Tributes were paid to long-serving golf administrator and all-round sportsman John Moore, who played for Alton Town FC and was a key figure at Blackmoor Golf Club for more than three decades at his funeral at Aldershot Crematorium.

John was recognised in the East Hampshire District Council Sports Awards in 2016 when he was named Official of the Year for his work with Hampshire Golf Union.

He received his award from 400m Olympic medal winner Roger Black and TV presenter Fred Dinenage at Old Thorns Golf & Country Club.

Arguably his proudest moment came two years later when president as Hampshire claimed the English County Championship for just the second time in more than 80 years at rain-lashed Trevose, in Cornwall.

A couple of weeks later John and the team met Ryder Cup star Justin Rose – who had been in the county-winning team in 1996.

John’s first sport was football – he was a promising right-winger, who started out at Andover, before moving to full-back, having joined Alton in the Hampshire League around the time England won the World Cup, in 1966.

He loved watching Sir Alf Ramsey’s team – including Bobby Moore, Martin Peters and Sir Geoff Hurst – the hat-trick hero of the 4-2 final win over West Germany – who all played for John’s favourite team West Ham.

John managed to see all six England matches including their extra-time triumph at Wembley.

He then signed as a defender for Isthmian League side Woking – no doubt inspired by watching George Cohen and Ray Wilson play full-back for the Three Lions – returning to Alton in the early 1970s.

His football career highlight was when Alton reached the FA Cup First Round, in 1972-73. Drawn away to division four side Newport County, he later bragged his first three touches were to pick the ball out of the net as they lost 5-1.

He also played for Sunday side Overton, picking up a number of trophies, before turning to squash and golf. He played squash for the first-team at Alton Sports Centre, and after 1980 captained Cromwells’ Hampshire League side.

After moving from Alton to Blackmoor Golf Club in 1985, John joined the committee, helping to run teams in the Mail on Sunday, County Sevens and Border League in the 1990s.

Having been made Blackmoor captain in 1997-98, he joined the committee responsible for the nationally-recognised Selborne Salver between 2007 and 2015.

That overlapped with his spell on the Hampshire Golf Union, running the junior programme and taking the county team to three English Boys County Finals in four years, from 2012-15.

The 79-year-old’s funeral service was attended by many friends from his football, squash and golf days.

Away from sport, John was a family man having married Liz, whom he met two years earlier during the long, hot summer of 1976. They had a daughter Beth in 1987, who married Matt.

John, who was born to Babs in 1946, and lived at New Copse with his grandparents, attended Bentworth Primary and Alton Secondary schools.

He trained as a welder at Warwick Brothers, in Alresford, working also in Alton, before joining paper merchants Pollock and Searby, eventually becoming distribution manager in Wembley.

In retirement, John was a proud grandparent and enjoyed watching grandkids Ned and Betty in their BMX racing, up to England and international level.

By Andrew Griffin