[5] Gibbons joined Football League Second Division club Tottenham Hotspur in July 1937 and scored on his debut,[6] in a 3–0 victory at Sheffield Wednesday on 16 September 1937.
[7] Owing to his RAF service, he obtained the nickname "Wings" amongst the Spurs support and made 36 appearances and scored 18 goals during the 1937–38 season,[5][8] with 12 of his strikes coming in the form of hat-tricks in four consecutive games mid-season.
[3] In 1945, Gibbons turned professional and signed with Bradford Park Avenue to play the 1945–46 season in the wartime league and an expanded FA Cup.
[4] In March 1949, Gibbons brought former Bradford Park Avenue teammate and future England manager Ron Greenwood to the club he supported as a boy and later named him captain.
[14][15] In February 1951, Gibbons brought football analyst Charles Reep to Griffin Park on a part-time basis until the end of the 1950–51 season.
[16] Gibbons managed Brentford until the end of the 1951–52 season, making three consecutive top 10 finishes in the Second Division, but he found himself at odds with the club's board during a difficult time financially for the Bees.
[17] A falling out with star wing halves Jimmy Hill and Ron Greenwood towards the end of 1951 saw the Bees' form tail off,[18] with the club finishing the 1951–52 season in 10th place, after challenging for promotion in mid-season.