 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.The game ended 2–2, and Banks kept his place against Norwich City in the following match; by the end of the 1958–59 season he had missed only three games, those owing to injury.With no goalkeeping coach to guide him, Banks had to learn from his mistakes on the pitch, and he soon developed into a modern vocal goalkeeper who ordered the players in front of him into a more effective defence.