Victor George Groves (5 November 1932 – 24 January 2015) was an English

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

Career

Born in

Stepney Stepney is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London. Stepney is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name was applied to ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, Groves started his career at east London non-league clubs

Leytonstone Leytonstone ( ) is an area in East London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It adjoins Wanstead to the north-east, Forest Gate to the south-east, Stratford to the south-west, Leyton to the west, and Walthamstow to the nor ...

and Walthamstow Avenue, and then briefly as an amateur for

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

before signing professional forms with Leyton Orient in 1954. He scored twice on his Tottenham debut in a 3–1 victory over

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

White Hart Lane White Hart Lane was a Association football, football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater i ...

in September 1952. He made four appearances for the 'Lilywhites'. Playing as an

inside forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...

, his regular goalscoring for Orient soon attracted the attention of

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

, who signed him in November 1955 for £23,000, at the time a very high figure. He scored on his debut, against Sheffield United on 12 November 1955, in a 2–1 First Division win ( Don Roper grabbing the other Arsenal goal). Despite an eye-catching start, Groves initially struggled to live up to expectations at Arsenal, his first season at the club hampered by injury, first to a knee and then to his back. It wasn't until the 1958–59 season, that he had established a regular place. Groves scored ten goals that season and formed a useful attacking partnership with David Herd. The season after that, he was switched to

wing-half In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

, where he played for the rest of his career; Groves was also made Arsenal captain, following the departure of

Dave Bowen David Lloyd Bowen (7 June 1928 – 25 September 1995) was a Welsh football player and manager, who captained his country to their first ever World Cup finals, in 1958. Playing career Born in Maesteg, Bowen first played for Northampton Town. ...

. His spell at Arsenal was continually hampered by injury; although when he did play, he was impressive enough so that he was selected for the

London XI The London XI was a Association football, football team that represented the city of London in the 1955–58 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. The competition began in 1955, and the first tournament took three years to complete. The entrants were the ma ...

that played (and lost to)

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

in the first

Inter-Cities Fairs Cup The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, most commonly referred to as the Fairs Cup and sometimes as the European Fairs Cup or Fairs Cities' Cup, was a European football competition played between 1955 and 1971. The Fairs Cup was the idea of FIFA vice-presid ...

final in 1958. Groves lost his first-team place in the 1961–62 season, although he stayed at Arsenal as a bit-part player until the summer of 1964, when he left to sign for Southern League side Canterbury City. In all he played 201 times for Arsenal, scoring 37 goals. Although he represented England at amateur and youth level, he never won a full cap. Whilst a player, Groves ran a garage, just off Blackstock Road, close to the Arsenal ground. After retiring from playing Groves left the game completely, running a

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

and working in

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to protect ...

. His great nephew, Perry Groves, played for Arsenal in the 1980s and 1990s, helping them win two league titles and a

Football League Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Groves, Vic 1932 births 2015 deaths English men's footballers England men's under-23 international footballers Men's association football midfielders Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Walthamstow Avenue F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players Arsenal F.C. players Footballers from the London Borough of Tower Hamlets People from Stepney London XI players English Football League players Canterbury City F.C. players Leytonstone F.C. players 20th-century English sportsmen