.jpg) Greaves in 1964 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | James Peter Greaves | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1940-02-20)20 February 1940 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Manor Park, Essex, England | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 19 September 2021(2021-09-19) (aged 81) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Danbury, Essex, England | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Striker | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1955–1957 | Chelsea | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 1957–1961 | Chelsea | 157 | (124) | ||||||||||||||
| 1961 | AC Milan | 10 | (9) | ||||||||||||||
| 1961–1970 | Tottenham Hotspur | 321 | (220) | ||||||||||||||
| 1970–1971 | West Ham United | 38 | (13) | ||||||||||||||
| 1975–1976 | Brentwood | ||||||||||||||||
| 1976–1977 | Chelmsford City | 25 | (13) | ||||||||||||||
| 1977–1979 | Barnet | 51 | (16) | ||||||||||||||
| 1979–1980 | Woodford Town | ||||||||||||||||
| Total | 604 | (395) | |||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1957–1962[2] | England U23 | 12 | (13) | ||||||||||||||
| 1959–1967[3] | England | 57 | (44) | ||||||||||||||
| 1965 | United Kingdom | 1 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
James Peter GreavesMBE (20 February 1940 – 19 September 2021) was an English professionalfootballer who played as aforward. Regarded as one of the greatest strikers of all time and one ofEngland's best ever players,[4][5][6] he is England's fifth-highest international goalscorer with 44 goals, which includes an English record of sixhat-tricks, and isTottenham Hotspur's second-highest all-time top goalscorer. Greaves is the highest goalscorer in the history ofEnglish top-flight football with 357 goals. He finished as theFirst Division's top scorer in six seasons, more times than any other player and came third in the1963 Ballon d'Or rankings.[7][8] He is also a member of theEnglish Football Hall of Fame.
Greaves began his professional career atChelsea in 1957 and played in the following year'sFA Youth Cup final. He scored 124 First Division goals in just four seasons before being sold to Italian clubAC 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 theFA Cup in1961–62 and1966–67, theCharity Shield in1962 and1967 and theEuropean Cup Winners' Cup in1962–63; he never won a league title but did help Spurs to a second-place finish in 1962–63. He moved toWest 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 forBrentwood,Chelmsford City,Barnet andWoodford Town before retiring for good in 1980.
Greaves scored 13 goals in 12England under-23 internationals and 44 goals in 57 full England internationals between 1959 and 1967. He played in the1962 and1966 FIFA World Cup, but was injured in the group stage of the 1966 World Cup and lost his first team place toGeoff Hurst, who kept Greaves out of the first team inthe final (at a time when the concept of substitutes had yet to be introduced to the game). England won the World Cup, but Greaves was not given his medal until a change ofFIFA rules in 2009. He was also part of the squad that finished third inUEFA 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 alongsideIan St John onSaint and Greavsie from 1985 to 1992. He also regularly appeared onTV-am during this period. He worked on several other sport programmes onITV during this period, includingSporting Triangles (1987–1990).
Greaves was born inManor Park and grew up inHainault, Essex .[9] He was scouted byChelsea'sJimmy Thompson, and in 1955 was signed on as an apprentice to become one of "Drake's Ducklings" (named after managerTed Drake in response toManchester United's "Busby Babes").[9] 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 coachDick Foss.[10] Greaves scored in the 1958FA Youth Cup final, but Chelsea lost thetwo-legged tie 7–6 on aggregate afterWolverhampton Wanderers turned round a four-goal deficit with a 6–1 win in the second leg.[11] 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.[12]
 First Division goals in England | |||
| Player | Goals | Matches | Goals/matches |
| Jimmy Greaves | 357 | 516 | 0.69 |
| Steve Bloomer | 314 | 535 | 0.59 |
| Dixie Dean | 310 | 362 | 0.86 |
| Gordon Hodgson | 288 | 455 | 0.63 |
| Alan Shearer | 283 | 559 | 0.51 |
Aged 17, Greaves scored on hisFirst Division debut on 24 August 1957 againstTottenham Hotspur in a 1–1 draw atWhite Hart Lane.[13][14] He was an instant success, as theNews 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 youngDuncan Edwards had as a teenager.[15] The "Blues" played attacking football during the1957–58 campaign, resulting in high-scoring matches, and Greaves ended the season as the club's top scorer with 22 goals in 37 appearances.[16] 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 atStamford Bridge with four goals in a 7–4 victory overPortsmouth on Christmas Day.[17]
