Jimmy Greaves, Tottenham‘s record-scorer and a member of the squad that won the 1966 World Cup, has passed away at the age of 81.
During his football career, Mr Greaves scored 382 times in 579 club appearances.
To this day, he is also fourth on England‘s all-time top goalscorer list having scored 44 times in just 57 international appearances. He played his final game for the team in 1967.
A statement from Tottenham Hotspur read: “We are extremely saddened to learn of the passing of the great Jimmy Greaves, not just Tottenham Hotspur’s record goalscorer but the finest marksman this country has ever seen.
“Jimmy passed away at home in the early hours of this morning, Sunday 19 September.”
Born in 1940 in Manor Park, east London, the striker began his career at Chelsea in 1957. During his four year tenure at the club, he scored 132 times in 169 matches.
After a brief stint at A.C. Milan, he moved to Tottenham at the age of 21 for a fee of £99,999.
He became the club’s all-time record goalscorer with 266 goals in 379 appearances.
Though he was a key player in the 1966 World Cup team, an injury in the last group game saw him lose his place to Geoff Hurst ahead of England’s 4-2 victory over West Germany.
Disappointed at missing out on a winner’s medal and deeply affected by the death of his four-month-old son, Jimmy Greaves Jnr in 1961, Mr Greaves struggled with alcoholism for several years until he quit drinking in 1978.
“There is no tried and tested way of surviving alcoholism. You have to find your own path. You have to wake up one morning, shaking like a leaf and vomiting and realise that you don’t like the world you are living in and that the world doesn’t like you much, either,” he wrote in his 2003 autobiography.
After spells at West Ham and then non-league clubs, Mr Greaves retired from football in 1980, going on to work as a TV pundit.
In 2009, he was presented with a World Cup winner’s medal following a campaign by fans. He later sold the medal at Sotheby’s auction house for £44,000.
Mr Greaves endured health problems including a minor stroke in 1992 and a more serious stroke in 2015 which left him in a wheelchair.
He is survived by wife Irene and their four children.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3lBjydP
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