 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.At the end of the season Banks was named as the FWA Footballer of the Year, becoming the first goalkeeper to receive the honour since Bert Trautmann in 1956.On 22 October 1972, while driving home from a session of work on his injured shoulder with the Stoke physiotherapist, Banks lost control of his new Ford Consul (a re-badged Ford Granada Mk I) car, which ended up in a ditch.