Now our first clue card was a man born in that month - and not actually a set issued in February, simply because the only three football sets I know to have been issued in that month are already shown, these being
- Amalgamated Press "English League (Div.1) Footer Internationals" (1926),
- Daily Sketch "World Cup Souvenir Cards" (1970)
- Topps "F.C. Barcelona 125th Anniversary" (2025)
but if you know others, especially from boy`s magazines, which are usually dated, just tell us.
So here we have James "Jimmy" Peter Greaves was born on the 20th of February 1940 at Manor Park in Essex, and grew up in the same county, but relocated to Hainault. Nowhere seems to mention where he played football as a child, or a youth, but we know that somewhere he was spotted by Jimmy Thompson, who was working as a talent scout for Chelsea, and in 1955 he was signed by that team, as an apprentice. Unlike many new recruits, he seems to have spent very little time on the bench, and managed to score fifty one goals in his first season.
He turned professional in the summer of 1957, and not long after that made his first appearance on a card, number 17 of Barratt`s "Famous Footballers" (A6), issued in 1958. Already he is known as Jimmy Greaves, and the text on this card describes him as "Chelsea`s young inside-forward". It then says he "was born in London" which we know is incorrect. However it does tell us that he made "...his first League appearance at the beginning of the 1957-58 season, he was immediately chosen for the Young England team v. Bulgaria, September, 1957, and later against Roumania and Scotland. Also played for London v. Lausanne, October 1957, in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup match."
We get a bit more information from his next appearance, on card 36 of Cadet Sweets` 1958 set of "Footballers", and a foretaste of the future, for that tells us "If any player ever seemed certain of many International Caps it is young Jimmy Greaves of Chelsea. He was considered too young last season to play for England, but his play certainly merited the highest honours."
His third cartophilic appearance came later that year, and fills in several blanks - it was card number 10 of D.C. Thompson`s "World Cup Footballers", issued with "The Wizard" comic, which he shares with Peter Brabrook, for there are two portraits on each card. In fact the portrait is the same one that is used for the Cadet Sweets set, only trimmed down to a square (and Cadet uses it again, full size, for their next sets of footballer cards, issued in 1959 and 1960.) His section of the text on the Wizard card, which is also split, describes him as : "Inside forward from Manor Park. Turned senior with Chelsea. Before that played for Lakeside Manor Boys Club and Dagenham, Essex, and London Schools. Honours include London F.A. Youth International and England Under 23".
Jimmy Greaves remained with Chelsea until April 1961, when AC Milan of Italy bought him. He appears as being at "Milan" for the first time on Barratt`s "Famous Footballers" (A.9), where it reveals that "The Italian club paid £100,000 to sign goal-grabber Greaves from Chelsea." However he did not enjoy living in Italy, and almost immediately started approaching British clubs with an eye to coming back.
This led to an offer from Tottenham Hotspur, and he returned home, to them, in December 1961. The first set where he is identified as being with them is card 34 of Barratt`s "Famous Footballers" (A.10), the text of which reads "Spurs were happy to pay Milan nearly £100,000 for goal-snatching Jimmy in November, 1961, after he had spent only a few, unhappy months in Italy after his transfer from Chelsea..."
Strangely, these transfer figures are disputed by A. & B. C. Gum, on card 28 of their 1969-70 "Footballers", where they state that he was "...transferred to the Italian club Milan for £80,000 in April 1961 [and] Tottenham paid £99,999 for him in November of the same year."
In 1970 he was traded to West Ham United, and retired the following year. But retirement did not suit him, he was frequently bored, and so he went back to football with the non-league teams of Brentwood, Chelmsford, Barnet, and Woodford, but then decided enough was enough and left the pitch forever, at least as a player, for he had an intriguing offer to commentate in games, which led to several appearances on television, including in his own show, "Saint and Greavsie", with fellow ex-footballer Ian St, John, which ran for six years on ITV.
In our original British Trade Index part two, where it appears as :
KELLOGG Company of Great Britain Ltd.
Cereals. Cards issued 1952-67.
- INTERNATIONAL SOCCER STARS. Sm. Nd. (12) ... KEO-3
This is slightly altered in our updated version, which reads :
KELLOGG Co. of Great Britain Ltd.
Cereals. Cards issued 1949-71- INTERNATIONAL SOCCER STARS. 1961. 67 x 37. Sm. Nd. (12). Free folder issued ... KEL-290
The twelve men in the set are :
- J. Armfield Blackpool
- J. Baker Hibernian
- R. Charlton Manchester United
- B. Douglas Blackburn Rovers
- R. Flowers Wolverhampton Wanderers
- J. Greaves Chelsea
- J. Haynes Fulham
- M. McNeil Middlesbrough
- R. Robson West Bromwich Albion
- R. Smith Tottenham Hotspur
- R. Springett Sheffield Wednesday
- P. Swan Sheffield Wednesday