Jimmy Greaves
James Peter Greaves was an English professional footballer who played as a forward. Regarded as one of the greatest strikers of all time and one of England's best ever players, he is England's fifth-highest international goalscorer with 44 goals, which includes an English record of six hat-tricks, and is Tottenham Hotspur's second-highest all-time top goalscorer. Greaves is the highest goalscorer in the history of English top-flight football with 357 goals. He finished as the First Division's top scorer in six seasons, more times than any other player and came third in the 1963 Ballon d'Or rankings. He is also a member of the English Football Hall of Fame.
Greaves began his professional career at Chelsea in 1957 and played in the following year's FA Youth Cup final. He scored 124 First Division goals in just four seasons before being sold to Italian club AC Milan for £80,000 in April 1961. His stay in Italy was unsuccessful and he returned to England with Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of £99,999 in December 1961. Whilst with Spurs, he won the FA Cup in 1961–62 and 1966–67, the Charity Shield in 1962 and 1967 and the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1962–63; he never won a league title but did help Spurs to a second-place finish in 1962–63. He moved to West Ham United in a player exchange in March 1970 and retired the following year. After a four-year absence, he returned to football at the non-league level despite suffering from alcoholism. In five years, he played for Brentwood, Chelmsford City, Barnet and Woodford Town before retiring for good in 1980.
Greaves scored 13 goals in 12 England under-23 internationals and 44 goals in 57 full England internationals between 1959 and 1967. He played in the 1962 and 1966 FIFA World Cup, but was injured in the group stage of the 1966 World Cup and lost his first team place to Geoff Hurst, who kept Greaves out of the first team in the final. England won the World Cup, but Greaves was not given his medal until a change of FIFA rules in 2009. He was also part of the squad that finished third in UEFA Euro 1968, although he did not play any minute in the finals.
After retiring as a player, Greaves began a career in broadcasting, working alongside Ian St John on Saint and Greavsie from 1985 to 1992. He also regularly appeared on TV-am, and worked on several other sport programmes on ITV, including Sporting Triangles.
Early life and club career
Chelsea
Greaves was born in Manor Park and grew up in Hainault, Essex. He was scouted by Chelsea's Jimmy Thompson, and in 1955 was signed on as an apprentice to become one of "Drake's Ducklings". He soon made an impression at youth level, scoring 51 goals in the 1955–56 season and 122 goals in the 1956–57 season under the tutelage of youth team coach Dick Foss. Greaves scored in the 1958 FA Youth Cup final, but Chelsea lost the two-legged tie 7–6 on aggregate after Wolverhampton Wanderers turned round a four-goal deficit with a 6–1 win in the second leg. He turned professional in the summer of 1957, though spent eight weeks working at a steel company to supplement his income during the summer break.Aged 17, Greaves scored on his First Division debut on 24 August 1957 against Tottenham Hotspur in a 1–1 draw at White Hart Lane. He was an instant success, as the News Chronicle reported that he "showed the ball control, confidence and positional strength of a seasoned campaigner" and compared his debut to the instant impact the young Duncan Edwards had as a teenager. The "Blues" played attacking football during the 1957–58 campaign, resulting in high-scoring matches, and Greaves ended the season as the club's top scorer with 22 goals in 37 appearances. Drake rested him for six weeks from mid-November as he did not wish the praise Greaves was receiving to go to his head; Greaves marked his return to the first team at Stamford Bridge with four goals in a 7–4 victory over Portsmouth on Christmas Day.
Greaves scored five goals in a 6–2 win against league champions Wolverhampton Wanderers in the third match of the 1958–59 season. Chelsea remained inconsistent and finished in 14th place. Nevertheless, Greaves ended the season as the First Division's top scorer with 32 goals in 44 league games. Greaves scored 29 goals in 40 league matches in the 1959–60 campaign, five of which came in a 5–4 victory over Preston North End. Despite his goalscoring exploits, the club could manage only an 18th-place finish, three places and three points above the relegation zone.
In the 1960–61 season, Greaves scored hat-tricks against Wolves, Blackburn Rovers and Manchester City; he scored four goals against Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest; and hit five goals in a 7–1 win over West Bromwich Albion. His hat-trick against Manchester City on 19 November included his 100th league goal, making him the youngest player to pass the 100-goal mark, at 20 years and 290 days. However, he became increasingly disillusioned at Chelsea as, despite his goals, the team conceded goals with regularity and were never consistent enough to mount a title challenge. They also exited the FA Cup by losing 2–1 at home to Fourth Division side Crewe Alexandra. Club chairman Joe Mears agreed to sell Greaves as Chelsea needed extra cash. His last game was the final game of the 1960–61 season on 29 April; he was made captain for the day and scored his 13th hat-trick for Chelsea, scoring all four goals in a 4–3 win against Nottingham Forest. This took his tally for the season to a club record 41 goals in 40 league games, making him the division's top scorer and, at the time, Chelsea's second highest goalscorer ever with 132 goals.
