All at AFC Wimbledon were saddened to hear about the death of Jimmy Greaves at the weekend.
Supporters from the two clubs he served with such distinction – Spurs and Chelsea – held a minute’s applause at yesterday’s game and there have rightly been many tributes to a man who was a true legend of the game.
The man who scored 382 league goals – all in the top-flight – also had a Wimbledon connection, as pointed out to us by Stephen Crabtree, Editor of The Historical Don.
When he joined Chelsea in the early 1960s, their manager, Ted Drake, a friend of Wimbledon boss Les Henley, arranged for him to live in one of the flats at Plough Lane. The other flat was occupied by Eddie Reynolds and the two became friends with Greaves giving Reynolds a shirt after returning from the England tour of South America in 1961.
During the season, Greaves would train with Chelsea in the mornings and help the groundsman, Charlie Giles, in the afternoon. He would annoy Giles by bringing out a pot of tea and placing it on the centre circle which ruined the grass there!