Football legend Stanley Matthews dies at 85 | Football | The Guardian Football legend Stanley Matthews dies at 85 News Unlimited staff and agencies Wednesday 23 February 2000 15.19 EST First published on Wednesday 23 February 2000 15.19 EST Close This article is 16 years old Sir Stanley Matthews, one of England's greatest players and twice European footballer of the year, has died aged 85. Matthews, who turned professional with Stoke aged 17, was capped 54 times for England and made 710 Football League appearances for Stoke and Blackpool. Knighted in 1965, Matthews made his last Football League appearance in the same year at the record-breaking age of 50 years and five days. In his retirement, Matthews became an ambassador for football and received a FIFA Gold Merit Order in 1992. Sir Stanley died at North Staffordshire Nuffield Hospital following a short illness, the hospital said. A spokesman for the private hospital in Newcastle under Lyme said: "Sir Stanley Matthews died peacefully this evening after a short illness related to health problems that had first seriously affected him three years ago.

"We have no further statement at this time." It is understood Sir Stanley may have had an accident of some sort on the island of Tenerife before being flown to the Nuffield for treatment. A spokesman for Stoke City football club said the former star regularly went to Tenerife to escape the British winter. The spokesman said that he understood Sir Stanley had gone to the island in the Canaries in December last year and had been due back some time now. Matthews made his international debut at the age of 19 and collected his last cap in 1956 when, aged 41, he mesmerised the Brazilian defence in England's 4-2 win at Wembley. Matthews spent his 33-year league career with two unfashionable north of England clubs, Stoke City and Blackpool. But he won 54 international caps and was the first man to be named European footballer of the year. He won the affection of football fans throughout the world who marvelled at the right-winger's ability to ghost past defenders. Matthews' rewrote many record books with his feats but his shining moment came in the 1953 FA Cup final.

Twice a losing finalist with Blackpool in 1948 and 1951, Matthews stood 20 minutes away from a third defeat with his team 3-1 down to Bolton. Then his dazzling footwork carved out the last two goals of a hat-trick for Stan Mortensen, and Matthews went on to set up the winner for Bill Perry with 20 seconds left. Despite Mortensen's treble it was a game which would always be remembered as "the Matthews final". Matthews was born in Hanley on February 1 1915, the third of four sons. He joined Stoke in 1929 at the age of 14 as an apprentice and spent his time cleaning boots and sweeping out the dressing rooms. Within five years, Matthews won his first England cap against Wales while still a teenager. And in 1937 he hit his only international hat-trick in a 5-4 win over Czechoslovakia. At Matthews' 80th birthday celebrations, former England captain Jimmy Armfield praised his skills and sportsmanship. "You could kick him and do anything with him and he would never retaliate," said Armfield.

"He was the perfect example of self-discipline. I never remember a referee speaking to him once - and he didn't speak to them either." Matthews, known as 'the Wizard of the Dribble', was a crowd-pleaser to generations and tempted a British record crowd, 149,547, to Hampden Park in Glasgow. But he never earned more than £50 a week, plus £25-a-game bonus. Lord Wilson of Rievaulx, who was Prime Minister when Matthews was knighted, wrote in a foreword to his autobiography: "Stanley Matthews was a symbol of the country which gave football to the world, and internationally a symbol of English sportsmanship in the days when that was a quality acknowledged worldwide." Sir Tom Finney led the tributes to Matthews tonight. England team-mate Sir Tom said: "I've so many memories of Stan and he was the greatest in my era in terms of close control. "In those days you weren't expected to go back and tackle and his game was attacking the full-back.

