Career
Born in Forest Gate, London Gibbins joined West Ham United in 1923 and made his debut as an amateur on 26 December 1923 against Aston Villa, creating the only goal of the game for Billy Moore. He decided not to play permanently for the club until the 1927-1928 season. He became the first unpaid West Ham player to top the club"s scoring charts in 1930-1931, with 18 league goals.
He transferred to Brentford on 19 February 1932, but left at the end of the season.
He had spells at Bristol Rovers and Southampton before joining Leyton, where he was a losing FA Amateur Cup finalist in 1934. 1934 saw Gibbins join Catford Wanderers, where he played until his retirement in 1939.
Gibbins returned to The Old Spotted Dog Ground as trainer of Clapton in the 1950s and became headmaster of Harold Road school in West Ham, retiring in the early 1970s. He continued to keep his interest in the game alive by watching local schools football and making the occasional visit to the Boleyn Ground.
The entrance to the Old Spotted Dog Ground at Disraeli Road, Newham is called the Vivian Gibbins Memorial Gate.
Whilst registered with Clapton, he made two England appearances, both against France, scoring twice in a 3-1 victory on 17 May 1924 and once on 21 May 1925. Gibbins worked as a schoolmaster and was one of the last amateur football players to feature for England.