Jimmy Greaves

Jimmy Greaves
Personal information
Full name James Peter Greaves
Date of birth 20 February 1940 (1940-02-20) (age 70)
Place of birth East Ham, England
Playing position Striker (retired)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1957–1961 Chelsea 157 (124)
1961 Milan 12 (9)
1961–1970 Tottenham Hotspur 321 (220)
1970–1971 West Ham United 38 (13)
1975–1976 Brentwood Town
1976–1977 Chelmsford City
1977–1979 Barnet 56 (16)
1979–1980 Woodford Town
National team
1959–1967 England 57 (44)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

James Peter 'Jimmy' Greaves (born 20 February 1940 in East Ham, England) is an English former football player, England's third highest international goalscorer, the highest goalscorer in the history of English top flight football and more recently a television pundit - famous for his trademark catchphrase it's a funny old game. He is considered to be one of the finest goalscorers of his generation.

Contents

Playing career

Chelsea, Milan, and Spurs

Greaves was a phenomenal striker, scoring on his debut for Chelsea in 1957. He finished as top League goalscorer twice whilst at Chelsea in 1959 and 1961 and his 41 league goals in the 1960-61 season remains a club record. Despite this, they did not win any major trophies while he was playing for them.

In 1960 he became the youngest ever player to score 100 league goals in English football at the age of 20 years 290 days (and at 23 was the same age as Dixie Dean when he scored his 200th).

He briefly joined the Italian side A.C. Milan in 1961, after reportedly turning down a huge offer from Newcastle United and scored 9 goals in 12 games but failure to settle led to a quick departure. Bill Nicholson then signed him for Tottenham Hotspur for £99,999. The unusual fee was intended to relieve Greaves of the pressure of being the first £100,000 player.

Greaves enjoyed a legendary career at Tottenham. He played at Spurs from 1961 to 1970, scoring a club record of 266 goals in 379 matches, including 220 goals in the First Division. Greaves finished as top League goalscorer in four seasons (1963, 1964, 1965 and 1969), an achievement that established Greaves as arguably the most consistent striker in English football history. His record of finishing top goalscorer in six seasons has never been matched.

With Spurs, Greaves won the FA Cup in 1962 and 1967, scoring against Burnley in the former final. He also won the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1963 - scoring twice in the famous 5-1 defeat of Atlético Madrid, ensuring that Spurs became the first British club to win a European trophy. Today he is considered one of the best players in the history of Tottenham Hotspur.

International career

Greaves won his first England cap on May 17, 1959 against Peru, scoring England's only goal in a 4-1 defeat. He went on to play 57 times and score 44 goals, five fewer than Bobby Charlton but at a much higher rate. He remains third in the all-time list of England goalscorers, behind Charlton and Gary Lineker. Greaves also holds the record for most hat-tricks for England - six in all. At the 1961 British Home Championship, Greaves achieved the remarkable feat of scoring seven goals in three games as England won the title.

In the 1962 World Cup finals match against Brazil in Chile, a stray dog ran on to the pitch and evaded all of the players' efforts to catch it until Greaves got down on all fours to beckon the animal. Though successful in catching the dog, it proceeded to urinate all over Greaves' England shirt. The Brazilian player Garrincha thought the incident was so amusing that he took the dog home as a pet.

Greaves was the first-choice striker for the England team during the 1966 World Cup but suffered a leg injury during a game against France and had to be replaced. That replacement, Geoff Hurst, scored the winner in the quarter final against Argentina and kept his place all the way to the final, famously scoring a hat-trick as England won the tournament.

One of football's most famous photographs shows the elation on the England bench as the final whistle was blown, except for Greaves, in his suit and tie, looking astonished at what had happened. Greaves has always maintained that he felt nothing but delight at England's win and celebrated as much as the other non-playing members of the squad. He also maintains that he never felt he had a divine right to be in the side once he regained his fitness. However, his reaction at the time of England's success became well-documented - he packed his bags and headed on holiday with his wife while the rest of the squad attended an official banquet.

Greaves played only three more times for England after the 1966 World Cup, scoring a single goal. His final cap came against Austria in May, 1967.