"He was a humble man and he never got carried away by how well he played." Former England manager Sir Walter Winterbottom said: "Stan was very fit and one thing he had was that he was very quick off the mark. "Wingers in those days just stayed on the wing and Stan had that unique way of dribbling past people." Tonight, Newcastle boss Bobby Robson, speaking at Wembley ahead of the England friendly against Argentina, said: "He was one of, easily, our greatest, greatest players. "He would have played in today's game, he would have adapted - don't you worry about that. "He had immense skill - great skill off the ball, a beautiful dribbler. I'm very sad at the news." David Davies, executive director of the Football Association, described Matthews as "a legend who did not disappoint." Speaking on his arrival at Wembley for tonight's England game, Davies said: "He was a great, great player. As a child I was thrilled when I watched him. I knew then he was a legend and I was lucky later in life to meet him and unlike some legends he did not disappoint when you met him.

"He was a great ambassador and served football all over the world long after many players have packed it in. Our country should be very proud of him and very sad tonight." Asked if the new Wembley Stadium might include a monument in memory of Matthews, Davies said: "He will be remembered in a proper way - he was a legend worldwide." The Wizard of Dribble, Sir Stanley Matthews - UEFA.com The Wizard of Dribble, Sir Stanley Matthews Published: Sunday 1 February 2015, 12.44CET On what would have been his 100th birthday, UEFA.com looks back on the life of England winger Stanley Matthews, recipient of the first European Footballer of the Year award. by Wayne Harrison Sir Stanley Matthews with his 1953 FA Cup winners' medal ©Popperfoto/Getty Images Latest photos Published: Sunday 1 February 2015, 12.44CET The Wizard of Dribble, Sir Stanley Matthews On what would have been his 100th birthday, UEFA.com looks back on the life of England winger Stanley Matthews, recipient of the first European Footballer of the Year award. Read more Praise does not come much higher.

That Pelé said Sir Stanley Matthews "taught us the way football should be played" speaks volumes for the impact the former England international had on the game and, more specifically, the role of the winger. Related Items Gerrard ends England career What Matthews, born on this day 100 years ago, could do with a ball at his feet is perhaps best summed up by such sobriquets as 'The Wizard of Dribble' and 'The Magician'. In his 2006 book The Football Man, Arthur Hopcraft writes: "Matthews did not invent dribbling with a football; he raised it to its highest degree." In a career spanning three decades and comprising two stints at Stoke City FC, one with Blackpool FC and 11 goals in 54 outings for his country, Matthews dazzled crowds the length and breadth of England. He made his last competitive appearance five days after his 50th birthday and featured at the 1950 and 1954 FIFA World Cups, but one performance stands out above all others: his display in the 1953 FA Cup final.

©Getty Images Stanley Matthews in Stoke colours With Blackpool trailing Bolton Wanderers FC 3-1 in front of a 100,000-strong crowd at Wembley, Matthews was the catalyst for a stunning fightback, setting up two goals as the west Lancashire team recovered to win 4-3. Though Stan Mortensen scored the only FA Cup final hat-trick to date, it was the Tangerines' right-winger, still turning it on at the tender age of 38, who was feted as the game changer. The match did not become known as the 'Matthews final' for nothing. If his exploits that day captured the imagination of the nation – millions were watching on television having acquired sets ahead of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II the following month – Matthews received wider acclaim in 1956 when he was the recipient of the inaugural European Footballer of the Year award. One of four brothers and the son of a barber and former featherweight boxer, Matthews had started out 21 years earlier with local club Stoke. PIC: Sir Stanley Matthews with his FA Cup Legend Award outside Wembley in 1998.

#SirStan100 pic.twitter.com/hfAEcACitY — Blackpool FC (@BlackpoolFC) February 1, 2015 Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live in 1995, Sir Stan said: "I used to love getting a little ball and playing with it. I even used to go to the butcher's shop and get a pig's bladder, blow it up and play with that. Many a time I played at night when it was dark using a lamppost with the light on. I used to enjoy it." Such dedication to honing his technique – together with a guiding hand from his father, Jack – paved the way for Matthews to embark on a long association with Stoke. He turned out for the Staffordshire side from 1932–47 and 1961–65, winning a Second Division title in each spell, and for Blackpool in between. His longevity owed much to his devotion to training and a strict diet – he did not smoke or consume alcohol and drank carrot juice every day.

