Gordon Banks

This article is about the English international footballer. For other people, see Gordon Banks (disambiguation).

Gordon Banks
OBE
Banks in 2007
Personal information
Full name Gordon Banks
Date of birth (1937-12-30)30 December 1937
Place of birth Sheffield, England
Date of death 12 February 2019(2019-02-12) (aged 81)
Place of death Madeley, Staffordshire, England
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[1][2][3]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Youth career
1953 Millspaugh
1953 Rawmarsh Welfare
1953 Millspaugh
1953–1958 Chesterfield
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1958–1959 Chesterfield 23 (0)
1959–1967 Leicester City 293 (0)
1967–1973 Stoke City 194 (0)
1967 → Cleveland Stokers (loan) 7 (0)
1971 → Hellenic (loan) 3 (0)
1977–1978 Fort Lauderdale Strikers 37 (0)
1977 → St Patrick's Athletic (loan) 1 (0)
Total 558 (0)
International career
1961 England U23 2 (0)
1963–1972 England 73 (0)
Managerial career
1979–1980 Telford United
Medal record
Representing  England
FIFA World Cup
Winner 1966
UEFA European Championship
Third place 1968
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Gordon Banks OBE (30 December 1937 – 12 February 2019) was an English professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time,[4] he made 679 appearances during a 20-year professional career, and won 73 caps for England, highlighted by starting every game of the nation's 1966 World Cup victory.

Banks joined Chesterfield in March 1953 and played for their youth team in the 1956 FA Youth Cup final. He made his first-team debut in November 1958 and was sold to Leicester City for £7,000 in July 1959. He played in four cup finals for the club, as they were beaten in the 1961 and 1963 FA Cup finals before winning the League Cup in 1964 and finishing as finalists in 1965. Despite this success and his World Cup win in 1966, Banks was dropped by Leicester and sold on to Stoke City for £50,000 in April 1967. In the 1970 World Cup,[5][6][7] he made one of the game's greatest saves to prevent a Pelé goal, but was absent due to illness as England were beaten by West Germany in the quarter-finals.

Banks was Stoke City's goalkeeper in the 1972 League Cup win, the club's only major honour. He was still Stoke's and England's number one when a car crash in October 1972 cost him both the sight in his right eye and, eventually, his professional career. He played two last seasons in the United States for the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in 1977 and 1978, and despite only having the vision in one eye, was NASL Goalkeeper of the Year in 1977 after posting the best defensive record in the league. He briefly entered management with Telford United but left the game in December 1980.

Banks was named FWA Footballer of the Year in 1972 and was named FIFA Goalkeeper of the Year on six occasions. The IFFHS named Banks the second-best goalkeeper of the 20th century, after Lev Yashin.[8]

  1. ^ Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Gordon Banks (Player)". www.national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  2. ^ "Gordon Banks". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  3. ^ "Gordon Banks – Player Profile – Football". Eurosport. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  4. ^ "Gordon Banks | National Football Museum Hall of Fame profile". Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference ifhof was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference pelgod was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference keepstun was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Stokkermans, Karel. "IFFHS' Century Elections". RSSSF. Retrieved 18 May 2013.