In the 1966 World Cup final only the 11 players on the pitch at the end of the 4-2 win over West Germany received medals. Jimmy had been injured in the early stages of the 1966 tournament and though fit again for the final was over-looked by manager Alf Ramsey who chose not to change the line-up with which England had reached the final. Following a Football Association led campaign to persuade FIFA to award medals to all the winners’ squad members, Greaves was presented with his medal by Gordon Brown at a ceremony at 10 Downing Street on 10 June 2009.[1]

West Ham and Barnet

In 1970, Greaves joined West Ham United in part exchange in the deal that took Martin Peters to White Hart Lane. He scored on his debut, (as he had for every team he played for, including England at full and under 23 level), with two goals against Manchester City on March 21. Two months later, on May 28, he finished sixth in the 1970 London to Mexico World Cup Rally with co-driver Tony Fall. He retired in 1971 having played 516 Football League games and netted 357 goals, an all-time record for the top flight.

Greaves made a comeback at the age of 38, playing for Barnet in the then Southern League, playing from midfield he netted 25 goals (13 in the Southern League) and was their player of the season. The 1978-79 season, however, yielded just 3 league goals, and he was released by manager Barry Fry. He then went on to make several appearances for semi-professional side Woodford Town before retiring.

Post playing career

In the mid-1970s Greaves battled a well-documented alcohol problem, finally quitting drinking in February 1978. He became a popular television presenter and football pundit, striking up a memorable partnership with Ian St. John. Together they hosted a popular Saturday lunchtime football show called Saint and Greavsie from 1985 until the programme was axed in 1992.

Greaves also worked frequently for TV-am as a TV critic and was a resident team captain on ITV sports quiz Sporting Triangles as well as co-hosting the popular Saturday morning kids TV show, The Saturday Show. He briefly had his own talk show and has been a columnist for The Sun newspaper for many years. He also answered readers letters in Shoot magazine in the 1980s and 1990s. In 2002 Greaves was made an Inaugural Inductee to the English Football Hall of Fame. He released his autobiography, Greavsie, in 2003 and is in demand as an after-dinner speaker. Greaves has written 18 books in partnership with his life-long friend, the journalist and author Norman Giller.

Married to Irene since 1958, he is now a grandfather with what he calls "a tribe" of 10 grandchildren and one great grandchild. Jimmy and Irene have four grown children, Lynn, Mitzi, Danny (who was a professional footballer with Southend United), and Andrew.

Greaves said, with regards to the 2010 general election: "I'll vote Conservative, as I always have, but with no great enthusiasm as I'm not convinced by David Cameron. The country really needs another Margaret Thatcher to sort out a huge financial mess and growing trade union power. I'm certain, though, that Britain is sick and tired of Labour."[2]

Honours

Tottenham Hotspur

England

Statistics

Club

All-Time Club Performance
Club Season Domestic League FA Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Chelsea 1957-58 35 22 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 37 22
1958-59 42 32 2 2 0 0 3 3 0 0 47 37
1959-60 40 29 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 42 30
1960-61 40 41 1 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 43 43
Total 157 124 7 3 2 2 3 3 0 0 169 132
Milan 1961-62 12 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 9
Total 12 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 9
Tottenham Hotspur 1961-62 22 21 7 9 0 0 2 0 0 0 31 30
1962-63 41 37 1 0 0 0 6 5 11 21 49 44
1963-64 41 35 2 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 45 36
1964-65 41 29 4 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 45 35
1965-66 29 15 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 31 16
1966-67 38 25 8 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 47 31
1967-68 39 23 4 3 0 0 4 3 11 01 48 29
1968-69 42 27 4 4 6 5 0 0 0 0 52 36
1969-70 28 8 4 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 33 11
Total 321 220 36 32 8 5 14 9 2 2 381 268
West Ham United 1969-70 6 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 4
1970-71 32 9 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 34 9
Total 38 13 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 40 13
Career Totals 528 366 44 35 11 7 17 12 2 2 602 422

