Footballers' Birthdays

[CosmicHotspur]

Retired defender Terry Boyle is 51 today. He came through the Tottenham youth system, turning pro in 1975 but failed to break into the first team and left for a brief spell with Crystal Palace in 1977.

Capped twice for Wales, he also played for Bristol City before returning to play for several clubs in Wales, including Cardiff and Swansea, then playing for lower league clubs before hanging up his boots.

He currently works for the Football Association of Wales Trust and is assistant to Tom Morgan at Welshpool Town FC.

In this 1984 photo, he was playing for Newport County.





Inside forward Jimmy Hartley was born today in Dumbarton in 1876. He played for Sunderland and Burnley before moving south to Spurs in 1897, for two seasons.

He transferred to Lincoln City and also played for Rangers, Port Glasgow Athletic, Brentford and New Brompton, where his career ended in 1908.

This is the 1897 team. I have no idea which one is Jimmy Hartley but the picture is well worth seeing for its historical value.

 

[CosmicHotspur]

Guy Butters is 40 today.The 6'3" defender joined Tottenham as a trainee and played in 35 games for us between 1988 and 1990 before moving on to Portsmouth for six seasons, after a loan period at Southend.

He also played for Gillingham, Brighton & Hove Albion and Havant & Waterlooville as well as several other loan spells elsewhere and he joined Winchester City earlier this year. He was capped at Under-21 level three times for England.




Dutch keeper Hans Segers is 48 today and is currently the goalkeeping coach at PSV Eindhoven, who were also his first club.

He played for Notts Forest, Wimbledon, Wolves (on two separate occasions) and Woking before coming to Tottenham in 1998. He had only one first team appearance for us until 2001 after which he became goalkeeping coach at the Lane. He was asked to leave when Martin Jol was sacked in 2007.

In December 1997, Bruce Grobbelaar and Hans Segers were found guilty by the FA of breaching betting regulations after being cleared in a previous court case. He has always protested he was innocent of match fixing.




Stoke Newington born Andy Theodosiou is 29 today. A trainee at Tottenham, he transferred to Norwich and didn't make first team appearances for either club.

He had spells with several other clubs, mainly non-league including Brighton & Hove Albion, hereford, Crawley, Billericay Town, Harlow, Windsor & Eton, Arlesey and Hemel Hempstead, where he was also assistant manager and also coached at Aylesbury.

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Maradona is 49 today. Love him or hate him, there's no denying he is a footballing legend.

 

[CosmicHotspur]

Yet another October born goalie! Ian Walker, 38 today, is the son of former Welsh international keeper Mike Walker who played for Norwich and went on to manage Everton.

Ian joined Tottenham as a trainee and made 260 appearances for us between 1989 and 2001, with loan periods at Oxford Utd and Ipswich Town. He transferred to Leicester City in 2001 for a season and then moved on to Bolton from 2005-08, making a handful of Cup games and one League appearance for them during his time there. Ian was capped at England Under-21 and B levels as well as gaining four full caps.




Midfielder George Hutchinson was born today in West Yorkshire in 1929. He played for Huddersfield and Sheffield Utd before joining Spurs for the 1953-54 season. He then moved on to Guildford City and also played for Leeds, Halifax and finally for Skegness Town.

George died in 1996.

***​

Dutch legend, former striker Marco Van Basten is 45 today.

 

[CosmicHotspur]

Chace O'Neill is 18 today. A midfielder who likes to operate in the centre of the pitch, he made two appearances for our Under-18s during his first season with us.

