 A centre forward who remained an amateur for the first part of his career, Gibbons played for non-league clubs Uxbridge, Hayes and Kingstonian and had it not been for family influence, he may have turned professional with Fulham in late 1934.Gibbons joined Football League Second Division club Tottenham Hotspur in July 1937 and scored on his debut, in a 3–0 victory at Sheffield Wednesday on 16 September 1937.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, with 12 of his strikes coming in the form of hat-tricks in four consecutive games mid-season.