LONDON (AP) — For all the goals scored — including a record 266 for Tottenham — it was the game Jimmy Greaves missed out on that was an enduring disappointment for one of England’s greatest strikers.
Sustaining a leg injury that required 14 stiches in the final group stage match at the 1966 World Cup, Greaves lost his place to Geoff Hurst. In an era before substitutes were allowed, there was no way back into the lineup and it was Hurst’s hat trick in the final that won England’s only title.
Hurst remembered Greaves as “one of the truly great goal scorers” after he died on Sunday at the age of 81. There was a minute’s applause before Tottenham played in the Premier League against Chelsea, the club where Greaves started his career.
“It has been a difficult time for him,” Hurst said. “He can now rest in peace.”
Greaves suffered a minor stroke in 2012 and his family thought he had made a full recovery until he was admitted to intensive care after a more severe stroke in May 2015.
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