Born in Archway and raised in Liverpool Road, Islington, he previously turned out for West Ham United before joining our Academy in the summer of 2008. He attended the London Nautical School where he played football for the school team which won the South London Cup.​

Outside right Freddie Cox was born today in Reading in 1920 and joined Tottenham in 1938 as an 18 year old, making his debut in November of that year. His football career was interrupted by World War Two and he joined the RAF as a fighter pilot, making occasional guest appearances for Reading, his home town team while regular football leagues were suspended. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.​

He returned to the Lane after the war and played for a further three seasons before crossing North London and transferring to Arsenal in September 1949 where he became an ever present in their side. He moved on to West Brom in 1953 and stayed on there as coach, taking on the manager's job at Bournemouth in 1956, where he turned them into giant-killers who put us out of the FA Cup in the 1956-67 season. In 1958, he moved to Portsmouth as manager but was sacked in 1961 and took over at Gillingham in 1962. He resigned at the end of 1965 and rejoined Bournemouth, but was sacked when they were relegated in the 1969-70 season and he left football for good and became a newsagent in the town.​

In this 1948-49 photo he is the first player on the left in the middle row.​

Freddie died in August 1973, aged only 52.​

Mark Hughes is 46 today.​

​

 

[milkman]

Happy Birthday fellas. :up:

 

[CosmicHotspur]

Dave McEwen is 32 today. The forward's first club was Crouch End Vampires! After spells with Crawley Town and Dulwich Hamlet, he was signed by Spurs in 2000.

After four games in his only season with us, he departed for QPR for a further season where he played in five games before transferring to Hertford Town and a return to non-league football. The photo shows him, mud-splashed in the rain getting a bit sympathy for an injury while playing for Hertford in the 2003-4 season.




Midfielder Peter Gain is 33 today. He joined Tottenham in 1997 and became a regular in the reserves but made no first team appearances and joined Lincoln City in 1999, making 224 appearances for them after a loan spell at the club. He moved to Peterborough in 2005 and left to play for Dagenham & Redbridge in 2008.

Born in London, Peter gained caps for the Republic of Ireland at Under-21 and B levels.




Midfielder Tommy Meads was born today in 1900 in Chesterfield. After playing non-league football, he played for Stockport, Huddersfield Town and Reading before joining Tottenham in 1929.

He made 189 appearances for us before transferring to Notts County in 1935. Tommy died in 1983.

There he is in the top right hand corner of the picture.




Inside right Fred Massey was born in East Ham today in 1883. He first played for Leyton and transferred to the Lane for one season 1908, before moving on to West Ham for three seasons.

Fred died on 26 January 1969.

***​

Inside forward Buchanan Sharp was born today in 1884. He left Scottish football to play for Chelsea in 1919 and transferred to Spurs in 1922 for two seasons, making three first team appearances before joining Leicester City. In 1926, he moved on to Nelson and his last club was Southport in 1928 where he played for one season before retiring from the game. Buchanan died in 1956.

In the photo, he is third from the right in the third row down.

 

[CosmicHotspur]

Enfield born midfielder Stuart Thurgood is 28 today. A youth player at the Lane, he turned professional in 1998 but made no first team appearances and left the following season to join Steve Perryman at Shimizu S-Pulse.

In 2001, he returned to the UK to Southend. Three separate spells at Grays Athletic and two at Gillingham followed and he signed a two year contract at Dagenham & Redbridge in July this year.




Troy Archibald-Henville is 21 today. The defender joined Tottenham as a youth player in 2005 and progressed to captaining the reserve side, as well as being on the bench for two first team games in the 2007-08 season. He had a loan spell at Norwich before being sent to Exeter, where he is currently on a successful six month loan with Exeter who are very keen to keep him for longer.

Troy has signed a contract with us until 2010.

 

[CosmicHotspur]

Mohammed Ali Amar, better known to all as Nayim, is 43 today. The Spanish-Moroccan midfielder, capped at Under-19, Under-20 and Under-21 levels for Spain, came to Tottenham from Barcelona in 1988 and made 144 appearances for us before returning to Spain in 1993 to play for Real Zaragoza for four seasons.

He ended his playing career with Logrones from 1997 to 2000 and then went into coaching and managed Ceuto, his home town team.

Who could ever forget THAT goal for Zaragoza against the Gooners? Here it is again, for your viewing pleasure. I could watch it a hundred times and never tire of it!

