A long-sleeved Tottenham shirt signed by football legend Jimmy Greaves could make £6,000 at auction.
The stained shirt had been in the same Spurs-loving family for the last 50 years after being given to the owner’s cousin when he was playing for the London side’s youth team.
Owner Darren Long said: “In the ‘60s my cousin used to play for Tottenham Hotspur’s youth team and young players were able to get the hand-down kits from the first team players.
“My uncle was a mad Spurs fan and asked him to get Greaves’ shirt. All I know about it that it was a shirt that Jimmy Greaves played in, although I am not sure which match.”
The number 8 shirt has the Spurs’ famous ‘cock and ball’ crest on the front introduced in 1966, midway through Greaves’ tenure at the club from 1961-1970.
It was signed in 2006 by the striker who died in 2021 aged 81 after a career in which he was dubbed the most naturally gifted goal-scorers in football history.
Darren, who lives in Northampton, said: “Like my uncle I am a huge Spurs fan. I met Jimmy at an event at the Northampton Deco called Jimmy Greaves and Friends. After the show he was signing books so I queued up and I explained a bit about the shirt, told him how I acquired it. He was sitting next to Chopper Harris at the time, and he signed the shirt for me.”
The ticket for the event is included in the lot going under the hammer at Hansons Auctioneers’ sale at its Etwall saleroom on December 11, with an estimate of £4,000-£6,000.
Born in 1940, Jimmy Greaves rose to prominence at Chelsea, scoring 132 goals in just 169 league games.
After a brief spell at AC Milan, he joined Tottenham Hotspur in 1961, where he became a legend: 266 goals for Spurs and six seasons as their top scorer.
For England, he scored 44 goals in 57 caps—still one of the highest strike rates ever—and was part of the 1966 World Cup–winning squad, though injury kept him out of the final. Across his club career he scored 357 top-flight English league goals, a record that still stands.
Charles Hanson said: “For a footballing fan like me it is an absolute honour to be selling this shirt. Greaves was nothing short of a soccer legend due to his flawless finishing, lightning movement, balance, and uncanny anticipation. His consistency, technical brilliance, and instinctive understanding of space set a standard few strikers have matched.”
After retiring from football Jimmy Greaves reinvented himself on television with the most notable of his punditry being on the ITV show Saint and Greavsie, a double act with former Liverpool player Ian St John.
Charles continued: “The programme was a staple of Saturday afternoon telly in the 1980s. It wasn’t high theory or tactical whiteboards; it was warm, mischievous, and wonderfully human, just like Jimmy Greaves himself.”
Auction Details
Auction: The Derbyshire Two-Day Christmas Fine Jewels & Decorative Arts and Antiques Auction
Auction date: 11th-12th December 2025 | 9:30am
Location: Hansons’ Derbyshire Saleroom
Auction contact: [email protected]
Catalogue/bidding: www.hansonslive.co.uk | www.the-saleroom.com