On 15 May 1957, aged 42 and 103 days, Matthews became the oldest person to play for England when he helped the Three Lions to a 4-1 triumph over Denmark in Copenhagen. "I wanted to play as long as I could because I was in love with the game and enthusiastic about it," he said in an interview with the Football Association (FA). "I had some very good advice and started to eat more salads and fruit, and every Monday I had no food. Just one day, on a Monday, but I felt better." ©Getty Images The Stanley Matthews statue in Stoke A month before his final league match, for Stoke against Fulham FC on 6 February 1965, he was knighted by the Queen for services to the sport. Having retired, Sir Stan, who was never booked or sent off, was granted a testimonial by the Potters later that year, his Football League selection tackling an International XI containing such luminaries as Lev Yashin, Raymond Kopa, Alfredo Di Stéfano, Ferenc Puskás and Eusébio.

Matthews had a brief dalliance with management, at Stoke's local rivals Port Vale FC in 1967. He spent much of his retirement coaching abroad, however, particularly in apartheid-era South Africa, where he first travelled in 1955 and regularly returned over the next quarter of a century. In 1975, Sir Stan arranged for a team of young black players known as 'Stan's Men' from the Johannesburg township of Soweto to tour Brazil and meet Pelé. Sir Stan died on 23 February 2000, aged 85. Around 100,000 people lined the streets of Stoke to pay their respects as his funeral cortege passed by. His ashes are buried beneath the centre circle at the Stoke Stadium, which he had opened in August 1997. "For over 80 years football has been an intrinsic part of my life," he wrote in his autobiography The Way It Was. "I have loved it dearly." The people of Stoke, and beyond, would say the same about him.

&nbsp; Stanley Matthews (Soccer Player) - Pics, Videos, Dating, & News Stanley Matthews Male Born Feb 1, 1915 Sir Stanley Matthews, CBE was an English footballer. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the English game, he is the only player to have been knighted while still playing, as well as being the first winner of both the European Footballer of the Year and the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year awards. Matthews' nicknames included "The Wizard of the Dribble" and "The Magician".… Read More related links Courtney Holdcroft: Petitioners Want School Crossing Bbc News Google News - Sep 02, 2011 'Courtney Holdcroft was hit by a bus outside the Ormiston Sir <mark>Stanley Matthews</mark> Academy school in June. Local campaigner Roy Naylor said the school entrance was near a blind bend and a &quot;bad junction&quot;.

The petition will be discussed by the city council at' More At Stake Than Messi's Magic Hindustan Times Google News - Aug 30, 2011 'Ferenc Puskas, <mark>Stanley Matthews</mark>, George Best, Ryan Giggs, Ian Rush and George Weah are some supremely gifted footballers to have never won a World Cup. For Messi to end that aberration in Brazil, Kolkata will be an important first step like it was with' As Good As It Got For Stoke City When Saturday Comes Google News - Aug 26, 2011 'Had their star player <mark>Stanley Matthews</mark> been managed a little better they could have won the league âAll teams have their era,â my Grandad often tells me.

âIt&#39;s just that Stoke&#39;s came between 1939 and 1945.â Most biographies of Adolf Hitler focus on' Carlisle Utd Boss Greg Abbott Says Forwards 'need To Relax' News & Star Google News - Aug 23, 2011 'âDon&#39;t ask me how I do it,â said <mark>Stanley Matthews</mark> when quizzed about his mesmerising dribbles and crosses that inked his name into football legend. âIt always comes out of me under pressure.â Abbott watched Loy thrive in pre-season games,' Learn about the memorable moments in the evolution of Stanley Matthews. CHILDHOOD 1915 Birth Stanley Matthews was born on 1 February 1915 in a terraced house in Seymour Street, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. … Read More He was the third of four sons born to Jack Matthews, a local boxer who was also known as the "Fighting Barber of Hanley".

