I remember bumping into Jimmy Greaves in Romford in October 1965. I was out with my daughter Claire in her pushchair when I walked past a tobacco shop and there was Jimmy. I thought he was an incredible striker and so I had to wheel Claire into the tobacconist so that I could talk to him. I was only 22 months younger than him but, at 25, he was already the great Jimmy Greaves.
There was a gulf between us then. Jimmy was big time and I was just this kid coming through. He had established himself years before I did. Jimmy made his debut for Chelsea in 1957 when he was 17, and he had played for Milan and since moved to Spurs. He had made his England debut in 1959 and I had yet to play international football when I saw him in that little tobacco shop.
Jimmy was great, and so friendly, and while he was buying his cigars he kept chatting away to me. I was so engrossed in our conversation that after we said goodbye, as I walked down Romford High Street, I suddenly realised I was no longer pushing Claire. I had left her in the tobacconist! I raced back and found her safe and sound. That gives you an insight into the spell Jimmy cast back then.
I took Jimmy’s place as England striker in the World Cup quarter-finals against Argentina eight months later. He had been injured in the final group game against France; I scored the only goal of a niggly match. In the semi-final against Portugal I set up the second of the two goals Bobby Charlton scored and Alf Ramsey then stuck with me for the final against West Germany; I scored a hat-trick and England won the World Cup.
That twist of fate hurt Jimmy but everyone should know how special he was as a player. When we were both teenagers the legend of Jimmy Greaves in the Essex school leagues was secure. Martin Peters, my great friend and our England teammate in 1966, always marvelled over the day Jimmy played against his school. Jimmy scored 11 goals in a 13-0 hammering and Martin, who was on the touchline, told me it was the greatest individual display he ever saw.
Jimmy, being the laconic comic, was like Muhammad Ali, who would always tell his opponents the exact round in which he would knock them out. Jimmy used to turn up at games and tell people how many he would score. People tend to talk about his time at Spurs as Jimmy being at the height of his career. He played 379 games for them and scored 266 goals. In internationals he scored 44 goals in 57 games – which is still the best ratio for an England striker. But he was actually at his best for Chelsea. In 1956-57, as a youth player, he scored 114 goals in that one season. His stats as a first-team striker at Chelsea were also stunning: 132 goals in 169 games.
Soon after Jimmy and I met in the tobacconist in 1965 he caught hepatitis. He got himself razor-sharp fit again for the World Cup but his luck ran out. If he hadn’t been injured Alf would have kept Jimmy in – there is no way in the world he would have changed a winning team with Jimmy Greaves leading the line. Jimmy and I never discussed what happened, but as Jimmy said in his book, after the final he couldn’t wait to get away. He missed most of the celebrations and left the dinner straight away. You couldn’t blame him.
I can only guess how much the disappointment scarred him. Many former footballers turn to alcohol, but I can’t be sure his life went down that path just because of 1966. So it was lovely to see him have a second life on television in the 1980s, when he was so loved on the Saint and Greavsie show.
We didn’t spend a great deal of time together after football but I did appear on some of his theatre tours and it was enjoyable sharing a stage with him because he was such a funny guy. When I make appearances now I still use a couple of Jimmy’s stories. In one of his early games under Alf Ramsey, England weren’t playing very well. At half-time they were all expecting to get told off, but Alf came into the dressing room and got distracted when he saw Jimmy smoking. Instead of giving them all a rollicking he just said: “Jimmy, put your fag out.” That was Jimmy.
When Jimmy passed away in September I was obviously sad. Crikey, we go back, Jimmy and I, from meeting as youngsters in Romford and then playing together for England and West Ham. To have two huge gifts – as a striker and an entertainer with a wonderful sense of humour – made him exceptional. He had his share of problems, like we all do, but Jimmy Greaves was a lovely guy and he lived a fantastic life.
