Stanley Matthews

Sir Stanley Matthews
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Personal information
Full name	Stanley Matthews
Date of birth	February 1, 1915
Place of birth	Hanley, England
Date of death	February 23 2000 (aged 85)
Place of death	Stoke-on-Trent, England
Nickname	The Wizard of the Dribble, The Magician, Sir Stan
Position	Right wing, Midfielder
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1932-1947 1947-1961 1961-1965	Stoke City Blackpool Stoke City Total	259 (51) 380 (17) 059 0(3) 698 (71)
National team
1934-1957	England	054 (11)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. * Appearances (Goals)

Sir Stanley Matthews, CBE (February 1 1915 - February 23 2000) was a football player. Often regarded as one of the greats of the English game, he was the first footballer to be knighted (and is, as of 2006, the only player to have been knighted while still playing), as well as the first European Footballer of the Year and the first Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year. Gaining the nicknames The Wizard of the Dribble and The Magician, Matthews retains his reputation as one of the finest dribblers of the ball in the history of association football. A teetotaller and vegetarian, he kept fit enough to play at the top level until he was 50 years old, the oldest player ever to play in England's top football division.

Biography

Matthews was born in Seymour Street, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent and was the third of four sons. His father, Jack Matthews (aka The Fighting Barber of Hanley), was a renowned local boxer who fostered a sense of discipline, determination and sportsmanship that would serve his son well during his long career. He attended St Luke's School.

A natural right winger, he showed early promise and played for England schoolboys against Wales. He signed professional terms with Stoke City in 1932. His international debut came in 1934, scoring for the England side which beat Wales 4-0. Shortly after this, he was condemned in the Daily Mail:

"I saw Matthews play just as moderately in the recent inter-League match, exhibiting the same slowness and hesitation. Perhaps he lacks the big match temperament."

The inaccuracy of this appraisal was soon illustrated by Matthews's hat-trick for 10-man England in a game against Czechoslovakia in 1937.

In 1938, Matthews asked for a transfer, causing a public outcry in Stoke. More than 3,000 fans attended a protest meeting and a further 1,000 marched outside the ground with placards. Matthews stayed.

The Second World War interrupted his career, during which time he served in the Royal Air Force and was stationed near Blackpool. Surviving records show that he played as a guest for clubs such as Blackpool, Crewe Alexandra, Manchester United, Wrexham, Arsenal, Greenock Morton, Stenhousemuir and Rangers during this time. He even appeared for a Scots XI. After the war, he fell out with Stoke and was transferred to Blackpool on May 10 1947 for £11,500 at the age of 32.

He won the inaugural Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year award in 1948. His link-up with Stan Mortensen was very profitable, and Matthews won an FA Cup winners medal in 1953 - a match subsequently dubbed the 'Matthews Final' in which, despite Mortensen's hat-trick, his outstanding dribbling in the last 30 minutes of the match when Blackpool were 3-1 down more than contributed to him finally earning the medal which had eluded him in the finals of 1948 and 1951.

In 1950, Matthews only played in one World Cup game (a 1-0 defeat against Spain).

In total, Matthews made 54 official England appearances scoring 11 goals (as well as 29 unofficial wartime appearances with 2 goals). His England career is the longest of any player ever to play for the side, stretching from his debut on September 29 1934 to his last appearance on May 15 1957, almost 23 years later, an appearance which, as of 2006, makes him the oldest player ever to appear for England. His importance to the team is exemplified by the post-war circumstances he found himself in. He was excluded from the team for most of the 1946-47 season in favour of another England great - Tom Finney. He returned to the team in triumph, however, as England beat Portugal 10-0. A year later, he ran the Italian left-back ragged, helping England to a 4-0 win in Turin.

At the Football World Cup 1954 in Switzerland, England found themselves struggling against Belgium, so Matthews promptly switched to inside-forward, galvanised the team, and helped them to a 4-4 draw.

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Matthews travelled to various parts of the globe to take part in exhibition matches and was famous world-wide. For example, he attracted a large crowd at Hartleyvale in Cape Town when he appeared there in about 1956.

In 1956, Matthews won the first-ever European Footballer of the Year (Balon d'Or) award, and the following year was awarded a CBE in the New Year's honours list.

In 1961 (aged 46) he rejoined his hometown club Stoke City. The following season, Stoke City won the English Second Division Championship and he was voted Footballer of the Year for the second time in his career. He remained with Stoke City until the end of his playing career, appearing in his final game on February 6, 1965, just after his 50th birthday, when he played for the first time in 12 months due to a knee injury, setting up the equaliser for his team. Even at the age of 50, he always proclaimed that he had retired 'too early'. A testimonial game in honour of Sir Stanley was played in April 1965 at the Victoria Ground, where 35,000 people watched a 10-goal thriller against a World XI side that included greats such as Lev Yashin, Josef Masopust, Ferenc Puskás and Alfredo Di Stéfano. Stanley was carried shoulder-high from the field at full-time. Also in 1965, he became the first football player to be knighted for services to sport. He received a FIFA Gold Merit Order in 1992.