Read Less 1921 6 Years Old In the summer of 1921, Jack Matthews took six-year-old Stanley to the Victoria Ground, home of the local club Stoke City, for an open race for boys under the age of 14, with a staggered start according to age. … Read More His father placed a bet on his son winning, and he did. Matthews attended Hanley's Wellington Road School, and later described himself as "in many respects a model pupil". He also said the kickabout games the children played helped to improve his dribbling, and prepared the children for future life by giving them "a focus, a purpose, discipline, and in many respects an escape". At home he also spent "countless hours" practising dribbling around kitchen chairs he placed in his backyard.<br /><br /> Though he would later become indelibly associated with Stoke City, Matthews grew up supporting that club's local rivals Port Vale. His father wanted him to follow in his footsteps and become a boxer, but Stanley decided at the age of 13 that he wanted to be a footballer.

After a rigorous training session that made Matthews vomit, his mother, Elizabeth, stood firm and made Jack realise that his son, who had one more year at school, should follow his passion of football. His father conceded that should he be picked for England Schoolboys then he could continue his footballing career; around this time his school football master picked Matthews as an outside-right, rather than as his then-preferred position of centre-half. Read Less TEENAGE 1929 - 1931 3 More Events 1929 14 Years Old Matthews played for England Schoolboys against Wales in 1929, in front of around 20,000 spectators at Dean Court, Bournemouth. … Read More Wolverhampton Wanderers, Birmingham City, Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion were all rumoured to be interested in Matthews in the wake of his appearance for England Schoolboys. The Stoke City manager Tom Mather persuaded Matthews' father to allow Stanley to join his club's staff as an office boy on his 15th birthday for pay of Â£1 a week.

Read Less 1930 15 Years Old Matthews played for Stoke's reserve team during the 1930â31 season, coming up first against Burnley. … Read More After the game his father gave his usual realist assessment: "I've seen you play better and I've seen you play worse". Read Less 1931 16 Years Old Matthews played 22 reserve games in 1931â32, shunning the social scene to focus on improving his game. … Read More In one of these games, against Manchester City, he attempted to run at the left-back and take him on with a deft swerve as the defender committed himself to a challenge, rather than follow the accepted wisdom of the day which was to first wait for the defender to run at the attacker â his new technique "worked a treat". The national press were already predicting a bright future for the teenager, and though he could have then joined any club in the country, he signed as a professional with Stoke on his 17th birthday.

Paid the maximum wage of Â£5 a week (Â£3 in the summer break), he was on the same wage as seasoned professionals before he even kicked a ball. Despite this his father insisted that Matthews save this money, and only spend any winning bonus money he earned. Read Less Show Less He made his first team debut against Bury at Gigg Lane on 19 March 1932; the "Potters" won the game 1â0 and Matthews learned how physical and dirty opponents could be â and get away with it. After spending the 1932â33 pre-season training intensely by himself (as opposed to playing golf with his teammates), Mather selected Matthews in 15 games, enough to earn him in a winners medal after Stoke were crowned Second Division champions, one point ahead of Tottenham Hotspur. Show Less On 4 March 1933 he scored his first senior goal in a 3â1 win over local rivals Port Vale at The Old Recreation Ground. He played 29 First Division games in 1933â34, as Stoke secured their top-flight status with a 12th-place finish.

Show Less … Matthews kept fit enough to play at the top level until he was 50 years old. He was also the oldest player ever to play in England's top football division and the oldest player ever to represent the country. He played his final competitive game in 1985, at the age of 70. Matthews was also an inaugural inductee to the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002 to honour his contribution to the English game. <br /><br />He spent 19 years with Stoke City, playing for the Potters from 1932 to 1947, and again from 1961 to 1965. He helped Stoke to the Second Division title in 1932â33 and 1962â63. Between his two spells at Stoke he spent 14 years with Blackpool, where, after being on the losing side in the 1948 and 1951 FA Cup finals, he helped Blackpool to win the cup with a formidable personal performance in the "Matthews Final" of 1953.

