Tottenham Hotspur Players' Hall of Fame

The following players are noted as "greats" for their contributions to the club or have been inducted into the club's Hall of Fame.

#### Ted Ditchburn, Goalkeeper (1939-58)

Edwin George ***'Ted' Ditchburn*** (October 24, 1921 – December 26, 2005) was an English professional football goalkeeper who played for Northfleet United, Tottenham Hotspur, Romford, Brentwood Town and represented England on six occasions at international level.

He developed the 'short throw' that provided the starting block for then Tottenham manager Arthur Rowe's famous push and run style of the early 1950s.

After his football career ended he established a toy shop, a sports outfitters and was involved in an office equipment venture. A keen cricketer and tennis player, he retired and settled in Romford, and died on December 26, 2005.

* Ditchburn made his senior debut for the Spurs in a wartime league match against Chelsea on **May 25, 1940**.
* He made his Football League debut against Birmingham City on **August 31, 1946**.
* Following an unofficial war time match in 1944, Ditchburn made his international debut for England on **December 2, 1948** in a friendly against Switzerland, in which England won 6-0.

#### Glenn Hoddle, Midfielder (1975-87, player; 2001-03, manager)

***Glenn Hoddle*** (born in Hayes, Middlesex, on **October 27, 1957**) is an English former footballer and manager and current television pundit for ITV Sport and BT Sport who played as a midfielder for Tottenham Hotspur, AS Monaco, Chelsea and Swindon Town and at international level for England. He was most recently first team coach at Queens Park Rangers having been appointed, on a part-time basis, to assist Harry Redknapp in the summer of 2014.] However, following Redknapp's resignation in February 2015, Hoddle also left the club.

In 2007, he was inducted into the National Football Museum Hall of Fame, which cited him as one of the most gifted English footballers of his generation, exhibiting "sublime balance and close control, unrivalled passing and vision and extraordinary shooting ability, both from open play and set pieces".

He has been manager of Swindon Town (earning promotion to the Premier League), Chelsea (taking them to the FA Cup final), Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur (reaching a League Cup final) and most recently Wolverhampton Wanderers.

As a manager, he took England to the second round of the 1998 FIFA World Cup, where they lost to Argentina on penalties.

According to Hoddle, he became a Spurs fan after attending a Spurs reserve match around 1968. He first came to the attention of Spurs when another Tottenham legend Martin Chivers and Ray Evans went to present prizes at a local school cup final and noticed the potential of the 11-year-old schoolboy, and on Chivers' recommendation he was invited to train with the club at Tottenham's practice ground in Cheshunt.

* Hoddle joined the club as a junior when he was 12, and signed for the club as an apprentice on **April 17, 1974**.
* He successfully overcame knee problems in his early teens and collected eight England Youth caps, first of these on **March 18, 1975** against Spain.
* He made his Spurs first-team debut as a 17-year-old substitute for Cyril Knowles against Norwich City on **August 30, 1975**, a game that ended 2–2.
* Hoddle was forced to wait until **February 21, 1976** to start a First Division match and immediately announced his arrival with the winning goal, a spectacular strike past Stoke City and England goalkeeper Peter Shilton.
* Hoddle's international career began on **December 15, 1976** in an Under-21 friendly fixture against Wales.
* He would collect another eleven caps at that level, and play twice for the England 'B' team prior to scoring on his full international debut against Bulgaria on **November 22, 1979**.
* Hoddle scored Tottenham's goal, in extra time, in the 1982 FA Cup Final draw against Queen's Park Rangers on **May 22, 1982**.
* He then scored the only goal, sixth minute penalty, in the replay on **May 27, 1982**.
* Hoddle accepted the England manager's job on **May 2, 1996**.
* On **January 30, 1999**, with the England team preparing for Euro 2000, an interview was published in The Times newspaper in an attempt by Hoddle to defend himself against his critics over issues such as faith healer Eileen Drewery, and his faith. The interview revealed that Hoddle had a "controversial belief that the disabled, and others, are being punished for sins in a former life." Hoddle's comments were criticised by several politicians including Sports Minister Tony Banks and Prime Minister Tony Blair, and a BBC poll showed 90% of respondents believing Hoddle should not continue as English manager. However, the BBC survey also showed that while many considered his comments insensitive to disabled people, others defended his right to express his religious beliefs by claiming that to sack him would constitute religious discrimination. Hoddle claimed his words were misinterpreted and pointed out his contributions and commitment to organisations helping disabled people.
* The Football Association terminated Hoddle's contract on **February 2, 1999**, which was welcomed by representatives of disabled groups. The disabled rights campaigner Lord Ashley however, while criticising Hoddle's views, defended his right to express them, likening the campaign against Hoddle to a "witchhunt" and considered Hoddle's dismissal "a sad day for British tolerance and freedom of speech". Much later criticism was made of Hoddle's dismissal on the grounds that he had been forced out for non-footballing reasons.
* Hoddle was inducted into Tottenham Hotspur's Hall of Fame on December 7, 2006.