Paul Trevillion 80 Years at Spurs

Paul Trevillion’s genius as an artist and illustrator has captured the world’s leading sports stars.

- Paul Miles

Pele, George Best, Bobby Moore, Gazza, Muhammad Ali, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Oscar De La Hoya and Michael Jordan have all come under his spell. Tiger loved his drawing so much he kept the original.

His work has appeared in just about every national newspaper, most recently his ‘You Are The Ref’ series, first seen over 55 years ago and a regular in the likes of ‘Shoot’ and ‘Eagle’ comics, appeared again for 10 years in the Guardian/Observer.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg of a remarkable career. His Gary Player Golf Class series was syndicated to over 1,000 publications worldwide, and we’ve not even mentioned ‘Roy of the Rovers’. Perhaps the biggest compliment of all came from Disney animator Milt Neil, who described him as the ‘Master of Movement’.

Paul turned 83 last Saturday (March 11) and his life both with and without the sketchbook went full circle two weeks ago.

As he’s jetted all over the world, one thing has remained constant – his love for Tottenham Hotspur.

On February 22, 1937, we beat Everton 4-3 in an FA Cup fourth round replay. That was the day that cemented Paul’s ties with our great club forever, his first visit to White Hart Lane. Over 80 years later, Paul was back pitch side as we played – yes – Everton.

A whirlwind of enthusiasm, Paul was almost lost for words when the great Ledley King appeared from the tunnel to present him with a special ‘Trevillion 80’ home shirt.