Jimmy Greaves
English footballer
Who was Jimmy Greaves?
James Peter Greaves (20 February 1940 – 19 September 2021) was an English professional footballer who played as a forward and is regarded as one of the greatest strikers of all time and one of England's best ever players. Greaves is the highest goalscorer in the history of English top-flight football with 357 goals. 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. His stay in Italy was unsuccessful and he returned to England with Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of £99,999 in December 1961.
Historical significance
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. 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 scored 124 First Division goals in just four seasons before being sold to Italian club AC Milan for £80,000 in April 1961.
