Greavsie versus The Ice Kings

[kushiro]

Old footage of Spurs v Leicester, unseen for 60 years, has just been posted online. It's November 3rd 1962, the clocks have just gone back, and the winter that saw the birth of the legendary Leicester Ice Kings was just beginning. 

 

Leicester are 4th behind leaders Spurs, who are on a crazy scoring spree - in the last 10 days they'd beaten Man U 6-2, Leyton Orient 5-1 and Rangers 5-2 (in the Cup Winners Cup). Leicester must have been confident though, having won on their previous two trips to White Hart Lane, including the 3-2 win against Spurs' double winners.

 

The match turns on an extremely dodgy penalty given when Spurs' Les Allen (the man who nobbled Len Chalmers in the 1961 Cup Final) goes down very easily. We then get some glimpses of the Ice Kings quality, but the show is stolen by another legend - Jimmy Greaves. 

 

When Greaves died recently, I read an obituary by Richard Williams and thought it might have been the best obituary of a footballer I'd ever read. Here's a sample: 

 

Greaves was a footballer who could appear to be entirely aloof from the proceedings until the moment, perhaps not long before the final whistle, when he flickered into life and settled the result with a single stroke of genius. The effect was at its most vivid on midwinter Saturday afternoons during his time in the white shirt of Tottenham Hotspur, when he would sprint into the penalty area like a streak of light amid the gloom.

 

No one ever came up with a better phrase to describe Greaves' dominant characteristic than the late football writer John Moynihan, after watching Tottenham play Slovan Bratislava in the European Cup Winners’ Cup on a spring night in 1963. Greaves scored with what Moynihan described as “devastating nonchalance”. The magnificently patrician Geoffrey Green of the Times came close, however, observing on another occasion that when Greaves slipped the ball into goal, “it was like someone closing the door of a Rolls-Royce”.

 

It was Greaves’ habit to score his goals in a way that almost took the drama out of the event. The path of his scoring shot would be the shortest route from his foot to a part of the net beyond the goalkeeper’s reach.

 

Well, it's hard to imagine that there is any footage that better exemplifies those comments than this match against Leicester.

 

Here it is. Swallow your anti-Spurs instincts for a while and enjoy the game in the knowledge that we were about to enter the most famous few months in our history (pre-2016, anyway).

 

Spurs v Leicester City 1962-3 - YouTube

 

 

Edited 17 January 2022 by kushiro

[Spudulike]

8 hours ago, kushiro said:

Old footage of Spurs v Leicester, unseen for 60 years, has just been posted online. It's November 3rd 1962, the clocks have just gone back, and the winter that saw the birth of the legendary Leicester Ice Kings was just beginning. 

 

Leicester are 4th behind leaders Spurs, who are on a crazy scoring spree - in the last 10 days they'd beaten Man U 6-2, Leyton Orient 5-1 and Rangers 5-2 (in the Cup Winners Cup). Leicester must have been confident though, having won on their previous two trips to White Hart Lane, including the 3-2 win against Spurs' double winners.

 

The match turns on an extremely dodgy penalty given when Spurs' Les Allen (the man who nobbled Len Chalmers in the 1961 Cup Final) goes down very easily. We then get some glimpses of the Ice Kings quality, but the show is stolen by another legend - Jimmy Greaves. 

 

When Greaves died recently, I read an obituary by Richard Williams and thought it might have been the best obituary of a footballer I'd ever read. Here's a sample: 

 

Greaves was a footballer who could appear to be entirely aloof from the proceedings until the moment, perhaps not long before the final whistle, when he flickered into life and settled the result with a single stroke of genius. The effect was at its most vivid on midwinter Saturday afternoons during his time in the white shirt of Tottenham Hotspur, when he would sprint into the penalty area like a streak of light amid the gloom.

 

No one ever came up with a better phrase to describe Greaves' dominant characteristic than the late football writer John Moynihan, after watching Tottenham play Slovan Bratislava in the European Cup Winners’ Cup on a spring night in 1963. Greaves scored with what Moynihan described as “devastating nonchalance”. The magnificently patrician Geoffrey Green of the Times came close, however, observing on another occasion that when Greaves slipped the ball into goal, “it was like someone closing the door of a Rolls-Royce”.

 

It was Greaves’ habit to score his goals in a way that almost took the drama out of the event. The path of his scoring shot would be the shortest route from his foot to a part of the net beyond the goalkeeper’s reach.

 

Well, it's hard to imagine that there is any footage that better exemplifies those comments than this match against Leicester.

 

Here it is. Swallow your anti-Spurs instincts for a while and enjoy the game in the knowledge that we were about to enter the most famous few months in our history (pre-2016, anyway).