After playing 698 games in the Football League, Matthews managed Port Vale (1965-1968), during which time it was alleged that illegal payments were made to players. Port Vale were expelled, but subsequently re-instated to the Football League. After this he moved to Malta, where he coached Hibernians, also playing for them until he was 55. He played for numerous local sides, meaning that he was still running down the wing in his 60s. He also coached "Stan's Men" in Soweto, South Africa, and in Canada. He even played in a charity match at Grangemouth as late as 1981.

During his illustrious career he gained respect, not only as a great player, but also as a gentleman. This is exemplified by the fact that despite playing in nearly seven hundred league games, he was never booked. Matthews was made an Inaugural Inductee of the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002 in recognition of his outstanding talents.

"When Sir Stan died in January [sic], 2000, at the age of 85, more than 100,000 people lined the streets of Stoke-on-Trent to pay tribute. As the cortege wound its way along the 12-mile route, employees downed tools and schoolchildren stood motionless to witness his final passing." (The Sentinel, November 19 2005)

File:Stanstatue.JPG

The Sir Stanley Matthews statue outside of the Britannia Stadium.

There is a statue of Matthews outside Stoke City's Britannia Stadium and another in the centre of Hanley. The dedication on the former reads: His name is symbolic of the beauty of the game, his fame timeless and international, his sportsmanship and modesty universally acclaimed. A magical player, of the people, for the people.

February 1 has been made an unofficial 'Sir Stanley Matthews Day', one of the themes of which is to promote dress-down days in which staff in offices are encouraged to come to work in football shirts. The idea is to 'Wear it with Pride for Sir Stan' to raise money for the The Stanley Matthews Foundation which provides sports opportunities for under-privileged young people in the Stoke-on-Trent area, although this hopes to be expanded in the future. In 2007 a badge in the shape of his number "7" was introduced to replace the wearing of sports shirts.

Honours

Blackpool

• FA Cup winner: 1953
• Lancashire Cup: 1954
• European Footballer of the Year: 1956

Stoke City (second spell)

• Football League Second Division championship: 1962/63

Post-retirement

• FIFA Gold Medal Order: 1991/92

Quotes

"You're 32, do you think you can make it for another couple of years?" - Blackpool manager Joe Smith, in 1947.

"The man who taught us the way football should be played" - Pelé

"I grew up in an era when he was a god to those of us who aspired to play the game. He was a true gentleman and we shall never see his like again" - Brian Clough

"It is not just in England where his name is famous. All over the world he is regarded as a true football genius" - Berti Vogts

"For me this man probably had the greatest name of any player ever, certainly in Britain. I don't think anyone since had a name so synonymous with football in England" - Gordon Banks

Trivia

• When England beat Scotland 7-2 in 1955, the 40-year-old Matthews created five of the goals. Duncan Edwards was making his England debut; when Matthews made his, Edwards had not even been born.
• Sir Stan once said that only by the 1990s had the art of dribbling been reinstated in the English game, praising the likes of Steve McManaman and Ryan Giggs.
• The Stanley Matthews Collection is held by the National Football Museum.
• Matthews' son, also named Stanley, was a tennis player, Wimbledon Boy's Champion in 1962 and a professional of that sport in the 1970s.
• A statue of Sir Stanley is situated in Hanley, in the centre of the main shopping district. The ball from the statue has been stolen a number of times.
• Sir Stanley once managed non-league club Walton & Hersham F.C. for a short period.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Matthews, S (2000), "My Autobiography; The Way It Was," Headline, London
• The Sentinel - North Staffordshire's daily newspaper

External links

• A Short Profile. www.blackpoolfc.premiumtv.co.uk.
• Stan!. www.derbydeadpool.co.uk.
• Hall of Fame/stanleymatthews.htm English Football Hall of Fame Profile. www.nationalfootballmuseum.com.
• The Sir Stanley Matthews Foundation. www.sirstanleymatthewsfoundation.com.
• The Matthews Final. www.thefa.com.
• The Farewell Match. www.worldxi.com.

Preceded by: new creation	European Footballer of the Year 1956	Succeeded by: Alfredo Di Stéfano
Preceded by: new creation	Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year 1948	Succeeded by: Johnny Carey
Preceded by: Jimmy Adamson	Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year 1963	Succeeded by: Bobby Moore

	England squad - 1950 FIFA World Cup
DF Aston | MF Baily | FW Bentley | MF Cockburn | MF Dickinson | GK Ditchburn | DF Eckersley | FW Finney | MF Hughes | FW Mannion | FW Matthews | FW Milburn | FW Mortensen | FW Mullen | MF Nicholson | DF Ramsey | DF Scott | DF Taylor | MF Watson | GK Williams | DF Wright | Coach: Winterbottom

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