International Goals

Scores and results list England's goal tally first.
Date Venue Opponent Result Competition Scored
1959-05-19 Estadio Nacional, Lima  Peru 1-4 Friendly match 1
1959-10-17 Ninian Park, Cardiff  Wales 1-1 British Home Championship 1
1960-05-11 Empire Stadium, Wembley  Yugoslavia 3-3 Friendly match 1
1960-10-08 Windsor Park, Belfast  Northern Ireland 5-2 British Home Championship 2
1960-10-15 Stade Municipal, Luxembourg-Ville  Luxembourg 9-0 1962 FIFA World Cup qualification 3
1960-10-26 Empire Stadium, Wembley  Spain 4-2 Friendly match 1
1960-11-23 Empire Stadium, Wembley  Wales 5-1 British Home Championship 2
1961-04-15 Empire Stadium, Wembley  Scotland 9-3 British Home Championship 3
1961-05-24 Stadio Olimpico, Rome  Italy 3-2 Friendly match 1
1961-05-27 Prater Stadium, Vienna  Austria 1-3 Friendly match 1
1962-05-20 Estadio Nacional, Lima  Peru 4-0 Friendly match 3
1962-06-02 Estadio El Teniente, Rancagua  Argentina 3-1 1962 FIFA World Cup 1
1962-10-20 Windsor Park, Belfast  Northern Ireland 3-1 British Home Championship 1
1962-11-21 Empire Stadium, Wembley  Wales 4-0 British Home Championship 1
1963-05-29 Tehelné Pole, Bratislava  Czechoslovakia 4-2 Friendly match 2
1963-10-12 Ninian Park, Cardiff  Wales 4-0 British Home Championship 2
1963-10-23 Empire Stadium, Wembley Rest of the World XI 2-1 Friendly match 1
1963-11-20 Empire Stadium, Wembley  Wales 8-3 British Home Championship 4
1964-05-24 Dalymount Park, Dublin  Republic of Ireland 3-1 Friendly match 1
1964-05-30 Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro  Brazil 1-5 Taça das Nações 1
1964-10-03 Windsor Park, Belfast  Northern Ireland 4-3 British Home Championship 3
1964-12-09 Olympisch Stadion, Amsterdam  Netherlands 1-1 Friendly match 1
1965-04-10 Empire Stadium, Wembley  Scotland 2-2 British Home Championship 1
1965-05-05 Empire Stadium, Wembley  Hungary 1-0 Friendly match 1
1966-05-04 Empire Stadium, Wembley  Yugoslavia 2-0 Friendly match 1
1966-05-04 Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo  Norway 6-1 Friendly match 4
1967-05-24 Empire Stadium, Wembley  Spain 2-0 Friendly match 1

Books in collaboration with Norman Giller

  • My world of Soccer 1966
  • This One’s On Me
  • The Final (novel)
  • The Ball Game (novel)
  • The Boss (novel)
  • The Second Half (novel)
  • Let’s Be Honest (with Reg Gutteridge)
  • Greavsie’s Heroes and Entertainers
  • World Cup History
  • GOALS! The greatest ever scored
  • Stop the Game, I Want to Get On
  • The Book of Football Lists
  • Taking Sides
  • Funny Old Games, with Ian St John
  • Sports Quiz Challenge
  • Sports Quiz Challenge 2
  • It’s A Funny Old Life
  • Saint & Greavsie’s World Cup Special
  • The Sixties Revisited
  • Don’t Shoot the Manager

References

  1. ↑ World Cup 1966 winners honoured
  2. ↑ http://www.people.co.uk/news/tm_headline=celebrity-x-factor&method=full&objectid=22143891&siteid=93463-name_page.html

External links

England squad – 1962 FIFA World Cup
1 Springett • 2 Armfield • 3 Wilson • 4 Robson • 5 Swan • 6 Flowers • 7 Connelly • 8 Greaves • 9 Hitchens • 10 Haynes • 11 Charlton • 12 Hodgkinson • 13 Kevan • 14 Anderson • 15 Norman • 16 Moore • 17 Douglas • 18 Hunt • 19 Peacock • 20 Eastham • 21 Howe • 22 Banks • Coach: Winterbottom
 England
England squad – 1966 FIFA World Cup Winners (1st Title)
1 Banks • 2 Cohen • 3 Wilson • 4 Stiles • 5 J. Charlton • 6 Moore • 7 Ball • 8 Greaves • 9 B. Charlton • 10 Hurst • 11 Connelly • 12 Springett • 13 Bonetti • 14 Armfield • 15 Byrne • 16 Peters • 17 Flowers • 18 Hunter • 19 Paine • 20 Callaghan • 21 Hunt • 22 Eastham • Coach: Ramsey
 England
England squad – UEFA Euro 1968 Third Place
1 Banks • 2 Newton • 3 Wilson • 4 Mullery • 5 Labone • 6 Moore • 7 Ball • 8 Hunt • 9 B. Charlton • 10 Hurst • 11 Peters • 12 Stepney • 13 West • 14 Knowles • 15 J. Charlton • 16 Wright • 17 Stiles • 18 Summerbee • 19 Hunter • 20 Bell • 21 Greaves • 22 Thompson • Coach: Ramsey
 England