 

Spurs v Leicester City 1962-3 - YouTube

 

 

So players dived even in those days? Did Banks really have a problem with high crosses or did lazy journalism exist even then? As for the player that looked like he'd had a brain operation 

[Foxdiamond]

9 hours ago, kushiro said:

Old footage of Spurs v Leicester, unseen for 60 years, has just been posted online. It's November 3rd 1962, the clocks have just gone back, and the winter that saw the birth of the legendary Leicester Ice Kings was just beginning. 

 

Leicester are 4th behind leaders Spurs, who are on a crazy scoring spree - in the last 10 days they'd beaten Man U 6-2, Leyton Orient 5-1 and Rangers 5-2 (in the Cup Winners Cup). Leicester must have been confident though, having won on their previous two trips to White Hart Lane, including the 3-2 win against Spurs' double winners.

 

The match turns on an extremely dodgy penalty given when Spurs' Les Allen (the man who nobbled Len Chalmers in the 1961 Cup Final) goes down very easily. We then get some glimpses of the Ice Kings quality, but the show is stolen by another legend - Jimmy Greaves. 

 

When Greaves died recently, I read an obituary by Richard Williams and thought it might have been the best obituary of a footballer I'd ever read. Here's a sample: 

 

Greaves was a footballer who could appear to be entirely aloof from the proceedings until the moment, perhaps not long before the final whistle, when he flickered into life and settled the result with a single stroke of genius. The effect was at its most vivid on midwinter Saturday afternoons during his time in the white shirt of Tottenham Hotspur, when he would sprint into the penalty area like a streak of light amid the gloom.

 

No one ever came up with a better phrase to describe Greaves' dominant characteristic than the late football writer John Moynihan, after watching Tottenham play Slovan Bratislava in the European Cup Winners’ Cup on a spring night in 1963. Greaves scored with what Moynihan described as “devastating nonchalance”. The magnificently patrician Geoffrey Green of the Times came close, however, observing on another occasion that when Greaves slipped the ball into goal, “it was like someone closing the door of a Rolls-Royce”.

 

It was Greaves’ habit to score his goals in a way that almost took the drama out of the event. The path of his scoring shot would be the shortest route from his foot to a part of the net beyond the goalkeeper’s reach.

 

Well, it's hard to imagine that there is any footage that better exemplifies those comments than this match against Leicester.

 

Here it is. Swallow your anti-Spurs instincts for a while and enjoy the game in the knowledge that we were about to enter the most famous few months in our history (pre-2016, anyway).

 

Spurs v Leicester City 1962-3 - YouTube

I was lucky to see Greaves live and everything  said is true. Wonderful player. 

It was unthinkable England would win World Cup without him but of course things worked out differently 

 

[Spudulike]

8 minutes ago, Foxdiamond said:

 

I almost got to see him play. It was meant to be my Christmas present to be taken to see City play Tottenham on, I think, boxing day 1968? I can still remember turning the corner into Brazil Street and seeing the crowd walking back towards us. The match was called off due to a frozen pitch. Spoiled my Christmas. 

[Foxdiamond]

23 minutes ago, Spudulike said:

I almost got to see him play. It was meant to be my Christmas present to be taken to see City play Tottenham on, I think, boxing day 1968? I can still remember turning the corner into Brazil Street and seeing the crowd walking back towards us. The match was called off due to a frozen pitch. Spoiled my Christmas. 

I bet. I must admit I used to bang on to my younger workmates that I saw Greaves, Charlton, Best etc in their pomp.

[kushiro]

22 minutes ago, Spudulike said:

I almost got to see him play. It was meant to be my Christmas present to be taken to see City play Tottenham on, I think, boxing day 1968? I can still remember turning the corner into Brazil Street and seeing the crowd walking back towards us. The match was called off due to a frozen pitch. Spoiled my Christmas. 

Love those little details. Had you been to a match before that or was it your first?

 

Your memory is correct. This is from Dec 27th 1968:

 

[davieG]

I seem to remember seeing him score direct from a corner for Spurs at WHL would have been the early 60s, I  have no idea whether it was against Leicester as I used to go to London as a youngster with my brother to visit relatives and we used to try to get to a few games mostly Chelsea where i was born but left when I was very young. 

[enmac]

23 minutes ago, davieG said:

I seem to remember seeing him score direct from a corner for Spurs at WHL would have been the early 60s, I  have no idea whether it was against Leicester as I used to go to London as a youngster with my brother to visit relatives and we used to try to get to a few games mostly Chelsea where i was born but left when I was very young. 

I've seen the goal on YouTube, I'm sure. Probably from this guy:

https://youtube.com/channel/UCJFRRzswIV_2wzIukOKqaNQ

[Spudulike]

2 hours ago, kushiro said:

Love those little details. Had you been to a match before that or was it your first?

 

Your memory is correct. This is from Dec 27th 1968:

 

Thanks for that. Shame that I didn't get a programme as I think they are quite collectable from that match.