AC Milan
Greaves was signed by Italian Serie A club AC Milan in June 1961 for an £80,000 fee and was given a three-year contract on £140 a week with a £15,000 signing bonus. He became unhappy at the thought of leaving London. He tried to cancel the move before it was fully confirmed, but "Rossoneri" manager Giuseppe Viani refused to annul the deal. Greaves scored on his debut in a 2–2 draw with Botafogo at the San Siro. However, he did not get on well with new head coach Nereo Rocco, who insisted on keeping the players in a strict training regime with little personal freedom. Greaves scored nine goals in 14 appearances, including one against Inter Milan in the Milan derby. During a match against Sampdoria, Greaves kicked a player who had spat in his face. Sampdoria equalised from the resulting free kick, for which Rocco blamed Greaves, despite him having scored Milan's opener and set up the second. Due to his low morale, Greaves was transfer-listed and Brazilian attacker Dino Sani was signed as his replacement. Both Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea made £96,500 bids, which were both accepted. After he left, the club went on to win the league title in 1961–62.Tottenham Hotspur
After protracted negotiations, Bill Nicholson signed Greaves for Tottenham Hotspur in December 1961 for £99,999 – the unusual fee was intended to relieve Greaves of the pressure of being the first £100,000 player in British football. He joined Spurs just after they became the first club in England to complete the First Division and FA Cup double during the 20th century. 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. He scored a hat-trick on his first team debut, including a flying scissor kick, in a 5–2 win over Blackpool at White Hart Lane. He went on to feature against Benfica in the semi-finals of the European Cup; in the first leg at the Estádio da Luz he had a goal disallowed for offside and another in the return fixture, also for offside. He played in all seven games of the club's FA Cup run, scoring nine goals in the competition as they beat Birmingham City, Plymouth Argyle, West Bromwich Albion, Aston Villa and Manchester United to reach the 1962 FA Cup final against Burnley at Wembley. Greaves opened the scoring against Burnley on three minutes when he hit a low shot past goalkeeper Adam Blacklaw from a tight angle and Spurs went on to win the game 3–1. They finished the league in third place in 1961–62, four points behind champions Ipswich Town.Greaves scored twice in the 1962 FA Charity Shield, as Spurs secured the trophy with a 5–1 win over Ipswich at Portman Road. In the 1962–63 season Greaves 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. Spurs finished the league campaign in second place, six points behind champions Everton. Greaves scored 37 goals in 41 league games, finishing as the division's top scorer. In the European Cup Winners' Cup, Tottenham beat Rangers, ŠK Slovan Bratislava and OFK Beograd to reach the final, where they met Spanish club Atlético Madrid at De Kuip. In the first leg of the semi-final against Beograd in Belgrade, Greaves was sent off for violent conduct after attempting to punch centre-back Blagomir Krivokuća. Greaves served a one match ban and was able to play in the final, where he opened the scoring after an assist from Cliff Jones and later added a fourth in a 5–1 victory. In winning the competition, Tottenham Hotspur became the first British team to win a European trophy.
Manager Bill Nicholson and his assistant Eddie Baily then began a period of transition at White Hart Lane – Danny Blanchflower, aged 38, retired in 1964 and a lightning strike killed John White. Dave Mackay remained until 1968 and Greaves remained a consistent goalscorer. In the 1963–64 season, Greaves scored hat-tricks in victories over Nottingham Forest, Blackpool, Birmingham City and Blackburn Rovers. Spurs finished in fourth place, six points behind champions Liverpool, and exited the FA Cup and Cup Winners' Cup at the opening stages. Greaves scored 35 goals in 41 league games to again finish as the division's top scorer. Strike partner Bobby Smith left the club in the summer, though Greaves felt the partnership he went on to form with new signing Alan Gilzean was even more effective.
Spurs finished sixth in 1964–65, though Greaves 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 as they finished the league campaign in eighth place whilst failing to make it past the Fifth Round of the FA Cup.
Greaves scored 31 goals in 47 appearances in the 1966–67 campaign, helping Spurs launch a title challenge that ended with a third-place finish, four points behind Manchester United. They also won the FA Cup after knocking out Millwall, Portsmouth, Bristol City, Birmingham City and Nottingham Forest to reach the 1967 FA Cup final with Chelsea. Though he did not score in the final, a 2–1 victory, with six goals in eight games, Greaves was the competition's leading scorer. The 1967–68 season was a disappointing one for Spurs following their 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. Greaves had a poor season by his own standards, though with 29 goals in 48 appearances he was still the club's top scorer. Nicholson bought Greaves a new strike partner in Martin Chivers from Southampton for a club record £125,000 fee, with Gilzean dropping further back into midfield to accommodate. Still, Greaves and Chivers were not as effective together as Nicholson had hoped.
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 of 36 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 Greaves was dropped from the first team after playing in an FA Cup defeat to Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park 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, having scored 11 goals in 33 matches. He finished his Spurs career with 268 goals in 381 appearances in total, including 15 hat-tricks, a club record. The club only attributes him with 266 goals, as they do not include two that he scored in the 1962 FA Charity Shield. Greaves was given a testimonial match by Spurs on 17 October 1972 in a 2–1 win over Feyenoord at White Hart Lane attended by over 45,000 people.