29 December 1980 - Arrivederci, Gigi

On 29 December 1980, Luigi "Gigi" Peronace, the first football agent in England, died of a heart attack in Montevideo. He was 55 years old.

The Calabria-born Peronace (pictured at far left) held a variety of roles in football, including serving as a translator for Juventus managers William Chalmers and Jesse Carver. He also served as Carver's business manager at Tornio, but left there in 1954 to become the transfer manager at Lazio.

He moved into agency in 1957, when he was contacted by then-Leyton Orient manager Alex Stock, who was interested in taking charge of an Italian club. Peronace helped negotiate a deal with Roma and Stock became their manager later that year. That same year, he was involved in bringing Leeds United forward John Charles to Juventus for a British-record fee of £65,000 (almost double the previous record).

Peronace helped shatter that record when he negotiated the sale of Denis Law from Manchester City to Torino for £100,000. He then beat it again when he helped Law move back to Manchester (this time for Manchester United) for £115,000. Meanwhile, he was also involved in Jimmy Greaves' switch from Chelsea to AC Milan and Joe Baker's move from Hibernian to Torino, then later helped Liam Brady join Juventus from Arsenal.

He wasn't only an agent--in addition to serving as general manager for the Italian national team for the 1978 World Cup and the 1980 European Championship, he helped organize the Anglo-Italian Cup in 1970 (it was later named the Gigi Peronace Memorial).

20 February 1940 - Nothing Funny About That Scoring Record

On 20 February 1940, Jimmy Greaves was born in the London's East Ham district. He would go on to become the greatest goalscorer in the history of the English top flight.

He got off to a great start, scoring on his professional debut with Chelsea in 1957. In four seasons at Stamford Bridge, he scored a total of 132 goals in all competitions, making 169 appearances. While there, he twice finished as the First Division's top scorer, including a 41-goal league tally in 1960-61 that remains a club record (as does his all-competition total of 43 the same season).

After a brief unhappy period with AC Milan, he returned to England with Tottenham Hotspur, where he stayed for nine seasons. It was one of Spurs' most successful periods, as they won the 1963 European Cup Winner's Cup and two FA Cups (1962, 1967). During his time with Spurs, Greaves was a member of England's 1966 World Cup-winning side, but was injured in their last group stage match. Because he missed the remainder of the tournament, including the Final, he did not receive a winner's medal at the time. But after an FA campaign, he received his medal in 2009.

After leaving Tottenham, Greaves played briefly for West Ham, making 40 appearances between 1969 and 1971, when he retired. In all, he scored a record 366 goals in 528 English top flight appearances. Afterward, he became a television pundit famous for his catch-phrase, "it's a funny old game."

15 May 1963 - Hot Spurs

On 15 May 1963, Tottenham Hotspur became the first British club to win a European trophy by beating defending champions Atlético Madrid 5-1 in the European Cup Winners' Cup Final. And Spurs were truly a British club - all eleven starters and manager Bill Nicholson were from the Home Countries of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

As its name implies, the Cup Winner's Cup, which was first played in the 1960-61 season, pitted the various winners of the European domestic cup competitions against each other. Spurs reached the Final with wins over previous finalists Glasgow Rangers in the first round, followed by wins over Czech side Slovan Bratislava and Yugoslavia's OFK Beograd. Atlético's road to the Final was paved with victories over Maltese side Hibernians, Bulgaria's Botev Plovdiv, and Germany's Nuremberg.

Played at Rotterdam's Feyenoord Stadium before a crowd of 49,000, the Final was close for about a half. Tottenham forward Jimmy Greaves scored first in the 16th minute, then his fellow forward John White extended the lead to 2-0 in the 35th minute. The Spanish side pulled one back shortly after the break, when forward Enrique Collar converted a 47th-minute penalty kick, but it was all Spurs after that.

Forward Terry Dyson restored the two-goal advantage with a 67th-minute strike, then both he and Graves completed braces (Greaves 80', Dyson 85') to finish the match 5-1.

Before UEFA discontinued the Cup Winners' Cup after the 1998-99 season, a handful of British clubs followed after Spurs, including West Ham (1965), Manchester City (1970), Chelsea (1971 and 1998), Rangers (1972), Aberdeen (1983), Everton (1985), Manchester United (1991), and Arsenal (1994).

9 April 1988 - I Wish I Knew Why The Arsenal Always Seem To Be On The Other End Of These Records

On 9 April 1988, Southampton striker Alan Shearer became the youngest person in history to score a hat-trick in England's top flight. At 17 years and 240 days old, he smashed the previous record set by Jimmy Greaves (20 years, 290 days) in 1960.

Shearer joined Southampton's youth academy in 1986 and was called up to the first team two years later, making his first professional appearance on 26 March 1988 as a substitute in Southampton's 1-0 win over Chelsea. Around noon on 9 April, he was informed that he would receive his first start that evening at home against Arsenal because the scheduled starter, winger Danny Wallace, failed a late fitness test.

Shearer made the most of the opportunity, heading in his first goal after five minutes. Arsenal drew level five minutes later thanks to an own goal from Southampton's Kevin Bond, but the hosts took a 3-1 lead into the break after another goal from Shearer (33') and one from Mark Blake (44'). Shearer's historic moment came early in the second half, as he scored his third of the day in the 49th minute.

The Gunners mounted a late challenge and finally found the back of the net when Paul Davis scored in the 82nd minute, but it was too late and Southampton finished with the 4-2 victory.

Shearer would go on to have a prolific career with Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, and Newcastle, scoring a total of 379 career club goals in all competitions. 260 of those were in the Premier League, making him the League's all-time leading goalscorer.

