Obituary | Terry Dyson
The Club is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Terry Dyson, a key member of Bill Nicholson's all-conquering team of the early 1960s. He was 91.
Famously small in stature at 5ft 3ins, Terry was the man for the big occasion.
He scored in the FA Cup Final as we clinched the 'double' of league championship and FA Cup in 1961 and produced arguably his best display in the 1963 European Cup Winners' Cup Final, when he scored twice as we beat Atletico Madrid 5-1 to become the first British side to claim a European trophy.
Terry also remains the only Spurs player to score a hat-trick in the north London derby.
Born in Malton, Yorkshire on 29 November, 1934, the son of jockey 'Ginger' Dyson, Terry was invited for a trial after a Spurs scout watched him score five goals for the Army in a match against the Guards. He joined us as an amateur in December, 1954 before signing professional forms in April, 1955.
Terry went on to spend 10 successful years at White Hart Lane. Famed for his tenacious nature and fierce competitive spirit, he spent his early days as understudy to George Robb and Terry Medwin before Cliff Jones' arrival in 1958 would appear to limit his chances again but, despite interest from other clubs, Bill kept him at Spurs and it paid dividends.
Playing mainly down the left flank, with Cliff on the right of a formidable forward line, Terry started 47 of our 49 matches in the double season, weighing in with an impressive 17 goals (12 in the league, five in the FA Cup) and none more important than his diving header in the FA Cup Final against Leicester City, where our 2-0 win saw us become the first team to clinch the league and FA Cup 'double' in the 20th century.
His most famous moment in a white shirt arrived two years later, when he scored twice as we became the first British team to win a European trophy with a 5-1 demolition of Atletico Madrid in the final of the European Cup Winners' Cup.
His team-mate and fellow goalscorer in the 1961 FA Cup Final, striker Bobby Smith, said to Terry afterwards, 'you better retire now, you'll never play better'.
Terry stayed for another two years, taking his total of appearances in all competitions to 209, scoring a superb tally of 55 goals.
From Spurs, Terry moved to Fulham in May, 1965 and had spells at Colchester, Guildford City and Wealdstone before managerial stints at Kingsbury, Wingate, Dagenham - where he won the FA Trophy in 1980 - Boreham Wood, Ruislip and Kingsbury Town.
He was then a referee's observer for the Premier Academy League for a spell from 1999, when he was a regular visitor to matches at our former training ground, Spurs Lodge.
A true Spurs great, we would like to send our condolences to Terry’s family and friends at this sad time.