the second. Moore's form had dipped enough for Ramsey to choose not to select him for the return game at Wembley which England had to win to qualify. Any other result would send Poland through. Being replaced by
Norman Hunter in defence and Peters as the skipper for that match, Moore is understood to have asked Ramsey if this meant he was no longer required, to which Ramsey replied: "Of course not. I need you as my captain at the World Cup next year." It never happened, as England could only draw 1–1. During the Wembley match, Hunter attempted to make a tackle but instead trod on the ball and lost it, a similar error to Moore's lost possession in Chorzów, which allowed Poland to quickly counterattack and score thanks to Shilton's mistake. Allan Clarke equalised with a penalty, but England could not score again as goalkeeper
Jan Tomaszewski blocked numerous English chances. Moore later told how he sat alongside Ramsey on the bench and kept urging him to make a substitution, but Ramsey was hesitant to do so. When
Kevin Hector finally did come on for
Martin Chivers after 85 minutes Moore could be seen on TV yanking down Hector's tracksuit bottoms while Ramsey sat immobile. Moore, later, said to
David Miller "you could 'feel' the minutes escaping. I said to Alf, we need someone to go through the middle. He just nodded. We couldn't get Kevin out there quick enough. We almost threw him onto the pitch." Hunter was in an inconsolable state as he was led off the pitch by Harold Shepherdson, and by Moore, whose place in the side he had taken. England's failure to qualify for the 1974 FIFA World Cup signalled the end of Ramsey's reign as national team manager when he was sacked six months later. Moore won his 108th and final cap in the next game, a 1–0 friendly defeat to
Italy on 14 November 1973. He became England's most capped player, beating Bobby Charlton's record by two appearances, and equalled
Billy Wright's record of 90 appearances as captain.
Peter Shilton,
David Beckham and
Steven Gerrard have since overtaken the caps record, but the joint captaincy record remains.
After West Ham and England Moore played his last game for West Ham in an FA Cup tie against
Hereford United in January 1974. He was injured in the match. On 14 March the same year, he left West Ham after more than 15 years, taking with him the club record for appearances (since overtaken by
Billy Bonds) and the most international caps for an outfield player. He joined London rivals
Fulham, who were in the
Second Division, for £25,000. During Moore's first season there they defeated West Ham in a League Cup tie and then reached the
FA Cup Final where they faced West Ham again. This time Fulham lost the game, 2–0, and Moore made his final appearance at Wembley as a professional player. In May 1978, he signed with Canadian side Edmonton Black Gold for a summer exhibition schedule, although he only joined the team six weeks later ahead of the 23 June match against Benfica. After Moore's second game with Edmonton against the
Seattle Sounders on 28 June, he was signed by the Sounders on 7 July. The following year, Moore played for
Highgate-based club
Cracovia for a tour of
Malaysia. In 1983, Moore appeared in 8 games for the now-defunct
Carolina Lightnin', after injuries left the club without cover. ==Managerial career==