Martin Chivers

Southampton

Chivers attended Taunton's Grammar School, Southampton, and wrote to his local club, Southampton for a trial. He spent a brief period in the club's nursery side, CPC Sports, and signed as a professional footballer in September 1962, making his debut against Charlton Athletic on 8 September 1962 (aged 17). His first goal came in a 4–1 defeat by Newcastle United on 6 April 1963 in his third first-team appearance. This goal meant that his name is also in the record books as the first substitute to score for the Saints. In the 1963–64 season, Chivers became a regular starter and was the club's joint leading goalscorer (with Terry Paine) with 21 goals, as Southampton finished a disappointing fifth in the Second Division. The following season, he was again a virtual ever-present, making 39 appearances with 17 goals as the Saints improved to fourth place. In the 1965–66 season, Chivers played an integral role as the club finally gained promotion to the top flight (as runners-up), scoring 30 goals from 39 games, generally from crosses provided by Terry Paine and John Sydenham. All his goals were scored from the first 29 games, and he failed to find the net after the end of February. Once in the First Division, Chivers played second fiddle to the Welsh striker, Ron Davies, scoring 14 and 13 goals respectively in the next two seasons. Chivers became unsettled at The Dell and was soon being chased by many of the top clubs. Saints' manager Ted Bates was prepared to…

On 8 April 1964, Chivers made his debut for the England under-23 team against France, coming on as a substitute and scoring a goal in a 2–3 loss. He remained a fixture of the under-23 squad for the next four years and scored seven goals in 17 appearances. On 3 February 1971, Chivers made his debut for England against Malta. On 21 April, he scored his first goal in his second cap, in a 3–0 win over Greece. In October 1973, Chivers won the last of his full England caps against Poland in an infamous World Cup qualifier. Despite scoring six international goals in the calendar year, the Spurs striker was a casualty of his country's failure to qualify for the tournament and would later be ignored by caretaker manager Joe Mercer and future boss Don Revie. He was capped 24 times for England, scoring 13 goals.

Scores and results list England's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Chivers goal.

After retiring from professional football he bought and owned The Brookmans Park hotel from 1981 to 1999 in Brookmans Park, Hertfordshire. Chivers also commentated for BBC Radio and remained a popular matchday host at White Hart Lane. In April 2007, he was inducted into the Tottenham Hotspur Hall of Fame. In May 2008, he was appointed the National Development Manager to the Football Association. Chivers's autobiography, Big Chiv – My Goals in Life, was released in October 2009. Chivers died on 7 January 2026, at the age of 80.