The passing of Jimmy Greaves last weekend saw tributes pour in from across the footballing world, with United’s own legend, Robin Stubbs, amongst those to remember the former Tottenham & England star.
It was January 1965 when Robin faced Jimmy in a never-to-be-forgotten FA Cup epic, as the latter’s First Division giants were held to a 3-3 draw at Plainmoor, before Bill Nicholson’s men eventually overcame Eric Webber’s Gulls 5-1 in the replay at White Hart Lane nine days later.
Although Greaves was a household name by the mid-60s, courtesy of goal-laden spells at Chelsea, AC Milan and Spurs – as well as internationally with England – there was little to choose between the two strikers over the course of the two matches, with both men emerging from the two games with three goals apiece.
Whilst a stubborn Torquay defence worked overtime to keep the Tottenham hitman off the scoresheet at Plainmoor, Stubbs was United’s hero of the hour at the other end, notching two in the dying stages to secure a replay for his Fourth Division side against their illustrious opponents.
In the second installment, Jimmy made up for lost time by displaying the full repertoire of his goalscoring instincts, beginning with the opening goal in the capital. Stubbs, dubbed the Prince of Plainmoor for his exploits in a Torquay shirt, wasn’t quite done yet though, and scored arguably the goal of the game soon after to level up the scores.
The course of the tie began to swing away from United thereafter though, with Greaves going on to complete one of his record 15 hat-tricks for Spurs during the second half.
With both players playing in similar positions, there was scant opportunity for the two goal machines to seriously lock horns out on the pitch, and although circumstances meant there was also little chance to exchange pleasantries after both fixtures, Greaves remained well thought of by Robin.
“I always admired his play,” he began, in his own personal tribute.
“He was particularly good at scoring goals – what I would call a proper goalscorer, which I wanted to be. I never really came up against him, because we were both strikers and after the game at Torquay, they were off and away, so I never had the chance to chat with him.
“I was very sad to hear of his passing, and it made me feel very emotional.”
Over half a century later, the discussion that cup tie still generates is a fitting tribute to both sets of players, and older members of the Yellow Army that attended those games will never forget the experience.
Rest In Peace, Jimmy.