Jimmy Greaves

James Peter Greaves (20 February 1940 – 19 September 2021) was an English professional footballer who played as a forward. Greaves is regarded as one of England’s best ever players. He is England's fifth-highest international goalscorer (44 goals), Tottenham Hotspur's highest ever goalscorer (266 goals), the highest goalscorer in the history of English top-flight football (357 goals), and also scored more hat-tricks (six) for England than anyone else. He finished as the First Division's top scorer in six seasons 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 on to Italian club A.C. Milan for £80,000 in April 1961. His stay in Italy was not a happy one 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 a five-year spell 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 scored 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 went on to enjoy a successful career in broadcasting, most notably working alongside Ian St John on '' Saint and Greavsie'' from 1985 to 1992. During this period, he also made regular appearances on TV-am. He worked on a number of other sport programmes on ITV during this period, including ''Sporting Triangles'' (1987–1990).

Club career

Chelsea

Greaves was born in Manor Park and raised in Hainault, Essex. He was scouted playing football while a schoolboy by Chelsea's Jimmy Thompson, and in 1955 was signed on as an apprentice to become one of "Drake's Ducklings" (named after manager Ted Drake in response to Manchester United's "Busby Babes"). 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 the age of 20 years and 290 days. However, he became increasingly disillusioned at Chelsea as, despite his goals, the team also 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 was in need of 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 and 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

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