by Martin Spinks
martin.spinks@thesentinel.co.uk

DENNIS Herod and Gordon Banks – arguably Stoke City’s two most popular goalkeepers of all time – met for the first time yesterday.

Incredibly, despite nearly a century’s service between them, these two goalkeeping greats had never even bumped into each other over the years.

But that was rectified, at the request of Dennis, when they were introduced over lunch at the beautifully appointed Crown Inn, Wrinehill.

Dennis, playing mine host at his local, was soon chatting with Gordon as if they were long lost friends re-united after a prolonged separation.

Well, they say goalkeepers are a breed apart, and it wasn’t long before they were swapping stories of the old times and comparing notes on the secret of their success between the sticks.

Gordon, despite winning everything in the game and meeting hundreds of household names, was genuinely thrilled to have met 85-year-old Dennis at long last.

“It’s fabulous,” he exclaimed. “When I first arrived at Stoke City, the older players all spoke about Dennis.

“They said what a great goalkeeper he had been, but also spoke highly of him as a person and now I can see why.

“I’m just surprised at the height of him. I think I played against someone of similar height when I was at Leicester, but I can’t think of anyone else so short for a goalkeeper.

“I can only assume Dennis’s agility must have been exceptional when he was playing.”

Dennis measured in at 5ft 9½ins in his prime – barely tall enough to make the wings these days – and it was that agility that contemporaries will readily recall.

The only surviving member of the Stoke team which so nearly won the old First Division title straight after the Second World War, Dennis was a friend and colleague of Stanley Matthews, Neil Franklin and Frank Mountford, while contemporary goalkeepers included Frank Swift, Gil (corr) Merrick, Bert Williams and Bert Trautmann.

But Gordon Banks, he insists, was the greatest of all goalkeepers.

“There were very good players and very great players,” saidDennis, “and Gordon was a true great, the greatest.

“It’s been a tremendous privilege to have met such a great goalkeeper and such a gentleman in person.

“I was told he was a gentleman, and now I can confirm that for myself.

“As president of Stoke City, Gordon has done such a great job for the club, along with Peter Coates and Tony Pulis. It’s so good to see the club doing so well at the moment.”

Dennis delighted in recalling a bygone age when he would catch the bus, like anyone else, but then have to run the gauntlet of disgruntled fans if he’d had a bad game that week.

“Mind you,” he grinned, “the wife was usually with me and she’d stick up for me.”

He also had fond memories of a trip to Liverpool in the early 1950s when manager Bob McGrory allowed him to watch the Grand National before he made his way to Anfield for an early evening kick-off.

“What a day,” he smiles mischievously. “I won £6,000 on the horses and then went and won the man-of-the-match award against Liverpool.”

And for all Gordon’s considerable achievements for club and country, even he couldn’t match the feat of one D. Herod at Villa Park once upon a time. In the days before substitutes, he came out of goal because of a broken arm and promptly scored Stoke’s winner.

“Myself and Gordon agree,” he added, “when I say I’m not jealous at what players earn today because I had a great time as a player – and you can’t take those memories away from me.

“This has been a great day for me, meeting Gordon for the first time. I shall never forget it.”

And nor will those privileged to witness the mutual respect between two of Stoke City’s most golden of oldies.

Other Stoke City stories on Why Delilah today:
Higginbotham and Wilkinson doubtful for Fulham clash
Ex-stars join forces to aid club’s struggling heroes