Widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time,[4] he made 679 appearances during a 20-year professional career, and won 73 caps for England, highlighted by starting every game of the nation's 1966 World Cup victory.

In the 1970 World Cup,[5][6][7] he made one of the game's greatest saves to prevent a Pelé goal, but was absent due to illness as England were beaten by West Germany in the quarter-finals.

He played two last seasons in the United States for the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in 1977 and 1978, and despite only having the vision in one eye, was NASL Goalkeeper of the Year in 1977 after posting the best defensive record in the league.

[18] Banks was given his first-team debut by manager Doug Livingstone, at the expense of long-serving Ron Powell, in a Third Division game against Colchester United at Saltergate in November 1958.

[21] Having just 23 league and three cup appearances to his name, it came as a surprise to Banks when Matt Gillies, manager of First Division club Leicester City, bought him from Chesterfield for £7,000 in July 1959; this also meant a wage increase to £15 a week.

[24] He had played four reserve team games when MacLaren picked up an injury, and manager Matt Gillies selected Banks for his Leicester debut against Blackpool at Filbert Street on 9 September.

[26] With McLaren fit again, Banks was sent back to the reserves, but after the first team conceded 14 goals in the next five games, he was recalled and became the first-choice goalkeeper for the remainder of the season.

[31] Right-back Len Chalmers picked up a severe injury early in the match, and with Ken Leek dropped for disciplinary reasons in favour of rookie Hughie McIlmoyle, City were effectively playing with ten men and offered little threat going forward.

[37] City beat Liverpool 1–0 at Hillsborough to reach the final, with Banks keeping a clean sheet despite his goal being under a near-constant siege from the Merseyside club.

[39] Unluckily, Banks then broke a finger in a 2–1 defeat by West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns, and was out injured as Leicester lost their final three league games, ending the season in a disappointing fourth place.

[43] The opening tie at the Victoria Ground finished 1–1 in extremely muddy conditions as Banks spilled a shot from Bill Asprey, with Keith Bebbington pouncing on the rebound.

[47] Banks missed the first nine games of the 1965–66 season after breaking his wrist when diving at the feet of Northampton Town's Joe Kiernan in a pre-season friendly.

[49] Despite being a World Cup winner in the summer of 1966, Banks was dropped towards the end of the 1966–67 season in favour of highly promising teenage reserve Peter Shilton.

[52] Liverpool manager Bill Shankly showed strong interest, but could not convince the club's board of directors to agree to such a large fee for a goalkeeper.

[64] Despite another mid-table finish in 1971–72, Stoke beat Chesterfield, Tranmere Rovers, Hull City and Manchester United to reach another FA Cup semi-final.

[69] In extra time of the second leg with West Ham, Banks fouled Harry Redknapp, conceding a penalty, and then saved Geoff Hurst's powerful spot-kick to keep City in the competition.

Peter Osgood beat Banks with a hooked shot just before half-time, but goals from Terry Conroy and George Eastham won Stoke the game 2–1.

[77] He also played one League of Ireland game for St Patrick's Athletic, keeping a clean sheet in a 1–0 win over Shamrock Rovers at Richmond Park on 2 October 1977.

[87] During England's summer of 1965 tour he built up a solid understanding with his defenders—George Cohen, Jack Charlton, Bobby Moore, and Ray Wilson—as he only conceded two goals in four matches against Hungary, Yugoslavia, West Germany, and Sweden.

[88] They then played seven friendlies in 1966 in the build-up to the World Cup, though the team passed their biggest test of character in the British Home Championship, beating Scotland 4–3 in front of a crowd of over 130,000 at Hampden Park.

England opened the tournament with a goalless draw against Uruguay, with Banks a virtual spectator as the highly defensive Uruguayans rarely ventured out of their half.

[93] England beat Argentina 1–0 in the last eight, with Geoff Hurst scoring with a header; the match was sullied by the first-half sending off of Argentinian midfielder Antonio Rattín, who refused to leave the pitch after being dismissed for dissent.

[105] Scotland were the first team to beat the world champions, as goals from Denis Law, Bobby Lennox and Jim McCalliog secured a 3–2 victory at Wembley on 15 April 1967.

[111] Playing at pace, Brazil were putting England under enormous pressure and an attack was begun by captain Carlos Alberto who sent a low ball down the right flank for the speedy Jairzinho to latch on to.

[113][114] The split-second incident only allowed Banks time for one conscious thought – that the shot was impossible to catch, and the only way to prevent Pelé from following up on the rebound would be to parry the ball over the bar.

[113] Banks then rose to his feet to defend the corner and broke into laughter after the following exchange:[115] Pelé and numerous journalists and pundits would later describe the save as the greatest in the game's history.

[119] The day before the West Germany game, England's hopes of making further inroads into the World Cup were dented when Banks complained of an upset stomach.

[120] He passed an extremely undemanding fitness test but suffered a relapse shortly before the game, and Ramsey was forced to rest him and play Peter Bonetti in his place.

He possessed an excellent positional sense, which he felt to be one of his best assets, and was also known for his handling, awareness, composure, and mental strength, as well as his agility, speed, and quick reflexes, which enabled him to produce acrobatic saves, such as his famous stop from Pelé's header against Brazil at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico.

Irish investigative author, Don Mullan, published a boyhood memoir in 2006 called Gordon Banks – A Hero Who Could Fly[156] in which he wrote about the influence of the England goalkeeper on his life.