Today is the 79th birthday of our much loved club legend and greatest ever goalscorer, Jimmy Greaves.
James Peter Greaves, was born on 20th February 1940 and would become one of the greatest players England has ever produced, whose scoring feats were second to none. Jimmy scored a staggering 422 goals in 602 club appearances.
On top of that, Jimmy also scored 44 goals for England. Although fourth in the England scoring charts, his natural finishing ability is highlighted by a FAR superior scoring rate to his rivals. Jimmy’s 44 goals came in just 57 appearances. By contrast, Wayne Rooney took 100 games to reach that number. Jimmy also scored six international hat-tricks – more than any other player in Three Lions history.
England is yet to produce another goalscorer quite as prolific as Greavsie, and the stats suggest it could be a long, long wait.
Spurs Legend
In a time when the term “hero” and “legend” get banded about all too easily, Jimmy is a true Spurs legend. He is a much-loved hero – my late father spoke so highly of Jimmy’s skill, close control, dribbling ability saying he would have been a great player with just that – but add to it his natural goalscoring ability, he is a true great of the game.
Jimmy was an absolute star in the 1960’s, but just imagine how great he’d be in today’s modern game, with it’s immaculately manicured pitches, lightweight boots, no heavy balls and defenders unable to kick lumps out of him. He was an incredibly skillful player and goal machine in the 1960’s despite all the handicaps of football in that age – it’s hard to comprehend just how great he’d have been in today’s Premier League.
Unlike today, where every angle of every match is in camera, sadly Jimmy’s era saw footage of only the few matches – The FA Cup Final, European ties and Internationals. It was only the mid 1960’s that Match of the Day hit the TV screens and more match highlights started to be covered – even then it was only 2 or 3 matches, not every single games – Alas, that means the vast majority of Jimmy’s goals were only witnessed by those lucky enough to be in the crowd – however, some very special moments were caught on camera, including THAT goal against Man Utd at White Hart Lane, when thankfully the MotD cameras were present that day. (check it out in our video above). Imagine the amount of clips, videos and montages there would be on social media if he was playing today.
Bill Nicholson:
“When Jimmy Greaves got into these positions, he didn’t try and blast the back of the net out. He seemed to place the ball just inside the post as if he was making a pass to the stanchion at the back of the net”
Spurs Career
Bill Nicholson signed Jimmy for Spurs in December 1961 for £99,999 – the unusual fee was intended to relieve him of the pressure of being the first £100,000 player in British football (not that the figure or pressure would have worried Jimmy). He joined Spurs six months after they had clinched the League and FA Cup Double. He played his first game in a Spurs shirt for the reserve team on 9 December 1961, and scored twice in a 4–1 win over Plymouth Argyle Reserves at Home Park. His first teamdebut came on 16th December 1961, in front of 42,734 eager fans at White Hart Lane against Blackpool. He didn’t disappoint and started how he then carried on, scoring a hat-trick, including a spectacular bicycle kick goal, in a 5-2 victory. He featured in the club’s European Cup run to the Semi Final, when Spurs almost overcame the eventual champions, Benfica. He had a goal disallowed for offside in first leg, and another disallowed in the return fixture also for offside. Years later, he would make strong claims that both should have been allowed and he had his doubts over the referee’s integrity for the tie.
That 1961/62 season, he also played in all seven games of the club’s victorious FA Cup run, scoring nine goals in the competition including in the Semi Final and the 1962 FA Cup Final against Burnley. Jimmy opened the scoring against Burnley on 3 minutes when he hit a low shot from just inside the box, and Spurs went on to win the game 3–1.
Jimmy would start the following season, as he finished the last, scoring twice in the Charity Shield, as Spurs secured the trophy with a 5–1 win over Ipswich. In the 1962–63 season Jimmy scored hat-tricks in victories over Manchester United, Ipswich Town and Liverpool, as well as four goals in a 9–2 win over Nottingham Forest. He scored 37 goals in 41 league games, finishing as the division’s top scorer. He helped create more history with the club, as they became the first British club to lift a European trophy, when they won the 1963 European Cup Winners’ Cup. Jimmy was sent off for violent conduct (his first and only red card) in the semi final, after attempting to punch OFK Belgrade’s centre-back. Greavsie served a one match ban and was able to play in the final, where like in the 1962 FA Cup Final, he opened the scoring. He later added a fourth in Spurs 5–1 victory over Atletico Madrid.
Despite a period of transition at the club, Jimmy remained a consistent goalscorer thoughout, and in the 1963–64 season he scored hat-tricks in victories over Nottingham Forest, Blackpool, Birmingham City and Blackburn Rovers. Jimmy scored 35 goals in 41 league games to again finish as the division’s top scorer.
Spurs finished sixth in 1964–65, though Jimmy scored 29 goals in 41 league games to finish as the division’s joint top scorer. He also scored two hat-tricks in the FA Cup – against Torquay United and Ipswich Town – to take his total tally to 35 goals in 45 appearances. He missed three months at the start of the 1965–66 season after being diagnosed with hepatitis, but recovered to end the campaign with 16 goals in 31 matches, remaining the club’s top scorer for the season.
Jimmy scored 31 goals in 47 appearances in the 1966–67 campaign, helping Spurs to launch a title challenge that ended with a third-place finish, four points behind Manchester United. However, success came again in the FA Cup Final, with a win over Chelsea in the “Cockney Cup Final”. Though he did not score in the final itself, a 2–1 victory, with six goals in eight games Jimmy was the competition’s leading scorer.
The 1967–68 season was a disappointing one for Spurs, although it started with a 3–3 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford in the 1967 FA Charity Shield. They finished seventh in the league, exited the FA Cup in the Fifth Round and were knocked out of the Cup Winners’ Cup in the Second Round. Jimmy had a poor season by his own standards, though still scored 29 goals in 48 appearances and was still the club’s top scorer.
In 1968–69, Greaves scored 27 goals in 42 league games to finish as the First Division’s leading scorer for the sixth and final time. He scored four of his goals in one match against Sunderland, and also scored hat-tricks against Burnley and Leicester City. His nine goals in cup competitions, including a hat-trick against Exeter City, left him with an overall goal tally for the season of 36 goals in 52 games! His goals for the season took him past Bobby Smith as Spurs’ top goalscorer as well as surpassing Steve Bloomer as the First Division’s top goalscorer with 336 goals. Spurs performed inconsistently in the 1969–70 season, and Jimmy was dropped from the first team after playing in an FA Cup defeat to Crystal Palace on 28 January 1970. He was never recalled to the starting line-up, but still ended the season as the club’s joint top scorer (with Martin Chivers), having scored 11 goals in 33 matches, taking his total to 266 goals, to this day, a club record, including 15 hat-tricks, another club record!
Jimmy was given a testimonial match by Spurs on 17 October 1972 in a 2–1 win over Feyenoord at White Hart Lane. He was inducted into the Tottenham Hotspur Hall of Fame in 2015
HONOURS
FA Cup Winner: 1962, 1967
European Cup Winners Cup Winner: 1963
Charity Shield Winner: 1962, 1967
World Cup Winner: 1966
The next generation knew him more for his TV work, where his fun loving nature always came across.
Although not currently in the best of health, every Spurs fan wishes Jimmy the very best – he easily remains one of the much loved, true Spurs legends. It’s criminal you haven’t received the knighthood others seem to get so easily – but we fans salute you.
