Jimmy Greaves: Career and best goals of Tottenham, Chelsea and World Cup England striker - after death at 81

England World Cup winner and Tottenham Hotspur legend Jimmy Greaves has died at the age of 81.

His club playing career is best remembered for his time with Tottenham Hotspur where he is the club’s all time top goalscorer, but the striker also represented West Ham United and Chelsea.

At international level, he won the 1966 FIFA World Cup with England.

Greaves was born in Manor Park, London on February 20, 1940 and sadly died on September 19, 2021.

How many goals did Jimmy Greaves score for Tottenham Hotspur?

Playing for Tottenham between 1961 and 1970, Jimmy Greaves scored 269 goals in 379 matches.

He is the club’s all time top scorer with Bobby Smith in second on 176 goals and current England star Harry Kane in third.

Who did Jimmy Greaves play for?

While he is most remembered for his time with Spurs, Greaves also played for Chelsea and West Ham United.

He began his career with Chelsea in 1957 before leaving in 1961 to spend a season with in Italy with AC Milan.

He then signed for Tottenham where he spent nine years before moving to West Ham in 1970.

Later in his career, Greaves also had spells with Brentwood, Chelmsford City, Barnet and Woodford Town.

Did Jimmy Greaves play in the 1966 World Cup final?

Jimmy Greaves was part of the England squad which won the 1966 World Cup but did not play in the final.

The striker was England’s all time top goal scorer at the time of the tournament and played in all three group games against Uruguay, Mexico and France.

However, he was on the end of a tough challenge by France’s Joseph Bonnel which required 14 stitches on his shin.

Geoff Hurst replaced Greaves in the squad for the quarter-finals and, despite being fit for the final, manager Alf Ramsey stuck with Hurst who went on to score a hat-trick in the 4-2 win over West Germany.

Jimmy Greaves television career - Saint and Greavsie

From 1985 to 1992, Jimmy Greaves stared alongside fellow former footballer Ian St John in “Saint and Greavsie” on ITV.

The pair would discuss the biggest talking points of the day’s football action over a 30 minute slot.

The show came to an end when ITV lost the rights to broadcast top tier English football in 1992.

Greaves also worked on a number of other sport programmes for ITV, including Sporting Triangles.

Jimmy Greaves suffered a stroke in 2015 which left him wheelchair bound and requiring care.

Greaves death was announced on September 19, 2021.