James Greenhoff, born Barnsley, England, June 19, 1946. Jimmy Greenhoff was in many ways the sheer epitome of the archetypal old fashioned centre forward who would always be at the exact right place at the exact right time. In a highly rewarding striking career, Greenhoff played for several clubs, including Leeds United, Stoke City, and Manchester United, before he finally hung up his footballing boots for good in 1984.
Jimmy Greenhoff´s round ball career started as an apprentice with Leeds United in June 1961 and he debuted for The Peacocks in a 3-1 Second Division defeat against Southampton at The Dell on the 15th of May 1963. Regarded as an up-and-coming prospect, Greenhoff made three appearances for Leeds in the 1963-64 campaign and notched up three goals in eleven games for the ambitious West Yorkshire side the next season. He continued to progress under the head coaching leadership of iconic Elland Road supremo Don Revie and was a member of the team which brought home the Football League Cup in 1968 after narrowly edging out Arsenal 1-0 in the final at Wembley Stadium through a goal by offensive-minded left fullback Terry Cooper in the 20th minute of the clash. But then, at the front end of the 1968-69 campaign, Greenhoff was all of a sudden transferred to Second Division outfit Birmingham City for whom he netted his first Football League goal in a 4-1 defeat to Preston North End at Deepdale on the 31st of August 1968. He went on to score the opener in a 5-1 hammering of Huddersfield Town at St Andrew´s on the 7th of September before contributing a consolation goal in a 3-1 defeat at home to Second Division newcomers Bury ten days later. He added to his tally when he netted one of the goals in a 4-0 win over neighbouring Aston Villa at St Andrew´s on the 21st of September and kept up his good scoring form by hitting the opening goal in a 3-2 victory over Carlisle United at Brunton Park on the 28th of the same month. He then scored four goals in a 5-4 win over newly relegated Fulham at St Andrew´s on the 5th of October and followed up by opening the scoring in a 2-0 triumph at home to Cardiff City only three days afterwards. He found the net again as he scored a penalty in a close 2-1 defeat against Millwall at St Andrew´s on the 19th of the same month and netted yet another goal in a much-needed 5-2 victory over Hull City on home soil on the 30th of November. Then, after a four-month goal drought, he returned to the score sheet, netting a brace in a 3-0 win over Carlisle United at St Andrew´s on the 5th of April.
Totally, Greenhoff managed to accumulate a respectable 14 goals during 31 League Division Two appearances for Birmingham City before he was brought to Stoke City by their shrewd manager Tony Waddington for a bargain transfer fee of £100,000 in the summer of 1969. Waddington, a former youth player at Manchester United before signing with Third Division North side Crewe Alexandra shortly after the end of the Second World War, had made something of a habit of buying decent players at affordable and reasonable prices and the Manchester born head coach had accomplished the feat of navigating Stoke from the brink of relegation to the third tier of English football to the First Division. After being given his debut for Stoke by Waddington in a 3-1 opening day defeat against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux Grounds, Greenhoff would go on to notch up nine goals for City in 37 appearances in 1969–70, and eleven in 48 outings the following season, including the winner in a 1-0 FA Cup Fourth Round Second Replay victory over fellow First Division club Huddersfield Town in front of a crowd of over 39,000 people at Old Trafford on the 8th of February 1971.
