Alan Mullery was close to Gordon Banks.

Never closer than when he made the save which has stood the test of time.

Banks, England's 1966 World Cup-winning goalkeeper, has died, aged 81.

He will be remembered even more for the greatest save of all-time from Pele's header against Brazil in the World Cup in Mexico four years later.

Albion ambassador Alan Mullery (below), an England team-mate in Guadalajara and on many other occasions, said: "It's a sad loss.

The Argus: "When you think about his goalkeeping ability, everybody remembers the save he made against Pele.

"It will live forever because it was such an unbelievable feat of athletic ability, to go from one post to another post and flick the ball over the bar with his fingertips.

"The nice part about it was I went up, patted him on the head and said 'Why didn't you catch it?'

"I can't give you the volume of swear words that came out of his mouth to me. I can remember as if it was yesterday.

"But that's the way Gordon Banks was. He was a specialist in what he did.

"He hated five-a-sides. He always wanted to play as a centre-forward instead of a goalkeeper.

"He wanted to score goals. He wasn't very good at it! As a goalkeeper there are only two I remember with that ability in those days, the other was Pat Jennings.

"In Gordon Banks nobody is going to forget him. He was easily England's best-ever goalkeeper."

The tirade of expletives after that wonder save was out-of-character, not the man Mullery remembers away from the arenas where he exhibited his gift.

"He was an entirely likeable fella," Mullery said. "There was no big-headedness about being a World Cup winner.

"Like most of us he was an ordinary, general, work-a-day footballer that went in, trained, played games and in the summer had a break, went to Majorca or somewhere like that and then got back to playing again.

"We were ordinary working people. The privilege was we were being paid for something we would do if we weren't.

"Thousands of people would be playing football at Wormwood Scrubs and Hackney Marshes. They were not getting paid for that so we were privileged people."

Born in Sheffield, Banks began his career at Chesterfield before joining Leicester in 1959 for £7,000.

The Argus: He established himself as England's number one (above, picture PA/PA Wire) with Albion's next Premier League opponents, earning his first international cap in 1963 against Scotland.

He was ever-present in the 1966 World Cup, culminating in the 4-2 victory over West Germany in the final at Wembley.

In eight years at Leicester, Banks was runner-up in two FA Cup finals and won the League Cup in 1964 before joining Stoke in 1967.

He stayed at the Potters until his retirement from professional football, making 250 appearances and winning the League Cup again in 1972, the club's only major honour.

Later that year he lost the sight in his right eye after a car crash.

Banks was named FIFA goalkeeper of the year six times and earned 73 caps for England.

One of many tributes came from Ben Foster, the Watford and ex-England keeper who foiled Albion at the Amex recently with a performance Banks would have enjoyed.

Foster tweeted: "Had the pleasure of meeting you as an 18-year old-with my Dad, and him being completely star struck by you. Total gent. You will always be a member of the Goallys Union."

Banks is the fourth member of England's World Cup-winning team to pass away, joining Bobby Moore, Alan Ball and Ray Wilson. Jimmy Armfield, denied a place by injury, died last year.

Mullery, 77, said: "I tell you what, it's going to be difficult getting in the side up there isn't it."

There is no doubt who will be guarding the gates.