Gordon Banks: the goalkeeper who saved Pele’s header

Gordon Banks was an England goalkeeper who helped England win their only World Cup in 1966. But he is best known for one moment at the 1970 World Cup, when he stopped a header from Brazil’s Pele that looked a certain goal. FIFA counts it among the most famous saves in World Cup history¹. He played 73 matches for England and was named FIFA Goalkeeper of the Year six times².

Early life and beginnings

Banks was born on 30 December 1937 in Sheffield, England. According to FIFA, at the age of 18 he was still working as a bricklayer, and at around 22 he played his first match in the top division¹. His professional career began at Chesterfield⁴.

Club career

Banks joined Leicester City in 1959. With Leicester he played in two FA Cup finals, in 1961 and 1963, losing both, but won the League Cup in 1964³⁴.

In 1967 he moved to Stoke City, where he won the League Cup again in 1972, beating Chelsea 2-1³. In the same year, English football writers named him Footballer of the Year⁴. According to FIFA, he played more than 600 matches in total for Leicester and Stoke¹.

In October 1972 he lost the sight in one eye in a car accident and never played top-level football again¹³. Even so, in 1977 he played in the United States for the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in the North American Soccer League. He conceded only 29 goals in 26 matches and was named the league’s best goalkeeper⁴.

International career

Banks played his first match for England in 1963. The 1966 World Cup was held in England. According to FIFA, he went 442 minutes in the tournament without conceding, before Portugal’s Eusebio beat him with a penalty in the semi-final. England thus went seven matches unbeaten. In the final at Wembley, England beat West Germany to win the World Cup¹.

The 1970 World Cup was held in Mexico. In a group match in Guadalajara, England faced Brazil. From a cross by Jairzinho on the right, Pele headed the ball hard downwards towards the corner of the goal. Banks dived full length and managed to push the ball over the crossbar. Pele later said: “As I headed it, I was sure it was a goal”. Brazil won the match 1-0⁴. Banks himself said people would remember him not for winning the World Cup but “for that save”¹.

He remained England’s goalkeeper until 1972⁴.

Style of play

Banks was known for his positioning, agility and consistency¹⁴. Bobby Charlton, his team-mate in the 1966 side, said he was “a great goalkeeper, undoubtedly one of England’s best”, and that he still did not understand how Banks stopped Pele’s header².

Statistics

The figures for English clubs cover all official competitions, and those for Fort Lauderdale cover league matches only. They were taken from Wikipedia’s career table on 20 October 2026, and the combined total for Leicester and Stoke matches FIFA’s “more than 600”. Short loan spells are not included. England’s 73 matches are from the Football Association¹²⁴.

Honours

• FIFA World Cup: 1966 [1]
• English League Cup: 1964 (Leicester), 1972 (Stoke) [3]
• FIFA Goalkeeper of the Year: six times [2]
• Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year: 1972 [4]
• Second-best goalkeeper of the 20th century (IFFHS, after Lev Yashin) [1]

Legacy

Banks died on 12 February 2019 at the age of 81². Peter Shilton succeeded him at both Leicester and England. Even today, when a goalkeeper’s extraordinary save is discussed, that moment in Guadalajara in 1970 is regarded as the standard¹.