The Great Geoff Hunt Turns 66
by Bob Hanscom
March 11, 2013 - If you know this name, you're sure one who's been around the game of squash for a while! Before Jahangir and Jansher Khan, Peter Nicol, Jonathon Power, Amr Shabana, Nick Matthew, James Willstrop, Gregg Gaultier or Ramy Ahshour, there was the great Geoff Hunt...who turns 66 today!
Geoff was born in Melbourne, Australia in 1947 - and is widely considered to be one of the greatest squash-players in history. He was ranked the World's #1 squash-player from 1975 to 1980. He won the World Open title four times, the event's inaugural champion, winning the competition on the first four occasions it was held (1976, 1977, 1979 and 1980).
Geoff also won the International Amateur Individual Championship three times (1967, 1969, and 1971), and the British Open (which was considered to be the effective world championship event involving both amateurs and professionals before the World Open began) EIGHT times (second only to Jahangir's ten-times) between 1969 and 1981. He also won 178 of the 215 tournaments he contested during his career. In his younger years, Geoff won the Australian Junior Championship in 1963, first winning the Australian Amateur Men's Championship in 1965.
Geoff was known best for his fitness and having great determination. He ultimately suffered back problems, which curtailed his career. After retiring as a player, he served as the Head Squash Coach at the Australian Institute of Sport from 1985–2003, where he helped develop a new generation of Australian squash stars.
Geoff was inducted into both the World Squash Federation Hall of Fame and the Australian Sport Hall of Fame.
So there you have it, just in case you didn't know about one of the greatest squash-players of all time. Happy 66th Birthday Geoff!
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