Read Less Between 1934 and 1957 he won 54 caps for England, playing in the FIFA World Cup in 1950 and 1954, and winning nine British Home Championship titles. … Read More Following an unsuccessful stint as Port Vale's general manager between 1965 and 1968, he travelled around the world, coaching enthusiastic amateurs. The most notable of his coaching experiences came in 1975 in South Africa, where in spite of the harsh apartheid laws of the time he established an all-black team in Soweto known as "Stan's Men". Read Less He continued to progress in the 1934â35 campaign, and was selected by The Football League for an Inter-League game with the Irish League at The Oval, which finished 6â1 to the English. … Read More His England debut followed, and so did a further game for the Football League against the Scottish League. Stoke finished the season in 10th place.

Read Less In the summer of 1934, Matthews married Betty Vallance, daughter of Stoke City trainer Jimmy Vallance, whom he first met on his 15th birthday in 1930 on his first day as office boy at the Victoria Ground. … Read More The couple had two children together: Jean (born 1 January 1939) and Stanley Jr. (born 20 November 1945), who went on to become a tennis player under the tutelage of John Barrett. Read Less TWENTIES 1935 20 Years Old In 1935â36 Matthews continued to improve, and he added the double body swerve technique to his increasing arsenal of tricks. … Read More Largely out of the international picture, he put in 45 games for the "Potters" as Stoke finished fourth under Bob McGrory â the club's best ever finish. Read Less 1936 21 Years Old He played 42 games in 1936â37, including the club's record 10â3 win over West Brom at the Victoria Ground.

… Read More At the end of the season he was paid a loyalty bonus of Â£650, though the Stoke board initially insisted he was only due Â£500 as he had spent his first two years at the club as an amateur â this attitude left a sour taste in Matthew's mouth.<br /><br /> Stoke slipped down the league in an extremely tight 1937â38 season, and, annoyed by rumours circulating the city of resentment in the dressing room against him for his England success, Matthews requested a transfer in February; his request was denied. His request became public knowledge, and, disturbed by the attention and harassment he was receiving from Stoke supporters urging him to stay, Matthews decided to take a few days off from the club to relax in Blackpool. Finding no peace there either, Stoke chairman Albert Booth told Matthews he would not be allowed to leave the club, and 3,000 City supporters organized a meeting to make their feelings known â they too demanded that he stay. Touched by their strength of feeling and worn out by the attention he was receiving, Matthews agreed to stay.

Read Less 1937 22 Years Old He would have to wait until 17 April 1937 for another chance in an England shirt, when he was selected to play in front of 149,000 spectators against the auld enemy at Scotland's Hampden Park. … Read More He was physically sick before the match, as he would be before any big game. The "Hampden Roar" a big factor, the Scots won 3â1 despite a good English performance. After another game against Wales, Matthews scored a hat-trick in a 5â4 win against Czechoslovakia.<br /><br /> In 1938 he played eight games for England, starting with defeat to a Scotland team containing a young Bill Shankly. He then travelled to Berlin for another encounter with MÃ¼nzenberg, where pre-match he witnessed first hand the foreboding devotion the people showed the FÃ¼hrer when his motorcade drove past a cafÃ© the England team were dining in.

The game became infamous as The FA, themselves under instruction from the British government, informed the England team that they had to perform the Nazi salute as part of the strategy of appeasement. England won 6â3 with Matthews himself getting on the scoreboard having got the better of MÃ¼nzenberg this time. The next game was a shock 2â1 defeat to Switzerland, which in turn was followed by a 4â2 win over France in Paris. Following the conclusion of this summer tour of the continent, Matthews scored in a 4â2 defeat to Wales in Cardiff, and then played in England's 3â0 win over a Europe XI at Highbury, their 4â0 win over Norway in Newcastle, and their 7â0 win over Ireland at Old Trafford. Read Less 1938 23 Years Old Despite playing regularly for the national side, Matthews put in 38 games for Stoke in 1938â39, helping them to a seventh-place finish â there would not be another full season of Football League action until 1946.