29 December 1980 - Arrivederci, Gigi

On 29 December 1980, Luigi "Gigi" Peronace, the first football agent in England, died of a heart attack in Montevideo. He was 55 years old.

The Calabria-born Peronace (pictured at far left) held a variety of roles in football, including serving as a translator for Juventus managers William Chalmers and Jesse Carver. He also served as Carver's business manager at Tornio, but left there in 1954 to become the transfer manager at Lazio.

He moved into agency in 1957, when he was contacted by then-Leyton Orient manager Alex Stock, who was interested in taking charge of an Italian club. Peronace helped negotiate a deal with Roma and Stock became their manager later that year. That same year, he was involved in bringing Leeds United forward John Charles to Juventus for a British-record fee of £65,000 (almost double the previous record).

Peronace helped shatter that record when he negotiated the sale of Denis Law from Manchester City to Torino for £100,000. He then beat it again when he helped Law move back to Manchester (this time for Manchester United) for £115,000. Meanwhile, he was also involved in Jimmy Greaves' switch from Chelsea to AC Milan and Joe Baker's move from Hibernian to Torino, then later helped Liam Brady join Juventus from Arsenal.

He wasn't only an agent--in addition to serving as general manager for the Italian national team for the 1978 World Cup and the 1980 European Championship, he helped organize the Anglo-Italian Cup in 1970 (it was later named the Gigi Peronace Memorial).

20 February 1940 - Nothing Funny About That Scoring Record

On 20 February 1940, Jimmy Greaves was born in the London's East Ham district. He would go on to become the greatest goalscorer in the history of the English top flight.

He got off to a great start, scoring on his professional debut with Chelsea in 1957. In four seasons at Stamford Bridge, he scored a total of 132 goals in all competitions, making 169 appearances. While there, he twice finished as the First Division's top scorer, including a 41-goal league tally in 1960-61 that remains a club record (as does his all-competition total of 43 the same season).

After a brief unhappy period with AC Milan, he returned to England with Tottenham Hotspur, where he stayed for nine seasons. It was one of Spurs' most successful periods, as they won the 1963 European Cup Winner's Cup and two FA Cups (1962, 1967). During his time with Spurs, Greaves was a member of England's 1966 World Cup-winning side, but was injured in their last group stage match. Because he missed the remainder of the tournament, including the Final, he did not receive a winner's medal at the time. But after an FA campaign, he received his medal in 2009.

After leaving Tottenham, Greaves played briefly for West Ham, making 40 appearances between 1969 and 1971, when he retired. In all, he scored a record 366 goals in 528 English top flight appearances. Afterward, he became a television pundit famous for his catch-phrase, "it's a funny old game."

15 May 1963 - Hot Spurs

On 15 May 1963, Tottenham Hotspur became the first British club to win a European trophy by beating defending champions Atlético Madrid 5-1 in the European Cup Winners' Cup Final. And Spurs were truly a British club - all eleven starters and manager Bill Nicholson were from the Home Countries of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

As its name implies, the Cup Winner's Cup, which was first played in the 1960-61 season, pitted the various winners of the European domestic cup competitions against each other. Spurs reached the Final with wins over previous finalists Glasgow Rangers in the first round, followed by wins over Czech side Slovan Bratislava and Yugoslavia's OFK Beograd. Atlético's road to the Final was paved with victories over Maltese side Hibernians, Bulgaria's Botev Plovdiv, and Germany's Nuremberg.

Played at Rotterdam's Feyenoord Stadium before a crowd of 49,000, the Final was close for about a half. Tottenham forward Jimmy Greaves scored first in the 16th minute, then his fellow forward John White extended the lead to 2-0 in the 35th minute. The Spanish side pulled one back shortly after the break, when forward Enrique Collar converted a 47th-minute penalty kick, but it was all Spurs after that.

Forward Terry Dyson restored the two-goal advantage with a 67th-minute strike, then both he and Graves completed braces (Greaves 80', Dyson 85') to finish the match 5-1.

Before UEFA discontinued the Cup Winners' Cup after the 1998-99 season, a handful of British clubs followed after Spurs, including West Ham (1965), Manchester City (1970), Chelsea (1971 and 1998), Rangers (1972), Aberdeen (1983), Everton (1985), Manchester United (1991), and Arsenal (1994).

9 April 1988 - I Wish I Knew Why The Arsenal Always Seem To Be On The Other End Of These Records

On 9 April 1988, Southampton striker Alan Shearer became the youngest person in history to score a hat-trick in England's top flight. At 17 years and 240 days old, he smashed the previous record set by Jimmy Greaves (20 years, 290 days) in 1960.

Shearer joined Southampton's youth academy in 1986 and was called up to the first team two years later, making his first professional appearance on 26 March 1988 as a substitute in Southampton's 1-0 win over Chelsea. Around noon on 9 April, he was informed that he would receive his first start that evening at home against Arsenal because the scheduled starter, winger Danny Wallace, failed a late fitness test.

Shearer made the most of the opportunity, heading in his first goal after five minutes. Arsenal drew level five minutes later thanks to an own goal from Southampton's Kevin Bond, but the hosts took a 3-1 lead into the break after another goal from Shearer (33') and one from Mark Blake (44'). Shearer's historic moment came early in the second half, as he scored his third of the day in the 49th minute.

The Gunners mounted a late challenge and finally found the back of the net when Paul Davis scored in the 82nd minute, but it was too late and Southampton finished with the 4-2 victory.

Shearer would go on to have a prolific career with Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, and Newcastle, scoring a total of 379 career club goals in all competitions. 260 of those were in the Premier League, making him the League's all-time leading goalscorer.