Jimmy Greaves was one of the most naturally gifted strikers; the all time leading goalscorer in top-flight English football and was Tottenham Hotspur's record goalscorer. He was the youngest player to reach the 100-goal mark at just 20 years and 290 days and his record of finishing as top marksman in six separate seasons has never been matched. For England Greaves scored an incredible 44 times in just 57 matches.
Greaves began at Chelsea, scoring on his debut in 1957 as he went on to do for every team he played for. He finished as top league goalscorer twice whilst at Chelsea in 1959 and 1961 and his 41 league goals in the 1960-61 season remains a club record.
After a brief stint with AC Milan, where he scored nine times in 12 matches, Spurs' legendary boss Bill Nicholson signed him for Tottenham Hotspur for £99,999. The unusual fee was intended to relieve Greaves of the pressure of being the first £100,000 player.
Greaves enjoyed a spectacularly successful career at Spurs, setting a club record of 266 goals in only 379 matches. It is a record that still stands. He inspired Spurs to two FA Cup victories and a UEFA Cup Winners Cup win. His two goals against Atletico Madrid in that final helped Spurs to a 5-1 victory that meant they were the first club to bring a European trophy back to British shores.
Greaves left Spurs for West Ham in 1970, quitting professional football the following year having bagged 357 goals in 516 games.
Greaves also enjoyed a successful career at international level and remains the third highest goalscorer for England behind Bobby Charlton and Gary Lineker. His goals came at a much faster rate, however, and he also holds the record for most England hat-tricks, scoring six.
His greatest disappointment was missing out on the 1966 World Cup final, when England beat West Germany by four goals to two. He started the tournament as first choice, but suffered a leg injury during a game against France and had to be replaced. His replacement, Geoff Hurst, scored the winner in the quarter final against Argentina and kept his place all the way to the final, famously scoring a hat-trick as England won the tournament. Greaves played only three more times for England after the 1966 World Cup, scoring a single goal.
