Maurice Norman, an integral part of the 1960/61 Double winning side, was born on this day in 1934.
He signed for Tottenham Hotspur in November 1955 for a ₤28,000 transfer fee, that also included the return transfer of Ireland international striker Johnny Gavin to Norwich. Maurice played his first game for Spurs against Cardiff City, and stayed at White Hart Lane until 1965, making 411 first-team appearances and scoring 19 goals for Spurs.
He was an integral part of Bill Nicholson’s Double-winning Tottenham team of 1960–61 that went on to retain the FA Cup in 1962, and win the 1963 European Cup Winners’ Cup.
A giant at the centre of the defence in front of Bill Brown – if Dave Mackay didn’t stop you, big Maurice was waiting!
At international level, Norman made 23 appearances for England, including in the 1962 World Cup. He was also a member of the England squad at the 1958 World Cup, but did not play. Unfortunately, he suffered a double fracture of tibia and fibula playing for Spurs against a Hungarian Select XI in November 1965, which brought a premature end to his career, aged just 31.