… Read More The war cost Matthews his professional career from the age of 24 to the age of 30. He instead joined the Royal Air Force, and was based just outside Blackpool, with Ivor Powell his NCO. He rose to the rank of corporal, though he admitted to being one of the most lenient and easy-going NCOs in the forces. He played 69 Wartime League and Cup games for Stoke, and also made 87 guest appearances for Blackpool. In addition to these, he also played a handful of games for Scottish sides Airdrieonians, Morton and Rangers, and also played for Arsenal against FC Dynamo Moscow in extremely thick fog. He also played 29 times for England, though no caps were awarded as these were unofficial games. One of the last games of the period was an FA Cup Sixth Round second-leg tie clash between Stoke and Bolton Wanderers; the match ended in tragedy in what would be known as the Burnden Park disaster â 33 people died and 500 were injured. Matthews sent Â£30 to the disaster fund and couldn't bring himself to train for several days afterwards.

Read Less THIRTIES Show Less He helped the Tangerines to record a sixth-place finish in 1953â54, though hopes of retaining their FA Cup title were ended with a defeat to Port Vale at Vale Park in the Fifth Round. He was selected to play Hungary's Golden Team on 25 November 1953, in a 6â3 defeat that became known as the "Match of the Century". … Read More He blamed the FA and the selectors for the heavy loss, though he had great admiration for the Hungarians, particularly Ferenc PuskÃ¡s.<br /><br /> He did not play in the England's 7â1 defeat to Hungary in Budapest in May 1954. However he was in the squad for the 1954 FIFA World Cup in Switzerland. Matthews helped England to a 4â4 draw with Belgium, though was left out of a win over Switzerland, before he returned to the first XI as England crashed out of the competition with a 4â2 defeat to Uruguay at the St. Jakob Stadium after mistakes from goalkeeper Gil Merrick.

Read Less 1954 39 Years Old Matthews missed just eight league games in 1954â55, though journalists were keen to write him off with every occasional off-performance and missed game â "it was all balderdash", he replied. … Read More Despite his age, and more pertinently the media's constant references to his age, Arsenal manager Tom Whittaker tried, unsuccessfully, to lure Matthews to Highbury with a lucrative, if somewhat illegal approach.<br /><br /> As Smith began to establish a new side with talents such as Jackie Mudie and Jimmy Armfield, Blackpool posted a second-place finish in 1955â56, though they ended up some 11 points behind champions Manchester United. Matthews believed that the performance he gave in a 3â1 win over Arsenal on the opening day of the season was the finest he ever gave.

At the end of the campaign Matthews was made the inaugural winner of the European Footballer of the Year award, having narrowly defeated Alfredo Di StÃ©fano 47 to 44 in the poll.<br /><br /> Remaining a key first team member in 1956â57, injury restricted him to 25 league appearances, though Blackpool claimed a creditable fourth-place finish. Read Less FORTIES Show Less Waddington signed hardman Eddie Clamp to protect Matthews in the 1962â63 season, and the two would also become close friends off the pitch. … Read More Along with veteran teammates Jackie Mudie, Jimmy O'Neill, Eddie Stuart, Don Ratcliffe, Dennis Viollet, and Jimmy McIlroy, Stoke had the oldest team in the Football League. Matthews scored his only goal of the season in the final home game of the campaign, as Luton Town were beaten 2â0, the result ensured Stoke gained promotion to the top flight.

Stoke went up as Second Division champions, and Matthews was voted FWA Footballer of the Year for the second time in his career, 15 years after he was made the inaugural winner of the award. Read Less He became Wimbledon Boys' Champion in 1962, making him the last English player to do so. He never translated his success into the senior game, though, and instead moved to the United States to run the Four Seasons Racquet Club in Wilton, Connecticut. Jean married Robert Gough, whom she had met at their tennis club, in January 1963; she later said of her father that "He was a very good father and family man. … Read More He kept my brother and me out of the limelight, he was very protective." Read Less 1963 48 Years Old After picking up an injury, he missed January onwards of the 1963â64 campaign, and thereby missed the 1964 Football League Cup Final defeat to Leicester City.