Greaves scored five goals in a 6–2 win against league champions Wolverhampton Wanderers in the third match of the1958–59 season.[18] 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.[14][19] Greaves scored 29 goals in 40 league matches in the1959–60 campaign, five of which came in a 5–4 victory overPreston North End.[20] Despite his goalscoring exploits, the club could manage only an 18th-place finish, three places and three points above the relegation zone.[21]
In the1960–61 season, Greaves scoredhat-tricks against Wolves,Blackburn Rovers andManchester City; he scored four goals againstNewcastle United andNottingham Forest; and hit five goals in a 7–1 win overWest 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.[13] 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 theFA Cup by losing 2–1 at home toFourth Division sideCrewe Alexandra.[22] Club chairmanJoe Mears agreed to sell Greaves as Chelsea needed extra cash.[23] 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.[13] This took his tally for the season to aclub record 41 goals in 40 league games, making him the division's top scorer[14][24] and, at the time, Chelsea's second highestgoalscorer ever with 132 goals.[25]
Greaves was signed by ItalianSerie A clubAC Milan in June 1961 for an £80,000 fee and was given a three-year contract on £140 a week with a £15,000signing bonus.[26] He became unhappy at the thought of leaving London. He tried to cancel the move before it was fully confirmed, but "Rossoneri" managerGiuseppe Viani refused to annul the deal.[27] Greaves scored on his debut in a 2–2 draw withBotafogo at theSan Siro.[28] However, he did not get on well with new head coachNereo Rocco, who insisted on keeping the players in a strict training regime with little personal freedom.[29] Greaves scored nine goals in 14 appearances, including one againstInter Milan in theMilan derby. During a match againstSampdoria, 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.[30] Due to his low morale, Greaves was transfer-listed and Brazilian attackerDino Sani was signed as his replacement.[31] Both Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea made £96,500 bids, which were both accepted.[32] After he left, the club went on to win the league title in1961–62.[33]
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.[14][34] He joined Spurs just after they became the first club in England to complete the First Division and FA Cupdouble during the 20th century.[35] He played his first game in a Spurs shirt for thereserve team on 9 December 1961 and scored twice in a 4–1 win overPlymouth Argyle Reserves atHome Park.[36] He scored a hat-trick on his first team debut, including aflying scissor kick, in a 5–2 win overBlackpool at White Hart Lane.[37] He went on to feature againstBenfica in the semi-finals of theEuropean Cup; in the first leg at theEstádio da Luz he had a goal disallowed for offside and another in the return fixture, also for offside.[38] He played in all seven games of the club's FA Cup run, scoring nine goals in the competition as they beatBirmingham City (after a replay), Plymouth Argyle,West Bromwich Albion,Aston Villa and Manchester United to reach the1962 FA Cup final againstBurnley atWembley. Greaves opened the scoring against Burnley on three minutes when he hit a low shot past goalkeeperAdam Blacklaw from a tight angle and Spurs went on to win the game 3–1.[39][40] They finished the league in third place in1961–62, four points behind championsIpswich Town.[41]
Greaves scored twice in the1962 FA Charity Shield, as Spurs secured the trophy with a 5–1 win over Ipswich atPortman Road.[42] In the1962–63 season Greaves scored hat-tricks in victories over Manchester United, Ipswich Town andLiverpool, as well as four goals in a 9–2 win over Nottingham Forest.[43] Spurs finished the league campaign in second place, six points behind championsEverton.[44] Greaves scored 37 goals in 41 league games, finishing as the division's top scorer.[44] In theEuropean Cup Winners' Cup, Tottenham beatRangers (Scotland),ŠK Slovan Bratislava (Czechoslovakia) andOFK Beograd (Yugoslavia) to reachthe final, where they met Spanish clubAtlético Madrid atDe Kuip.[45] In the first leg of the semi-final against Beograd inBelgrade, Greaves was sent off for violent conduct (his first and only red card) after attempting to punch centre-backBlagomir Krivokuća.[46] Greaves served a one match ban and was able to play in the final, where he opened the scoring after an assist fromCliff Jones and later added a fourth in a 5–1 victory (John White andTerry Dyson getting the other goals).[47] In winning the competition, Tottenham Hotspur became the first British team to win a European trophy.[45][48]
