Remembering Gordon Banks: An English Football Legend

Craig ChristopherApr 15, 2009

In celebration of Stoke City looking almost certain to avoid relegation in their first year out of the wilderness (the highlight of an otherwise forgettable year), I thought it might be nice to remember back to The Potter’s heyday and celebrate one of English football’s all-time greats.

It was one of those passages of perfect football that, once seen, is never forgotten. As with so many similar examples, it involved Brazil and two of their greats, Jairzinho and Pele. This time, however, it had an ending that no one expected.

It was June 7, 1970 when Brazil met England in the group stage of the Mexico World Cup finals. A sensational through-ball from Carlos Alberto allowed Jairzinho to leave England’s Terry Cooper in his wake.

Jairzinho, in turn, delivered an inch perfect cross to the charging Pele who made perfect contact, heading the ball towards the bottom left hand corner of the net.

Legend has it, that so sure was he of the result, that the great man yelled “Goal” before he had even hit the ground. It was Brazil at their very best.

Enter Gordon Banks.

Seemingly from nowhere, the England keeper materialised to tip the ball over the bar for a Brazilian corner. Mere words are not sufficient to describe the brilliance of that save; Banks had to move across his six-yard box, dive full length down and back to get part of his right hand on the ball.

Suffice to say, it is universally agreed to be the best save ever. Banks had denied a football god and, in doing so, had himself become one of them.

After a fairly inauspicious start to his football career (letting in 15 goals in his first two games as a junior), Banks went on to be one the best goalkeepers the world has ever seen. Arguably, only the great Russian Lev Yashin would challenge him for the title of the best ever. These comparisons are ridiculously subjective, but Banks really was that good.

The pinnacle of Banks’ career came with the 1966 English World Cup. He is widely regarded as the foundation rock on which was built the only England side not to underachieve at a World Cup final. He kept a clean sheet until the semi-final when it took a Eusebio penalty to beat him. He let in two in the final, but it didn’t matter, England had won the World Cup.

The 1970 World Cup was shaping up well for England and hopes were high for an England-Brazil final, but it was not to be. Banks fell ill, reportedly with food poisoning, which saw him miss the quarter-final against Germany.

His hapless replacement, Chelsea’s Peter Bonetti, had a shocker. He let in three goals, allowing a 2-0 lead to evaporate and with it, England’s hopes of back-to-back Cups. Rumours abounded that Banks had been nobbled, which he strenuously denied, but conspiracy theorists are not that easily dissuaded.

If Banks was a hero for all England, his importance to the people of Stoke-on-Trent was even greater. Heroes and role models were few and far between in England’s industrial North, but Banks fit the bill.

As a kid growing up in Stoke during the late '60s and early '70s, he was my hero. I was even fortunate enough to meet him, as my father was a member of the Stoke City supporters’ club.

My enduring memory of Gordon Banks is that he was incredibly tall, even taller than my dad—against who everyone is measured by seven year old boys (their own dads that is, not mine). Of course, at just over six feet, he was short by comparison to the giants who patrol the modern six-yard box. Maybe the honour of meeting your hero is wasted on children.

Banks redefined the science of goal keeping. He was a perfectionist and not only had an innate understanding of the mathematics and geometry of his craft, but developed it further for those who followed. His greatest skill was reading the play and placing himself in exactly the right position, forcing his opponent to react according to his rules and go the way that Banks dictated.

For me, Banks’ greatest moment was not in the World Cup finals, it was in the semi-final of the 1972 League Cup against West Ham. Stoke had conceded an extra-time penalty. With the scores level, World Cup-winning teammate Geoff Hurst stepped up to take the kick.

There are few players in English football who could strike the ball better or more accurately than Hurst and he struck this one as cleanly as any shot he had ever taken. It was a vicious strike at the centre of the goal. Banks, committing early as good keepers do, dived right but somehow sensed that the ball was going straight.

It was a scene that is only ever reproduced in Jackie Chan movies. Banks seemed to stop in mid-air and throw his hands back to parry the ball away. It was pure instinct, one of those rare Zen moments where everything around him seemed to slow down, while Banks continued to operate at normal speed. There is a photograph, taken from behind the goal, that captures the moment perfectly. It is that image that is still crystal clear in my memory 37 years later.

Was it better than the save against Pele? Maybe not in a technical sense, but the importance and pressure of that save made it extra special. It allowed Stoke to go on to win their first, and only, piece of major silverware. For that, he became an immortal in the hearts of those who follow the Potters.

Sadly, Banks was injured in a car accident shortly after this triumph. He lost the sight in his right eye, which brought to an end a stellar career but not before he had made an indelible mark on the game.