[yt]iv35OY396Fo[/yt]


Vic Groves is 78 today. He could play equally well as a wing half or at inside forward. Born in Stepney, he first played for Leytonstone and joined Spurs for one season in 1952, playing in four games and scoring three goals.

He then had a season with Walthamstow Avenue and moved on to Leyton orient for the 1954-55 season before being signed by Arsenal, where he remained until 1964 and eventually took on the captaincy, despite being injury-stricken much of the time. He ended his playing career with Canterbury City and then retired from the game altogether to work in insurance and run a pub.

 

[CosmicHotspur]

Friday 6 November

Outside left Walter Bellamy was born today in 1904 in Tottenham. He played non-league football for Ilford, Tufnell Park and Dulwich Hamlet before joining Spurs in 1926. He made 73 appearances for us and left for Brighton & Hove Albion for a brief spell in 1935 before retiring from the game.

Walter died in 1978.




Walter Alsford was born today in 1911 in Edmonton. The outside left, who could also play comfortably as a half back, was with Spurs from 1930-36 and put in 81 appearances before joining Notts Forest for the 1936-37 season. He was capped three times for England. He is fifth from left in the back row in the photo.

Walter died on 3 June 1968.





Sat 7 November

Mel Hopkins is 75 today. A talented left back and a Welsh international with 34 caps, he was part of our 1960-61 Double squad but was often in the reserve side due to the success and wonderful blend of the first team around that time.

Shortly before that amazing season, in 1959, Mel had a dreadful collision with Ian St John and was out of the game for some time with a badly broken jaw and nose (the nose has ever since looked like that of a seasoned boxer!).

Born in the Rhonda, the son of a miner, Mel joined Tottenham as an apprentice aged 15 and made his debut in 1952. He put in well over 200 appearances in his fourteen years at Tottenham and eventually transferred to Brighton & Hove Albion in 1964 (he still lives in Shoreham). He had a brief spell with Northern Irish side Ballymena Utd in 1967 and then played in 30 games for Bradford Park Avenue in 1968 before hanging up his boots.

I have fond memories of Mel, as he was one of the "Palmers Green gang" along with Cliff Jones and Bobby Smith for whom I babysat, looking after their then baby son Paul, in the early 1960s. They were a very ordinary, down to earth family - Pat was often at her sewing machine making curtains and her own clothes. I suppose Mel would have been on around £20 a week in the early 1960s - a far cry from the footballers of today. I remember him as a quiet, serious family man.

I hope he is well and happy and that he has a great birthday today.




Right half Arthur Lowdell was born in Edmonton today in 1897. He first played non-League football for Ton Pentre in Wales and was signed by Sheffield Wednesday in 1921. He journeyed south to Spurs in 1927 and played in 90 games for us, being made captain for the 1028-29 season before retiring from the game.

He lived on Canvey Island until his death in 1979.

Here's the 1928 side and Arthur is seated on the bench, second row up and fourth from left.

 

[CosmicHotspur]

Martin Peters is 66 today. Born in Plaistow, he joined West Ham as an apprentice in 1959 and made 302 appearances for them before transferring to the Lane in 1970. Although primarily a midfielder, at West Ham the incredibly versatile Martin played in every position on the pitch, including in goal.

Sir Alf Ramsey thought him way ahead of his time and he certainly deserved every one of his 67 caps. He was an integral player in England's 1966 World Cup winning side, taking on the captaincy when Bobby Moore didn't play. A winner of many honours and medals, he is also an MBE.

He made 189 appearances for us before moving on for a final playing season with Sheffield Utd in 1980.

He was on the Tottenham Board of Directors for a while and after stepping down took on the role of match day host at the Lane. He was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2006 in recognition for his remarkable achievements as a player.




Johnny Jordan was born today in 1921 in Bromley and I believe is still with us, so will be 88 today if so. A striker, he joined us from West Ham for one season in 1947 and figured in 24 games, scoring ten goals, before transferring to Juventus for a season.