While at Victoria Ground, Jimmy Greenhoff was an important part of the legendary Stoke team which won the League Cup in 1972 following a 2-1 win against Chelsea in the final. In the course of their march to Wembley, Stoke had swept aside Southport, Oxford United, Manchester United, Bristol Rovers, and West Ham United, whereas the high-profile Stamford Bridge club had knocked out Plymouth Argyle, Nottingham Forest, Bolton Wanderers, Norwich City, and Tottenham Hotspur to get there. After clinching the FA Cup in 1970, Chelsea had gone on to win the UEFA European Cup Winners´ Cup the following year and Dave Sexton´s boys were brimming with confidence ahead of the League Cup Final. Up against overwhelming favourites Chelsea, Stoke went into an early 1-0 lead courtesy of a header from Republic of Ireland winger Terry Conroy, a £15,000 acquisition from Glentoran, in the fifth minute, only for England international Peter Osgood to equalise for The Pensioners when he beat City shot stopper Gordon Banks from close range shortly before the intermission refreshments. Stoke were under severe pressure after the interval, but the men in red and white stripes were dangerous on the counter-attack. Then, with seventeen minutes remaining of the final, Conroy sent a cross to John Ritchie who knocked the ball down to Greenhoff whose half-volley was parried by Chelsea goalkeeper Peter Bonetti and ex-Arsenal forward George Eastham was there to hammer home the rebound, handing The Potters a 2-1 victory over the West Londoners, and the first major title in the long history of the Stoke-on-Trent outfit. Several decent seasons would follow, but Waddington´s Victoria Ground side always seemed to lack the consistency required to bring home the First Division Championship title to Staffordshire.
Come November 1976, and Jimmy Greenhoff would make an unexpectedly £120,000 transfer move on to high-fliers Manchester United after hitting 76 goals in 274 First Division matches for Stoke City during a seven-year stay at Victoria Ground. At Old Trafford, the no-nonsense performer teamed up with his younger brother Brian Greenhoff who had signed with the club as a youth player at the start of the 1969-70 season, and had gone on to establish himself as a regular in the side following his First Division debut in a 2-1 loss to Ipswich Town at Portman Road on the 8th of September 1973. The Greenhoff brothers played together for Manchester United for the first time during a one all draw against Leicester City at Filbert Street in the First Division on the 20th of November 1976, with former Bristol City and Chelsea forward Chris Garland finding the back of the net for The Filberts after just eight minutes, and Republic of Ireland international Gerry Daly equalising for the guests with a well placed penalty kick in the 84th minute of the tie. Settling quickly to recreate his good goal scoring form at Manchester United, Greenhoff proceeded to record his first goal for his new employers in a 4-0 First Division triumph against Billy Bingham´s Everton at Old Trafford on Boxing Day 1976, and registered his second top-flight goal for the club in a 3-2 success over former team Birmingham City at St Andrew´s on the 22nd of January 1977. The Barnsley man then notched up a fine hat-trick during a 3-1 First Division victory against Newcastle United at Old Trafford on the 19th of the following month, and as the goals continued to flow, he ended the 1976-77 campaign with twelve hits in 34 first class appearances for United.
Psychologically, the somewhat surprising move to Tommy Docherty´s Manchester United was most probably the biggest career boost that Jimmy Greenhoff could possibly have asked for. A powerful and strong central attacker with a well earned reputation for producing important goals on a steady and regular basis, the former Leeds United, Birmingham City, and Stoke City ace was a great opportunist who knew how to take advantage of goal scoring chances and his awareness and sharpness inside the eighteen-yard area was second to none in the whole Football League. And, at Manchester United, the experienced campaigner would establish and develop a devastating and productive goalscoring partnership with England international Stuart Pearson that paid dividends for both strikers during his first season at Old Trafford. And although United failed to live up to expectations in the Football League as they finished the 1976-77 season in a disappointing sixth place in the First Division table, Docherty had for the second consecutive time guided the club to the FA Cup Final where they would meet North West neighbours Liverpool after having dispensed with Walsall, Queens Park Rangers, Southampton, Aston Villa, and Leeds United in the competition. At Victoria Ground, meanwhile, the Stoke City Board of Directors had decided to replace the long serving Waddington with Eastham, but the latter had not been given enough time to make an impact, and the club ultimately found themselves relegated to the Second Division at the end of the campaign, alongside Sunderland and Tottenham Hotspur.
