2004, ISBN: 9781156958612

Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: … More...

Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Gordon Banks, OBE (born 30 December 1937) is a retired English footballer, elected in a poll by the IFFHS as the second best goalkeeper of the 20th Century after Lev Yashin (1) and before Dino Zoff (3). Banks was a member of the England national team that won the 1966 World Cup. Banks was named by Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Gordon Banks, OBE (born 30 December 1937) is a retired English footballer, elected in a poll by the IFFHS as the second best goalkeeper of the 20th Century after Lev Yashin (1) and before Dino Zoff (3). Banks was a member of the England national team that won the 1966 World Cup. Banks was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004. His consistent performances in goal led to the re-wording of a common English idiom used in everyday speech to "Safe as the Banks of England." Banks, born in Sheffield was a careful student of goalkeepers during childhood. Banks played in local colliery football as a boy and was offered an apprenticeship by Chesterfield after initially going to work as a coal bagger and then as a bricklayer on leaving school. After performances in the youth and A teams gained him promotion to the reserves, Banks was posted to Germany with the Royal Signals on National service, winning the Rhine Cup with his regimental team. On his return he was offered a full-time contract by the Chesterfield manager, Teddy Davison. He reached the two-legged final of the FA Youth Cup with Chesterfield in 1956, losing 43 on aggregate to the Manchester United team of the famous Busby Babes. He made his debut for the first team at home in November 1958 against Colchester United in the newly formed Third Division. He played just 23 games for the club before First Division Leicester City offered Chesterfield £7,000 in the summer of 1959. Banks' career started to rise rapidly from this point. After four games for the reserves, he replaced the injured Dave McLaren for his Leicester City debut in a 1-1 draw against Blackpool on 9 September 1959 and retained his place for the 2-0 defeat against Newcastle 3 days later. With. More: Books, , People-From-Madeley-Staffordshire~~Books-LLC, , , , , , , , , , General Books LLC<