Manager Bill Nicholson and his assistantEddie 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.[49]Dave Mackay remained until 1968 and Greaves remained a consistent goalscorer. In the1963–64 season, Greaves scored hat-tricks in victories over Nottingham Forest, Blackpool,Birmingham City andBlackburn Rovers. Spurs finished in fourth place, six points behind champions Liverpool, and exited the FA Cup and Cup Winners' Cup at the opening stages.[50] Greaves scored 35 goals in 41 league games to again finish as the division's top scorer. Strike partnerBobby Smith left the club in the summer, though Greaves felt the partnership he went on to form with new signingAlan Gilzean was even more effective.[51]
Spurs finished sixth in1964–65, though Greaves scored 29 goals in 41 league games to finish as the division's joint top scorer (withAndy McEvoy). He also scored two hat-tricks in the FA Cup – againstTorquay United and Ipswich Town – to take his total tally to 35 goals in 45 appearances. He missed three months at the start of the1965–66 season after being diagnosed withhepatitis,[52] 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.[52]
Greaves scored 31 goals in 47 appearances in the1966–67 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 outMillwall,Portsmouth,Bristol City, Birmingham City and Nottingham Forest to reach the1967 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.[53] The1967–68 season was a disappointing one for Spurs following their 3–3 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford in the1967 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.[54] Greaves had a poor season by his own standards, though with 29 goals in 48 appearances he was still the club's top scorer.[55] Nicholson bought Greaves a new strike partner inMartin Chivers fromSouthampton for aclub 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.[55]
In1968–69, Greaves scored 27 goals in 42 league games to finish as the First Division's leading scorer for the sixth and final time.[56] He scored four of his goals in one match againstSunderland and also scored hat-tricks against Burnley andLeicester City. His nine goals in cup competitions, including a hat-trick againstExeter City, left him with an overall goal tally of 36 in 52 games.[56] His goals for the season took him pastBobby Smith as Spurs' top goalscorer[57] as well as surpassingSteve Bloomer as the First Division's top goalscorer with 336 goals. Spurs performed inconsistently in the1969–70 season and Greaves was dropped from the first team after playing in an FA Cup defeat toCrystal Palace atSelhurst Park on 28 January 1970.[58] 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. He finished his Spurs career with 268 goals in 381 appearances in total,[59] including 15 hat-tricks, a club record.[60] The club only attributes him with 266 goals, as they do not include two that he scored in the1962 FA Charity Shield.[61][62] Greaves was given atestimonial match by Spurs on 17 October 1972 in a 2–1 win overFeyenoord at White Hart Lane attended by over 45,000 people.[63][64]
In March 1970, Greaves joinedWest Ham United as part-exchange inMartin Peters' transfer to White Hart Lane.[65]Brian Clough'sDerby County had also been interested in Greaves. Still, he did not want to move away from London. In hindsight, Greaves felt that Clough might have helped him revive his career, as he had done for Greaves's former Tottenham teammateDave Mackay.[65] Greaves later admitted his regret in making the move toUpton Park.[66] He scored two goals on his "Hammers" debut on 21 March, in a 5–1 win against Manchester City atMaine Road.[67]
In January 1971, withBobby Moore,Brian Dear andClyde Best, Greaves was involved in late-night drinking, against the wishes of managerRon Greenwood, before aFA Cup tie away to Blackpool.[68] On arriving inBlackpool, Greaves and his teammates had been informed by members ofthe press that the game, the following day, was unlikely to go ahead due to a frozen pitch and the likelihood offrost that night. Believing there would be no game the following day, Greaves drank 12 lagers in a club owned byBrian London and did not return to the team hotel until 1.45 am. The match went ahead and West Ham lost 4–0. Greaves claimed the defeat was not a result of the late night, the drinking or the frozen pitch but because the West Ham team he was playing was not good enough. As a result, the club fined the players and dropped them.[69]
Greaves was struggling with his fitness and his motivation. He felt he had become ajourneyman footballer and lost motivation as he believed that apart from Moore,Geoff Hurst,Billy Bonds andPop Robson, few of his teammates could play good football. Towards the end of his career with West Ham, Greaves began to drink more and more alcohol, often going straight from training inChadwell Heath to a pub inRomford, where he would remain untilclosing time. He later admitted that he was in the early stages of alcoholism.[70] His final game came on 1 May 1971 in a 1–0 home defeat toHuddersfield Town.[71] Greaves scored 13 goals in 40 games in all competitions for West Ham.[71]