… Read More Discovering that niggling injuries which would have cost him one day out of action now required more than two weeks worth of rest to recover from, Matthews decided to retire after one more season. Read Less 1964 49 Years Old He spent the 1964â65 season playing for the reserve side. FIFTIES Show Less On 1 January 1965 he became the only footballer to ever be knighted (for services to football) whilst still an active professional player; though he never thought himself worthy of such an honour. His only first team appearance of the season was also the last Football League game of his career; it came on 6 February 1965, just after his 50th birthday, and was necessitated by injuries to both Peter Dobing and Gerry Bridgwood. … Read More The opponents that day were Fulham, and Stoke won the game 3â1.

Though he felt he had retired too early, and could have carried on playing for another two years, this brought an end to his 35-year professional career.<br /><br /> Stoke City arranged a testimonial match in honour of Matthews; it was much needed as he had spent most of his career constricted to the tight maximum wage that had been enforced upon the English game. Read Less The game was played at the Victoria Ground on 28 April 1965, by which time Matthews had decided to retire as a player, and the pre-match entertainment consisted of another match of two veteran teams featuring many legends of the game. … Read More Harry Johnston led out a team consisting of Bert Trautmann, Tim Ward, George Hardwick, Jimmy Hill, Neil Franklin, Don Revie, Stan Mortensen, Nat Lofthouse, Jimmy Hagan, Tom Finney and Frank Bowyer (reserve).

Walley Barnes led out an opposing team consisting of Jimmy O'Neill, Jimmy Scoular, Danny Blanchflower, Jimmy Dickinson, Hughie Kelly, Bill McGarry, Jackie Mudie, Jackie Milburn, Jock Dodds, Ken Barnes, and Arthur Rowley (reserve).<br /><br /> In the main game itself, two teams of legends were formed, a Stan's XI (consisting of Football League players) and an International XI. The International side won 6â4, and Matthews was carried shoulder-high from the field at full time by PuskÃ¡s and Yashin.<br /><br /> After playing for England Schoolboys, playing in a trial at Roker Park in front of the England selectors, and representing The Football League, Matthews was given his England debut at Ninian Park in 1934. Matthews scored the third goal as England beat the Welsh 4â0. His second game would be the infamous Battle of Highbury, where he set up Eric Brook for the first goal of a 3â2 win over world champions Italy.

The Italians turned the match into a "bloodbath", and it ended up as the most violent match that Matthews would ever be involved in. Read Less Matthews was appointed general manager at Stoke's rivals Port Vale in July 1965, alongside good friend Jackie Mudie; Matthews was unpaid, though was given expenses. … Read More The pair had a plan of bringing through talented schoolboys and selling one or two off every so often to improve the club's bleak financial picture, whilst at the same time advancing through the leagues; in his autobiography he said that what Dario Gradi later achieved at Crewe Alexandra is what he had in mind for the Vale. Matthews concentrated his search in North East England and Central Scotland, where he discovered talented striker Mick Cullerton, though overlooked a teenage Ray Kennedy. Read Less In 1965, Matthews became a grandfather after Jean gave birth to a son, Matthew Gough. … Read More She would have two other children â daughters Samantha and Amanda.

Read Less 1967 52 Years Old Handed complete managerial control following Mudie's resignation in May 1967, Matthews couldn't guide the club to success â instead, Port Vale were fined Â£4,000 in February/March 1968 and expelled from the Football League for financial irregularities. … Read More He was forced to use his name to plead with the other Football League clubs to re-elect the Vale, which they duly did. Read Less 1968 53 Years Old He stood down as manager in May 1968, and despite being owed Â£9,000 in salary and expenses, agreed to stay at Vale Park to continue his work with the youth team. 1970 55 Years Old A "final settlement" was reached in December 1970, Matthews was given Â£3,300, with the other Â£7,000 he was owed to be written off. … Read More Player Roy Sproson later said that "he Matthews trusted people who should never have been trusted and people took advantage of him.

