Obituary – Tony Marchi

We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of our former player Tony Marchi.

A former captain of the Club in the 1950s and part of our 1961 Football League and 1963 European Cup Winners’ Cup-winning squads, Tony passed away at Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford on Tuesday evening (15 March). He was 89.

Born in Edmonton on 21 January, 1933, Tony joined us as a junior player in the late 1940s and made his first team debut as a 17-year-old under Arthur Rowe in a Second Division match against Grimsby Town at White Hart Lane in April, 1950.

The only player who was around during both our First Division title wins in 1951 and 1961, Tony was versatile enough to play numerous roles in the team. Appointed captain in the mid-1950s, he left us to join Juventus in 1957 – he had paternal roots in Italy – but due to a technicality involving the registration of overseas players, he never played for them and instead spent a season apiece on loan at Vicenza and Torino before Bill Nicholson brought him back home to Spurs in 1959.

Often serving as a back-up to Danny Blanchflower or Dave Mackay in midfield, he was widely considered capable of being a regular starter at most top-flight clubs but stayed loyal to Spurs and played six times in the league to help us win the Double in 1961 before starting in our famous 5-1 victory over Atletico Madrid in the European Cup Winners’ Cup Final in May, 1963, as we became the first British team to lift a major European trophy.

Having scored seven goals in 260 appearances across both his spells in our colours, Tony left us in 1965 and went on to manage Cambridge City, Northampton Town and Heybridge Swifts. After retiring from football, he ran a wallpaper shop near his home in Maldon, Essex, and played for Maldon Cricket Club.

In June, 2018, at the age of 85 and following a relaxation of the Football League’s medal eligibility rules, Tony finally received a winner’s medal in recognition of his part in our 1961 Football League title success, presented to him at his home by former Double-winning team-mates Cliff Jones and Terry Dyson.

We extend our condolences to Tony’s wife Marie, their sons Terry and Peter and their families at this sad time.

As a mark of respect, our players will wear black armbands during Sunday’s Premier League home match against West Ham United, with a moment’s applause observed before kick-off.