Maurice Norman (8 May 1934 – 27 November 2022) was an English footballer who played nearly 400 times in the Football League as a centre half for Norwich City and Tottenham Hotspur. At international level, Norman won 23 caps for the England national team.[2]

Maurice Norman
Norman in 1964
Personal information
Full name Maurice Norman[1]
Date of birth (1934-05-08)8 May 1934
Place of birth Mulbarton, England
Date of death 27 November 2022(2022-11-27) (aged 88)
Position(s) Defender
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1952–1955 Norwich City 35 (0)
1955–1966 Tottenham Hotspur 357 (16)
Total 392 (16)
International career
1962–1964 England 23 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals
Tottenham Hotspur in 1960 with Danny Blanchflower (captain) and both goalkeepers, Bill Brown and John Hollowbread, in the team with Cecil Poynton as trainer and Bill Nicholson as manager. Maurice Norman is the fourth player standing.

Club career

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Norman was born in Mulbarton, Norfolk. He began his career at Norwich City, and played 35 league matches for the Canaries between 1952 and 1955.[2] Despite such a short career with the club, he was elected into the Norwich City Hall of Fame in 2002.[3] He signed for Tottenham Hotspur in November 1955 for a £28,000 transfer fee, that also included the return transfer of Ireland international striker Johnny Gavin to Norwich.[4] Norman played his first game for his new club against Cardiff City, and stayed at White Hart Lane until 1965, making 411 first-team appearances and scoring 19 goals for Spurs. He was an integral part of Bill Nicholson's Double-winning Tottenham team of 1960–61 that went on to retain the FA Cup in 1962, and win the 1963 Cup Winners' Cup.[5]

International career

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At international level, Norman made 23 appearances for England, including in the 1962 World Cup. He was also a member of the England squad at the 1958 World Cup, but did not play.[5] He suffered a double fracture of tibia and fibula playing for Spurs against a Hungarian Select XI in November 1965,[6][7] which brought a premature end to his career.[5]

Personal life and death

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In 2014, Norman was diagnosed with vascular dementia.[8]

Norman died from cancer on 27 November 2022, at the age of 88.[8][9]

Honours

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Tottenham Hotspur

References

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  1. ^ "Maurice Norman". Englandstats.com. Retrieved 6 January 2010.  
  2. ^ a b "Maurice Norman". UK A–Z Transfers. Neil Brown. Retrieved 6 January 2010.
  3. ^ "New Hall Of Fame Members Enrolled". Norwich City F.C. 26 November 2009. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2010.
  4. ^ "Canary Centenary Great Players". Norwich Evening News. Archived from the original on 14 August 2007. Retrieved 6 January 2010.
  5. ^ a b c "Maurice Norman". Hall of Fame. Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Retrieved 6 January 2010.
  6. ^ "Spurs Show More Invention In Attack". The Times. 19 November 1965. p. 4. Near the end, too, came an unfortunate accident to Norman, a pure mischance, when he fell going for a heavy tackle, was taken from the field on a stretcher, and thence to hospital with a fractured leg.
  7. ^ "Nation's Cup To Be Changed. Already Too Much Football". The Times. 20 November 1965. p. 4.
  8. ^ a b "Obituary: Maurice Norman". Tottenham Hotspur. 27 November 2022. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  9. ^ "Maurice Norman obituary". The Times. 29 November 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  10. ^ a b Vernon, Leslie; Rollin, Jack (1977). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1977–78. London: Brickfield Publications Ltd. p. 490. ISBN 0354 09018 6.
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