Returning to the UK, he also played for Birmingham City and Sheffield Utd before heading for non-league football with Tonbridge and Bedford Town.

****​

Centre forward Alex Lindsay was born today in 1896 in Dundee. He came to Tottenham from Raith Rovers in 1919 and played in 224 games for us, scoring 48 goals, in his decade with Spurs.

He had brief spells with Thames and Dundee before retiring from the game and he died in 1971.




Full back Albert "Bert" Ringrose was born today in 1916 in Edmonton. He became a Tottenham Junior in 1934 and was farmed out to Northfleet, our nursery club, until the 1936-37 season when he made ten first team appearances for us. He joined Notts County in 1939 for a brief period before retiring from the game. Bert died in 1968.

He is the third player from right in the middle row.

 

[TheChosenOne]

Martin Peters is listed in today's Times as being 66 (?)

I'll never forget the day at Old Trafford in October 1972 when we beat Man Utd 4-1 with MP scoring all four goals.

Happy Birthday old 'un.

 

[CosmicHotspur]

Martin Peters is listed in today's Times as being 66 (?)

I'll never forget the day at Old Trafford in October 1972 when we beat Man Utd 4-1 with MP scoring all four goals.

Happy Birthday old 'un.

Yes, you're right - I checked again and am editing it. At least I know you read this thread! :wink:

 

[CosmicHotspur]

Another long gone Spurs player today. Joe Brough was born on this day in 1886 in Burslem and his first club was Burslem Port Vale, followed by a spell at Stoke before he joined Tottenham in 1908 for one season, playing in two first team games for us.

He could play at half back and as a forward and he returned to Port Vale to take up the centre forward slot and scored a record 43 goals for the club in the 1909-10 season. He also had single seasons with Liverpool and Bristol City before returning to Port Vale. He fought in World War I and returned to Port Vale when he was demobilised in 1919. He retired from the game in the summer of 1922 and died on 5 October 1968 in Stoke-on-Trent, aged 81.

 

[CosmicHotspur]

6'3" defender Clayton Fortune is 27 today and hails from Forest Gate. He was a youth player at Tottenham in 1999 and moved on to Bristol City in 2000. He left after a loan period at Port Vale to join Leyton Orient.

A second loan period spell at Port Vale followed and Clayton transferred to Darlington for the 2008-09 season with a loan period at Rushden & Diamonds before joining non-league Weston-super-Mare.




Striker Steffen Iversen is 35 today. The son of legendary footballer Odd Iversen, Steffen is considered by many to be a "tronder", denoting someone from the regions around Trondheim where his father played for Rosenborg because he speaks the regional dialect. But Steffen was actually born in Oslo, when his father played for Valerenga, and considers himself just as much a native of Oslo as of Trondheim.

He joined Spurs from Rosenborg BK in 1996 and played in 143 games, scoring 36 goals and winning a League Cup medal with us in 1999, before transferring to Wolves for a brief period in 2003. He then returned to Norway to play for Valerenga for the 2004-05 season, returned to Rosenborg in 2006 and is following in his father's footsteps in becoming a footballing legend in Norway.

Steffen was capped 77 times for Norway, as well as 23 times for their Under-21 side.

 

[TheChosenOne]

Yes, you're right - I checked again and am editing it. At least I know you read this thread! :wink:

I wasn't criticising you Cozzie, far from it girl... Keep up the good work. Ta.

 

[CosmicHotspur]

I wasn't criticising you Cozzie, far from it girl... Keep up the good work. Ta.

I know you weren't. Maths was never my strong point! :wink:

 

[CosmicHotspur]

Hugh Lorimer was born today in 1896. He came to Tottenham from St Mirren Juniors in 1919 for two seasons and made five first team appearances, playing at outside left.

He returned to Scotland to play for Dundee and then moved to the USA, where he played for Boston Wonder Workers and J & P Coats.

****​

John "Jack" Richardson was born in Motherwell, his first team, today in 1911. He played for Northfleet, our nursery club, before signing for Spurs in 1927. In his two seasons with us, the full back put in 41 appearances before transferring to Reading. He also later played for Bournemouth and Folkestone before retiring from the game.