Greaves's final season in the First Division took his goalscoring tally to a record 357 goals in the First Division. Together with the 9 goals at AC Milan, he had scored 366 goals in thetop five European leagues, a record that lasted until 2017 when it was surpassed byCristiano Ronaldo.[72]
After leaving West Ham, Greaves put on weight and did not attend a match as either a player or a spectator for two years.[73] Drinking formed a large part of his life and he became an alcoholic; at times, he was drinking 20 pints of lager during the day and consuming a bottle of vodka in the evening.[73] He later admitted that he was also regularly driving whilst drunk during this period.[74] While away from the game, he ran for election to theLondon Borough of Havering as aConservative Party candidate for the Hylands wardin 1974, narrowly missing out on election.[75] Seeking an answer to his alcoholism, Greaves decided to return to football at a lower level where he would not be required to be as fit as he had been whilst playing inthe Football League. He started playing for his local side,Brentwood,[76] and made his debut on 27 December 1975 in a 2–0 defeat toWitham Town.[77]
His return to football was successful enough that he signed forChelmsford City in theSouthern League for the1976–77 season, making his debut in a 2–2 draw againstMaidstone United on 25 September 1976, attracting a crowd of 2,030 toNew Writtle Street.[78] Appearing 38 times for Chelmsford, scoring 20 goals, in all competitions, Greaves enjoyed the club's foray into theAnglo-Italian Cup, calling it the "highlight" of his time there.[79][80] He was still struggling with alcoholism anddelirium tremens and sought out help fromAlcoholics Anonymous.[81] He was also hospitalised in the alcoholics' ward ofWarley Psychiatric Hospital.[82]
In August 1977, and still coping with alcoholism, Greaves made his debut forBarnet in a 3–2 win againstAtherstone Town.[83] Playing from midfield in1977–78, Greaves netted 25 goals (13 in the Southern League) and was their player of the season.[84] He chose to leave the Bees early in the1978–79 season to focus on his business interests and beating his alcoholism, despite managerBarry Fry's attempts to get him to stay atUnderhill.[85] Greaves went on to make several appearances for semi-professional sideWoodford Town before retiring.[84] By this time, he was sober and remained so for the rest of his life.[86]
| Goals for England | |||
| Player[87] | Goals | Matches | Goals/matches |
| Harry Kane* | 74 | 109 | 0.68 |
| Wayne Rooney | 53 | 120 | 0.44 |
| Bobby Charlton | 49 | 106 | 0.46 |
| Gary Lineker | 48 | 80 | 0.60 |
| Jimmy Greaves | 44 | 57 | 0.77 |
| * Harry Kane still active (9 September 2025) | |||
Greaves made his debut for theEngland under-23 team in a 6–2 win overBulgaria atStamford Bridge on 25 September 1957; he scored two goals,[2] and missed out on a hat-trick after failing to convert a penalty.[88]
Greaves won his firstEnglandcap on 17 May 1959 againstPeru at theEstadio Nacional, scoring England's only goal in a 4–1 defeat.[89] The tour of the American continents was not considered a success by the British media, as England also lost toBrazil andMexico, but Greaves mostly escaped criticism in the press as he was still a teenager and showed promise with his performances.[90] He scored consecutive hat-tricks on 8 October 1960 and 19 October, in victories atNorthern Ireland andLuxembourg.[91][92] On 15 April 1961, Greaves scored another hat-trick in a 9–3 victory overScotland atWembley and had a fourth goal disallowed for offside.[93]
He played in all four of England's games at the1962 FIFA World Cup in Chile, scoring one goal in the 3–1 victory overArgentina before playing in the quarter-final defeat toBrazil.[94] During the defeat to Brazil, a stray dog ran onto the pitch and evaded all of the players' efforts to catch it until Greaves got down on all fours to beckon the animal.[95] The Brazilian playerGarrincha thought the incident was so amusing that he took the dog home as a pet.[96]
On 20 November 1963, he scored four goals in an 8–3 win over Northern Ireland.[97] The following year, on 3 October, he scored another hat-trick against the same team[98] making him England's all-time top goalscorer with 35 goals. He scored four goals again on 29 June 1966, in a 6–1 friendly win overNorway, bringing his tally to 43 goals and, in doing so, ensured himself a starting place in the1966 FIFA World Cup.[99]
"I danced around the pitch with everyone else but even in this moment of triumph and great happiness, deep down I felt my sadness. Throughout my years as a professional footballer I had dreamed of playing in a World Cup Final. I had missed out on the match of a lifetime and it hurt."
