Stanley Matthews

STANLEY MATTHEWS, later “Sir Stanley”, was a genuine sporting hero, supremely talented but modest. As a teenager he was already regarded as the finest dribbler that England had ever produced. He carried this reputation with him until he was well into his forties. Capped 54 times in peacetime, he often dazzled for his country at Wembley.

For Blackpool he played in three FA Cup Finals. He was on the losing side in ’48 and ’51 but, with the whole country (outside Bolton) willing him on, Sir Stan picked up his winner’s medal after the “Matthews Final” of ‘53.