How football's most famous phrase netted £1m

They think it's all over. And while it is for Kenneth Wolstenholme, the football commentator who died aged 81 in March, it is now possible to see that the phrase which made him famous also helped to make him a millionaire.

In the closing seconds of England's World Cup final victory against Germany in 1966, Wolstenholme, commentating for the BBC, noticed a pitch invasion as Geoff Hurst ran towards the German goal with the ball. "Some people are on the pitch, they think it's all over ... it is now!" he said as the last goal in the 4-2 victory shot home. The phrase became forever linked with the proudest moment in England's footballing history and, it also turned out, lucrative: he received royalties every time it was replayed on TV and used in songs, and earned even more from personal appearances and after-dinner speeches. Now, his estate has been valued at £1.1m, six times more than the amount left by Sir Alf Ramsey, the man who managed England's 1966 team. On the day he uttered the phrase, Wolstenholme was paid just £60. But it soon became a money-spinner. That year he wrote a book entitled They Think It's All Over. In 1990, his snatch of commentary was included in New Order's official pop song for that year's World Cup, "World in Motion",and in 1999 he wrote 50 Sporting Years and, of course, It's Still Not All Over.

"They Think It's All Over" also became the title of a BBC sporting quiz.