Banks in safe hands

The coffin of England's World Cup-winning goalkeeper Gordon Banks being carried to the Stoke Minster church by four goalkeepers representing his three former clubs and England: Stoke's Jack Butland, Chesterfield's Joe Anyon, Leicester's Kasper Schmei
PHOTO: REUTERS

The coffin of England's World Cup-winning goalkeeper Gordon Banks being carried to the Stoke Minster church by four goalkeepers representing his three former clubs and England: Stoke's Jack Butland, Chesterfield's Joe Anyon, Leicester's Kasper Schmeichel, and Joe Hart. Yesterday, crowds of mourning fans joined luminaries of English football for a final farewell to Banks, a steelworker's son who became one of the world's greatest goalkeepers and will be remembered for his stupendous save against Pele at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico. The five-car cortege went on a procession through the city, stopping at Stoke's stadium, where ticket holders came to watch the funeral on the big screen. Banks, who died aged 81 on Feb 12, was Fifa goalkeeper of the year six times.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on March 05, 2019, with the headline Banks in safe hands. Subscribe