Conceivably, the FA Cup Final between already crowned First Division Champions Liverpool and Manchester United at Wembley on the 21st of May 1977 was the absolute highlight of Greenhoff´s soccer career as he first assisted Stuart “Pancho” Pearson in the 50th minute for his team´s opening goal, and then went on to score the winner just a mere five minutes later. The 1977 FA Cup Final was also to be a special occasion for colourful Manchester United manager Tommy Docherty with his Old Trafford troops determined to prevent longtime enemies Liverpool from achieving the treble. And even though the first half of the FA Cup Final turned out to be a rather dull affair, the contest between Liverpool and Manchester United was set on fire only five minutes following the resumption of play when Greenhoff flicked the ball over Three Lions international Emlyn Hughes to hand Pearson the opportunity to shoot past helpless Anfield custodian Ray Clemence and into the back of the net. Only a couple of minutes later, though, Bob Paisley´s treble chasing side bounced back with an equaliser as midfield workhorse Jimmy Case fired Liverpool level giving Alex Stepney in the Manchester United goal no chance. Within three minutes, United went ahead once more when a ferocious effort from attack minded playmaker Lou Macari deflected off Greenhoff’s chest and then into the net. The Merseysiders pressed hard to find an equalising goal as time wore on, but the deep and compact Manchester United defence kept the opposition at bay to record a well-deserved 2-1 triumph. As for the ever optimistic Docherty, the often controversial gaffer was sacked by the Old Trafford board only a few weeks after the FA Cup Final when it became known that he was having an intimate realtion with the spouse of the club´s physiotherapist.
Greenhoff, for his part, still had a few more good years ahead of him at Manchester United and he was a member of the side which managed to reach the FA Cup Final in 1979 where they found themselves up against bitter enemies Arsenal. Manchester United, now managed by former Leyton Orient, Chelsea, and Queens Park Rangers supremo Dave Sexton, fielded a full-strength team and were aiming for their second FA Cup win in three years. The North Londoners, who had lost the FA Cup Final the previous year to Ipswich Town, began the better, though, and went into the lead through midfield engineer Brian Talbot who scored from inside the penalty box in the twelfth minute of proceedings. Frank Stapleton then made it two up for The Gunners as the lethal marksman headed an accurate cross from fellow countryman Liam Brady past Gary Bailey and into the back of goal only two minutes before the sound of the half-time whistle. Manchester United pressed hard following the break and came close on several occasions early in the second half. Then, with as little as five minutes left on the watch of referee Ron Challis, Gordon McQueen managed to pull one back for the Old Trafford outfit from close range and just a mere three minutes later in the match Sammy McIlroy beat Pat Jennings to equalise, but in the very last minute of play previous Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Alan Sunderland converted a fine cross from Graham Rix to make the final scoreline read 3-2 in the favour of Arsenal.
Jimmy Greenhoff, a surefire striker if there was one, managed to accumulate 36 hits in 123 Football League appearances for Manchester United during his short, but successful spell at the club, and he was named Player of the Year by the Old Trafford supporters in 1979. The following year, though, the industrious frontman was somewhat surprisingly deemed surplus to requirements by highly strung head coach Dave Sexton, and he subsequently made a move on to Fourth Division side Crewe Alexandra for whom he netted four goals in eleven Football League games in the 1980-81 campaign. Then, in the spring of 1981, the goal plunderer signed up with North American Soccer League outfit Toronto Blizzard where he made six goals in 24 first team appearances before he joined forces with Stoke City rivals Port Vale at the beginning of the 1981-82 season. After spending two seasons at Vale Park, he signed with Rochdale where he finished his active playing days following a brief stint as player-manager. To sum up his professional football career, it is probably only fair to claim that Greenhoff had all the qualities that every manager looks for in a centre-forward. Jimmy Greenhoff Playing Career: Leeds United, Birmingham City, Stoke City, Manchester United, Crewe Alexandra, Toronto Blizzard, Port Vale, Rochdale. Playing Honours: English FA Cup 1977, English Football League Cup 1968, 1972, Watney Mann Invitation Cup 1973, English FA Charity Shield 1977, UEFA Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1968.