At the World Cup he played all three group games againstUruguay,Mexico andFrance; however, in the win against France, midfielderJoseph Bonnel raked his studs down Greaves's shin, causing a wound that required 14 stitches and left a permanent scar.[101] His replacement for the quarter-final againstArgentina,Geoff Hurst, scored the only goal of the game and kept his place tothe final, where Hurst scored a hat-trick as England won the tournament.[89] Greaves was fit to play in the final, but managerAlf Ramsey opted against changing a winning team.[102] Only the 11 players on the pitch at the end of the 4–2 win overWest Germany received medals. Following aFootball Association-led campaign to persuadeFIFA to award medals to all the winners' squad members, Greaves was presented with hismedal byGordon Brown at a ceremony at10 Downing Street on 10 June 2009.[103] In November 2014, Greaves's medal was sold at auction for £44,000.[104]
Greaves played only three more times for England after the 1966 World Cup, scoring a single goal. His final cap came in a 1–0 win overAustria on 27 May 1967.[89] At the time, he was England's all-time top goalscorer but was succeeded the following year byBobby Charlton. Although Greaves was called up forUEFA Euro 1968, he remained an unused substitute throughout the tournament, as the team finished in third place. He retired from international football early the following year after telling Ramsey that he had no intention of becoming a bit-part player in the England squad.[105] In total, he scored 44 goals in 57 appearances for England.[89] He is in fifth place on the all-time list of England goalscorers, behindWayne Rooney, Charlton,Harry Kane andGary Lineker.[87] Greaves holdsthe record for most hat-tricks for England – six in all.[106]
Greaves was a prolific goalscorer and cited his relaxed attitude as the reason for his assured composure and confidence.[107][108] He also had great acceleration and pace,[109][110] as well as great positional skills,[111][112] excellent finishing,[108] and ability to exploit opportunities inside the penalty area; he was also a finedribbler.[113][114]
Greaves became a columnist atThe Sun newspaper in 1979.[115] He continued to write his column until 2009, then began working as a columnist forTheSunday People.[116] He worked as a pundit onStar Soccer from 1980 and later co-presentedThe Saturday Show before he was selected as a pundit forITV's coverage of the1982 FIFA World Cup.[117] From there he worked onWorld of Sport andOn the Ball, where he struck up a partnership withIan St John.[118]Greg Dyke also hired Greaves to work as a television reviewer and presenter onTV-am in what Dyke admitted was a way of "dumbing down" the programme to attract more viewers.[119] From October 1985 to April 1992 he and St. John presented a popular Saturday lunchtime football programme calledSaint and Greavsie.[120] He went on to work as a team captain onSporting Triangles, oppositeAndy Gray andEmlyn Hughes.[121] His television career came to an end as thePremier League was starting up, and he believed that his light-hearted approach to football was not considered serious enough for television bosses at the time.[122] Despite this, he continued as a pundit at Central Television until 1998.[123]
He released his autobiography,Greavsie, in 2003. Greaves also wrote numerous books in partnership with his lifelong friend, the journalist and authorNorman Giller.[124]
Greaves was of Irish descent through his grandparents.[125] He married Irene Barden atRomford register office on 26 March 1958,[126] and, though the pair went through a divorce process at the height of his alcoholism, it was never finalised and they reunited after three months apart.[127] The couple renewed their vows on 7 September 2017 inDanbury, Essex.[128]
They had five children: Jimmy Jr (who died before his first birthday in 1960), Lynn (born 1959), Mitzi (born 1962),Danny (born 1963) (who was a professional footballer withSouthend United) and Andrew (born 1965).[115][129][130]
Whilst playing forTottenham Hotspur, Greaves took out a £1,000 bank loan to start a packing business with his brother-in-law.[131] By the end of his playing career this company had an annual turnover of over £1 million.[131] He had several business interests, including a travel agency.[132] Greaves entered the1970 London to Mexico World Cup Rally. In his first-ever rally, alongside co-driverTony Fall, Greaves drove aFord Escort to a sixth-place finish out of the 96 entrants.[126][133]
