Following the recent passing of former Chelsea, AC Milan, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham and England striker Jimmy Greaves at the age of 81, we will now look back at when he appeared at Plainmoor for Spurs against Torquay United.
Throughout their history, Torquay United have never quite managed to defeat a top-flight side in the FA Cup.
One of the few occasions they came close to doing so came in the third round in 1965 when they famously drew 3-3 with Tottenham Hotspur at Plainmoor.
After knocking out Canterbury and Colchester United in the first and second rounds respectively, United were rewarded with a plumb tie at home to Spurs. Only four years earlier, the North London Giants who had become the first team to the League and FA Cup ‘double’ in the 20th century four years earlier.
Managed by the legendary Bill Nicholson, Spurs featured a number of household names in their line-up, including England internationals Jimmy Greaves, Alan Mullery and Maurice Norman. They could also call upon Welsh winger Cliff Jones, who – as well as featuring in their 1961 double winning side -had also been part of the Wales side that reached the Quarter Finals of the 1958 World Cup, and future United manager Cyril Knowles.
A few years earlier, Nicholson had paid AC Milan £99,999 to bring Greaves back to England for what was then a British record transfer fee.
Cup fever gripped South Devon and the tie also attracted attention from further afield, as Fleet Street journalists Desmond Hackett – of the Daily Express - and Danny Blanchflower, captain of the Spurs double winning side four years previous, were amongst the press pack dispatched to Plainmoor to cover the tie.
A crowd of over 20,000 poured into Plainmoor to watch the encounter, which saw the Torquay side, which had cost £40,000 to assemble, face a Spurs team that had cost £400,000.
Some fans were so desperate to get a view of the game, they even climbed the floodlight pylon to get a glimpse of the action.
As with many top-flight versus lower league cup meetings, the competition proved to be a great leveller and it looked likely at one stage as though a giant-killing act might be on the cards. United were awarded a penalty on 43 minutes, when Robins Stubbs was felled by Knowles. Bill Atkinson stepped to take the resultant spot-kick, which he drilled past Spurs’ keeper Billy Brown to give United the lead.
The visitors then hit back immediately when Scotland international Alan Gilzean headed home a cross from skipper Ron Henry to equalise.
Spurs before they edged ahead through an effort from Maurice Norman before Gilzean then struck again to complete a brace, which gave the visitors a commanding 3-1 lead.
However, with five minutes remaining, Stubbs netted twice to bring United level in the most dramatic of circumstances. His first effort was a deflected effort and his second went in off his leg as he looked to block a clearance.
His leveller proved to be the catalyst for a spontaneous pitch invasion and, after play resumed, Torquay came agonisingly close to scoring a winner as Stubbs’ strike partner, Tommy Northcott, rattled a header against the bar just before the final whistle was blown.
In the replay, there was to be no fairy tale ending for United as Spurs resoundingly won 5-1 - with Greaves scoring a hat-trick – in front of over 55,000 spectators.
United’s cup exploits ultimately proved to be the last hurrah of the long reign of United manager Eric Webber who replaced at the end of the campaign, after 14 years in charge.
His replacement, Frank O’Farrell, led United to promotion in his first full season in charge – the 1965-66 campaign – with many of the players who had held Spurs to that famous draw being part of the side who achieved it.
United: Adlington; Smith, Allen, Benson, Bettany, Wolstenholme, Atkinson, Cox, Stubbs, Northcott, Somers
Spurs: Brown, Knowles, Henry, Mullery, Norman, Marchi, Robertson, Greaves, Gilzean, Jones, Dyson
A full account of this game and many others can be found in Torquay United: A History in 50 Matches, which is available from https://torquayunitedahistoryin50.bigcartel.com/product/torquay-united-a-history-in-50-matches