I am convinced a lot of people sponged off him and, all the while, the club were sliding." The experience "left a sour taste" in his mouth, and was enough to convince him never to try his hand as management in English football again.<br /><br /> Matthews gave up his summers every year between 1953 and 1978 to coach poor children in South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda and Tanzania. Read Less LATE ADULTHOOD 1975 - 1989 3 More Events 1975 60 Years Old In South Africa in 1975, he ignored apartheid to form a team of black schoolboys in Soweto called "Stan's Men". … Read More The members of his team told him that it was their dream to play in Brazil, so Matthews organised a trip there; they were the first black team ever to tour outside of South Africa. He did not have the money to fund the trip himself, though used his connections (for the only time other than when he used them to save Port Vale in 1968) to arrange sponsorship from Coca-Cola and the Johannesburg Sunday Times newspaper.

The South African authorities did not want to cause an international incident, so did not prevent Stan's Men from getting on the plane to Rio de Janeiro, where they would meet legendary player Zico. It was on this trip that Matthews met Ronnie Biggs. On the way back from the trip, the Stan's Men captain Gilbert Moiloa called Matthews "black man with the white face". Read Less 1985 70 Years Old He played his final game of football for an England Veterans XI against a Brazil Veterans XI in Brazil in 1985 at the age of 70; the English lost 6â1 to the likes of Amarildo, TostÃ£o, and Jairzinho. … Read More He damaged his cartilage during the match: "a promising career cut tragically short", he wrote in his autobiography. Read Less 1989 74 Years Old Having toured the world coaching in Australia, the United States, Canada and especially in Africa, Matthews returned to Stoke-on-Trent with wife Mila in 1989. … Read More He later served as president of Stoke City and honorary vice-president of Blackpool.

Read Less BBC News | FOOTBALL | Football legend Matthews dies Wednesday, 23 February, 2000, 20:20 GMT Football legend Matthews dies Sir Stanley Matthews: England legend Sir Stanley Matthews, the first knight of English football, has died aged 85. The former Blackpool and Stoke winger died after a short illness at North Staffordshire Nuffield hospital. A spokesman for the hospital said: "Sir Stanley Matthews died peacefully this evening after a short illness related to health problems that had first seriously affected him three years ago." He was a model sportsman who played the game as it should be played, never booked or sent off once. Tony Blair During a remarkable 33-year career he won 54 England caps - and played in another 30 wartime internationals. He remains the only man to have played in the old First Division as a 50-year-old. Former England manager Bobby Robson paid tribute to his friend before England's match with Argentina. "He was one of the greatest players the game has ever seen," Robson said. "He ranks alongside players like Pele, Maradona and Cruyff - and he was one of ours.

Long career "He was a lovely fellow and a great friend of mine. It's a tremendous blow on a nostalgic evening." "He had immense skill - great skill off the ball, a beautiful dribbler. I'm very sad at the news." The crowd at the start of the England v Argentina friendly in Wembley observed a minute's silence in memory of Sir Stanley, whose death was announced before the match. England players paid tribute by wearing black arm bands. Sir Stanley dazzled in the 1953 FA Cup Final Prime Minister Tony Blair said: "Sir Stanley was, and will always, remain one of the all time sporting greats. He was not only one of the finest players this country has ever seen he was also a model sportsman who played the game as it should be played, never booked or sent off once. "Football fans the world over have this evening lost one of their heroes." Matthews was the first Englishman to be named European Footballer of the Year, a feat he achieved twice.

He scored his only international hat-trick in England's 1937 5-4 win over Czechoslovakia but the highlight of his long career came in the 1953 FA Cup Final, which will always be remembered as "the Matthews Final". 'Devastated' Sir Stanley's funeral will be arranged by Stoke City football club and his distraught family, the club said. A glorious career

Question: How many international caps did English footballer Stanley Matthews (later Sir Stanley Matthews) win?
Answer: Fifty-four