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September
2002
Banksy's book launch |
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| Banksy:
Probably the most famous goalie ever |
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He
will be forever remembered for that save from Pele, but his achievements
were much more than one save. He is known throughout the world as
probably the greatest goalkeeper ever. He played for Stoke City! Ladies
and gentlemen: Gordon Banks. |
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Facts »
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He
played an incredible 510 league matches in total
He made 73 appearances for England
He was awarded an OBE |
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Stoke
City and England footballing legend Gordon Banks launched his autobiography
'Banksy' in 2002.
So
in honour of this occasion, we thought it only right to take a look
at the career of the Stoke City legend.
For ten years Gordon Banks was not only England's Number One, but
was acknowledged to be the best keeper in the world - perhaps the
best there has ever been.
It wasn't always like this. Banks left school to become a coalman's
mate, lugging heavy sacks around his native Sheffield.
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And his
early amateur football didn't suggest his day job was going to change
any time soon - he was sacked from his second club after conceding
fifteen goals in two games.
But only a few years later, Banks was England's first-choice keeper,
winning the World Cup in 1966 and making the 'Save of the Century'
against Pele in 1970.
It was all cut brutally short. Returning home from the training ground
in 1972, his car crashed into a van and he lost his right eye.
Banks struggled to come back, but the standards he'd set himself seemed
cruelly out of reach. It shouldn't have been possible, but Banks did
fight back, confounding medical opinion to play in the American league
alongside other legends like Pele, George Best and Franz Beckenbauer.
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'Banksy'
is about more than just football; it's the story of a man who represents
all that was admirable about the game in an era before cynicism and
money tainted it - when football was a reflection of values and standards
that we may never see again.
It's the story of a genuine English hero - a stirring, vivid, insider's
account of the England team's finest years by the player who proved
indispensable: Banks of England.
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BBC
Stoke and Staffordshire
Cheapside
Hanley
Stoke-on-Trent
Staffordshire
ST1 1JJ
tel: (+44) 01782 221281
e-mail: stoke@bbc.co.uk
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