In the picture, he is first on the left in the back row.

Jack died in 1986.




Jimmy Holmes is 56 today. Born in Dublin, the left back was capped thirty times for the Republic of Ireland. He was an apprentice at Coventry and joined Spurs in 1977 where complications after breaking a leg in an international game ended his career at the Lane after 81 games with us.

In 1981 he joined Vancouver Whitecaps and also made his final international appearances. He returned to the UK the following season and played for Leicester, Brentford, Torquay and finally for Peterborough before retiring from the game.




Erik Edman is 31 today. The Swedish left back, who can also play as a centre back, was born in Huskvarna and has been capped 53 times for Sweden.

He joined Spurs from SC Heerenveen in 2004 for one season, making 31 appearances and quickly establishing himself. He is probably best remembered for the stunning goal he scored from more than 38 yards out in our game against Liverpool on April 16, 2005.

When we brought in Lee Young-Pyo, he decided to leave and transferred to Rennes, returning to the UK to join Wigan in January 2008.




Right half Billy Sage was born today in 1893. First playing for Corinthian as a lad, he joined the Tottenham youth side in 1919. He made twelve first team appearances before leaving Tottenham in 1925.

He is second from the right in the second row down in the photo.

He was signed by Clapton Orient in 1927 and later played for Dartford. Billy died in 1968.




Kyle Naughton is 21 today. The versatile young defender joined us in July along with Kyle Walker from Sheffield Utd after a loan period with Gretna and played against FC Barcelona in the Wembley Cup and came on as a late sub against West Ham to make his Premiership debut with us, after which he made his full debut in our Carling Cup second round victory over Doncaster Rovers.

He has four England Under-21 caps and is also eligible to play for the Republic of Ireland.

 

[CosmicHotspur]

Striker Almeric "Almer" Hall was born today in 1912 in Hove. He first played for Brighton & Hove Albion, joining Tottenham in 1934. He made 21 first team appearances for us before joining Southend in 1937.

He later played for Bradford City, West Ham and Margate, initially as player-manager, in 1950 and then solely as manager from 1953 to 1970 making it twenty years with the club, where he is something of a legend.

After leaving Margate, he scouted for a brief spell at Luton Town and he died on 7 November 1994, aged.81.

In the photo, he is fourth from the right in the bottom row.





Kenny Flint is hopefully still alive and well and living in Enfield on his 86th birthday today. The winger played five games for us in the 1947-48 season, scoring one goal. In the photo he is the last player on the right in the middle row.

He transferred to Aldershot in 1950 and remained there until 1958, after which he played for Leyton Orient for one season and then ended his career with Bath.





Former defender Tim O'Shea is 43 today. He played youth football at Highbury and for Spurs in the 1983-84 season and made three first team appearances for us between 1984 and 1988. He transferred to Leyton Orient and later moved on to Gillingham before playing non-league football with several clubs. He was capped twice at Under-21 level for the Republic of Ireland.

He then managed Grays Athletic for a brief period before joining Croydon Athletic as manager in 2008.





Former right back Danny Thomas is 48 today. With Coventry from 1972-83, he then joined Spurs for five seasons and made 87 appearances and was in our 1984 UEFA Cup winning squad. He was capped twice for England.

He completed a degree in physiotherapy after his career was cut short at the age of 26 following a serious injury and with the help of the PFA then completed a Masters degree. After a brief spell as physio with West Brom, he opened and still runs his own physiotherapy practice in Coventry.





Jason Cundy is 40 today. The former defender was at Chelsea from 1988-92 before coming to us on loan and then joining us from 1992 until 1996 and playing in 28 games for us.

He had loan spells at Crystal Palace, Bristol City and then Ipswich where he played and captained the side from 1996 until 1999 when he moved on to Portsmouth.