Greaves underwent surgery on an artery in his neck following a mild stroke in February 2012.[134] After a full recovery, he experienced a severe stroke in May 2015 which left him unable to speak. He was placed in intensive care and, according to doctors, was expected to undergo a slow recovery.[135][136] He was discharged from hospital a month later, his health having "improved considerably" said his friend and agent, Terry Baker.[137] February 2016 saw him recovering slowly from his stroke with the use of a wheelchair after he had been told that he would never walk again.[138] Greaves was announced as aMember of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the2021 New Year Honours list, along with fellow 1966 World Cup squad winner,Ron Flowers, for their services to football. The two men were the last surviving England players from the 1966 Tournament to be honoured by QueenElizabeth II.[139][140]
Greaves died at his home inLittle Baddow on 19 September 2021, aged 81.[141][142] As his death date coincided with thePremier League fixture between Tottenham and Chelsea, the two main clubs he played for in his career, a minute of applause was held to honour his memory.[143] His funeral was held on 22 October atChelmsford Crematorium.[144]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League Cup[b] | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| London XI | 1955–58 | — | — | — | 2[c] | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||||
| Chelsea | 1957–58 | First Division | 35 | 22 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 37 | 22 | ||
| 1958–59 | First Division | 42 | 32 | 2 | 2 | — | 3[c] | 3 | 47 | 37 | ||
| 1959–60 | First Division | 40 | 29 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 42 | 30 | |||
| 1960–61 | First Division | 40 | 41 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | — | 43 | 43 | ||
| Total | 157 | 124 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 169 | 132 | ||
| AC Milan | 1961–62 | Serie A | 10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | — | 2[c] | 0 | 13 | 9 | |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 1961–62 | First Division | 22 | 21 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 31 | 30 |
| 1962–63 | First Division | 41 | 37 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7[d] | 7 | 49 | 44 | |
| 1963–64 | First Division | 41 | 35 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[e] | 1 | 45 | 36 | |
| 1964–65 | First Division | 41 | 29 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 35 | |
| 1965–66 | First Division | 29 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 16 | |
| 1966–67 | First Division | 38 | 25 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 31 | |
| 1967–68 | First Division | 39 | 23 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5[f] | 3 | 48 | 29 | |
| 1968–69 | First Division | 42 | 27 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 52 | 36 | |
| 1969–70 | First Division | 28 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 11 | |
| Total | 321 | 220 | 36 | 32 | 8 | 5 | 16 | 11 | 381 | 268 | ||
| West Ham United | 1969–70 | First Division | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4 |
| 1970–71 | First Division | 32 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 9 | |
| Total | 38 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 13 | ||
| Brentwood Town | 1975–76 | Essex Senior League | ||||||||||
| Chelmsford City | 1976–77 | Southern League Premier Division | 25 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 7 | 38 | 20 |
| Barnet | 1977–78 | Southern League Premier Division | 30 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1[g] | 1 | 36 | 18 |
| 1978–79 | Southern League Premier Division | 21 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1[g] | 1 | 28 | 7 | |
| Total | 51 | 16 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 64 | 25 | ||
| Woodford Town | 1979–80 | Athenian League | ||||||||||
| Career total | 602 | 395 | 56 | 42 | 11 | 7 | 38 | 25 | 707 | 469 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 1959 | 5 | 2 |
| 1960 | 6 | 9 | |
| 1961 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1962 | 10 | 6 | |
| 1963 | 9 | 8 | |
| 1964 | 8 | 6 | |
| 1965 | 5 | 2 | |
| 1966 | 7 | 5 | |
| 1967 | 3 | 1 | |
| Total | 57 | 44 | |
England's goal tally listed first.
AC Milan
Tottenham Hotspur
England
Individual
Greaves is Tottenham's record goalscorer, with 266 in 379 games for the north London club. He joined Tottenham from AC Milan, and before that, made his name at Chelsea, where he scored 132 goals, making him, at the time, the club's second-highest goalscorer.
Media related toJimmy Greaves at Wikimedia Commons
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