 

I had been to boxing day matches twice before (1965 & 1966) both Fulham. My dad was a referee in the Leicestershire senior league so he wasn't able to take me on Saturdays and it was deemed that I was too young for midweek night matches. The Boxing Day matches were my big Christmas treat until he did his knee forcing him to hang up his whistle (which I still have) and we became regulars from 1970-71 onwards. I'm still a STH now. 

[DANGEROUS TIGER]

Oh for those halycon days, when the game was much tougher, and the goalie could be barged.; muddy pitches, and leather football. (sigh). Oh yes , and  no kissing and cuddling after a goal has been scored

[davieG]

1 hour ago, enmac said:

I've seen the goal on YouTube, I'm sure. Probably from this guy:

https://youtube.com/channel/UCJFRRzswIV_2wzIukOKqaNQ

which one?

[enmac]

7 minutes ago, davieG said:

which one?

I've not checked but from the comments I think this is the one. 

[davieG]

2 minutes ago, enmac said:

I've not checked but from the comments I think this is the one. 

Sorry to be a pain but any clue as to when in the 45mins?

[Out Foxed]

31 minutes ago, DANGEROUS TIGER said:

no kissing and cuddling after a goal has been scored

haha

[Out Foxed]

wow that control from the ball down the line and pass inside by gibson was class

 

https://youtu.be/X1CcW6WAQW4?t=312

[enmac]

32 minutes ago, davieG said:

Sorry to be a pain but any clue as to when in the 45mins?

 

• Jimmy Greaves 43'
• Jimmy Greaves 54'  This one I think. 

[davieG]

1 hour ago, enmac said:

 

• Jimmy Greaves 43'
• Jimmy Greaves 54'  This one I think. 

From the comments it does seem to be that one but I can't see where you get those times from as it just seems to be 45 minutes of the game.

 

Just found it 22mins of the video, I was at the opposite end of the goal line.

 

Cheers glad it wasn't false memory.

[Finnaldo]

For the love of god don’t let weller54 see this ffs

[enmac]

1 hour ago, davieG said:

From the comments it does seem to be that one but I can't see where you get those times from as it just seems to be 45 minutes of the game.

 

Just found it 22mins of the video, I was at the opposite end of the goal line.

 

Cheers glad it wasn't false memory.

Sorry. I quoted actual match times. 

[davieG]

35 minutes ago, enmac said:

Sorry. I quoted actual match times. 

My problem not yours.

[Foxdiamond]

Jimmy used to sort of glide across the pitch with close control of the ball. Scored too many against us but hey ho. To think he scored on all his debuts for Chelsea, AC, Spurs, West Ham and England. My favourite player not to have played for Leicester. 

[BoyJones]

2 hours ago, Foxdiamond said:

Jimmy used to sort of glide across the pitch with close control of the ball. Scored too many against us but hey ho. To think he scored on all his debuts for Chelsea, AC, Spurs, West Ham and England. My favourite player not to have played for Leicester. 

My hero in the 60’s. Even now I don’t think I’ve seen such a natural goal scorer. And a real gent too.

 

In March 63, we played them at home and drew 2-2. However, Greaves had a shot at the Kop end smack on 45 minutes. The ball flew in the corner of the net but the ref blew for half time as he kicked it and disallowed the goal. Greaves just walked off accepting the decision. Banks had no chance of saving it. 

[Foxdiamond]

56 minutes ago, BoyJones said:

My hero in the 60’s. Even now I don’t think I’ve seen such a natural goal scorer. And a real gent too.

 

In March 63, we played them at home and drew 2-2. However, Greaves had a shot at the Kop end smack on 45 minutes. The ball flew in the corner of the net but the ref blew for half time as he kicked it and disallowed the goal. Greaves just walked off accepting the decision. Banks had no chance of saving it. 

Thanks for this. I recall this mentioned in Of Fossils and Foxes  Do you remember the Brazil goal chalked off by Clive Thomas as he also blew for HT 

[kushiro]

3 hours ago, BoyJones said:

In March 63, we played them at home and drew 2-2. However, Greaves had a shot at the Kop end smack on 45 minutes. The ball flew in the corner of the net but the ref blew for half time as he kicked it and disallowed the goal. Greaves just walked off accepting the decision. Banks had no chance of saving it. 

 

2 hours ago, Foxdiamond said:

Thanks for this. I recall this mentioned in Of Fossils and Foxes  

 

Here's the Sunday Mirror from March 24th 1963 that mentions the incident:

 

 

Here it is blown up. I hope it's readable:

 

[Foxdiamond]

8 hours ago, kushiro said:

 

 

Here's the Sunday Mirror from March 24th 1963 that mentions the incident:

 

 

Here it is blown up. I hope it's readable:

 

Hi  Cheers for this