He is famously remembered for the "freak" goal that he scored against Ipswich Town in the 1992-93 season when, in an attempt to clear the ball away on the half-way line from, he managed a wind-assisted effort that ended up flying over goalie Craig Forrest's head and into the back of the net.

Jason was forced to retire in 2000 due to injuries, and subsequently became a presenter on TalkSport and also occasionally co-hosted Evening Kick-Off and appeared regularly as a pundit on Chelsea TV. He also made a TV
appearance on Ready Steady Cook in February this year.

In 1997 he was diagnosed with testicular cancer but has made a full recovery. He was erroneously reported to have died by TalkSport's Andy Goldstein on Saturday, October 18 2008 after Cundy didn't turn up for a TalkSport show. The report, which Goldstein later admitted was a joke, resulted in several Chelsea fans taking floral tributes to the club the next day.

Jason supports many charities including Act Against Bullying and he runs a Sporting Experience company with Clive Walker.

 

[CosmicHotspur]

Clive Euclid Aklana Wilson is 48 today. A defender who successfully switched from midfield to left back at the Lane, he was born in Manchester and he joined City in 1979. He moved on to Chelsea in 1987 and after a loan spell back at Man City, transferred to QPR where he played under Gerry Francis's management from 1990 to 1995 before Gerry moved to the Lane and brought Clive along with him. He stayed for four seasons, playing in 70 games for us.

He ended his playing career with one season with Cambridge Utd and started teaching at St John's CE Secondary School in Epping earlier this year.




Midfielder Frank Grice was born today in Derby in 1908 and first played for a colliery team before joining Notts County in 1931. He came to the Lane in 1935 and made 55 appearances for us before moving on to Glentoran in 1938 and later played for Dundalk.

Frank died in 1988. He is the third player from the left in the back row in this 1936 team photo.




Left half Teddy Lightfoot (what a wonderful name for a footballer!) was born today in 1889 in Liverpool. After brief spells with Harrowby and Southport, he joined Tottenham in 1911 and made 66 appearances until 1815 when he went to war.

Sadly, Teddy was one of ten Tottenham players who died in action in WWI. He was killed on the Western Front in July, 1918. "Perseus", writing in the Lancashire Daily Post, paid the following tribute: "Edward Lightfoot was a splendid footballer but, more than that, he was a good sportsman and a player that respected both himself and his opponents. He has joined a noble company who will leave a big void in football."

He is the second player from the left in the bottom row in this somewhat blurry 1912 photo.

 

[CosmicHotspur]

Dave Mackay is 75 today. Plenty of info on my personal experience of knowing Davie back in the 60s past in other threads so all I need to say is Happy Birthday Legend.




Former winger Roger Morgan is 63 today. Born in Walthamstow, he played for QPR between 1964 and 1969 alongside his identical twin brother, Ian. They had different hairstyles when on the pitch together so people could tell them apart.

Roger joined Spurs in 1969 and put in 68 appearances but his playing career was cut short by injury and he then spent eighteen years with West Ham as their Community Manager and coached their junior players and now does some part-time PE teaching in semi-retirement.




Ian Sampson is 41 today. The central defender began his career with Sunderland and then had ten years with Northampton Town, putting in 384 appearances between 1994 and 2004 and is considered a legend at the club.

He was at the Lane on loan briefly in 1995 and was part of our Intertoto squad although he made no appearances.

He is now managing Northampton.




Attacking midfielder Jake Livermore is 20 today. Born in Enfield, he was a county champion at 1500m and cross-country champion of the South East in 2000 and joined our Academy full-time in 2006-07, having played 15 times for our Under-18s as a schoolboy in 2005-06. He also made several appearances for our Under-18 and reserve sides.

Currently on loan at Derby County, he has had loan spells with MK Dons and Crewe Alexandra (where he fractured his leg and returned to the Lane where he was out of action for some time). He scored an equaliser against European Champions Barcelona in a pre-season friendly at Wembley on his first game back from injury.

He made his first team debut in our friendly game against Stevenage Borough in July 2007 and has now signed a two year contract with us until July 2011.