Stanley Matthews

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Lore & Background

Stanley Matthews 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 1932–33 and 1962–63. 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. In 1956, he was named the winner of the inaugural Ballon d'Or, a prize given to the best European footballer each year. 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. Following an unsuccessful stint as Port Vale's manager between 1965 and 1968, he travelled around the world, coaching enthusiastic amateurs. His experiences included coaching in South Africa, where, despite the harsh apartheid laws of the time, he established an all-black team in 1975 in Soweto known as "Stan's Men".

In Their Own Story

Stanley Matthews was born on 1 February 1915 in a terraced house in Seymour Street, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. He was the third of four sons born to Jack Matthews, a local boxer known as the "Fighting Barber of Hanley". 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. 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. 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 for 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. Matthews played for England Schoolboys against Wales in 1929, in front of around 20,000 spectators at Dean Court, Bournemouth.

Reader's Guide

The era: 1932 to 1965, the Matthews years at Stoke City and Blackpool. What defined it: Matthews made his first-team debut against Bury at Gigg Lane on 19 March 1932; the "Potters" won the game 1–0. After spending the 1932–33 pre-season training intensely by himself, Mather selected Matthews in 15 games, enough to earn him a winners medal after Stoke were crowned Second Division champions, one point ahead of Tottenham Hotspur. On 4 March 1933 he scored his first senior goal in a 3–1 win over local rivals Port Vale at the Old Recreation Ground. He played 29 First Division games in 1933–34, as Stoke secured their top-flight status with a 12th-place finish. Matthews added a Staffordshire Senior Cup winners' medal in 1934. In 1935–36, Matthews continued to improve, adding the double body swerve technique to his increasing arsenal of tricks. He played 42 games in 1936–37, including the club's record 10–3 win over West Brom at the Victoria Ground. 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. He played 69 Wartime League and Cup games for Stoke and also made 87 guest appearances for Blackpool. 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 a "Crowd Crush" known as the Burnden Park disaster – 33 people died and 500 were injured. Matthews sent £30 to the disaster fund and could not bring himself to train for several days afterwards. Matthews' father died in 1945. From his deathbed, he made his son promise him two things: to look after his mother and to win an FA Cup final. The regular Football League returned in time for the 1946–47 season, during which Matthews played 23 league games and contributed to 30 of the club's 41 league goals. Stoke matched their record finish of fourth in the league, finishing just two points shy of champions Liverpool after losing to Sheffield United on the final day of the season.

Did You Know?

• Stanley Matthews is the only player to have been knighted while still playing football.
• He was the first winner of both the European Footballer of the Year and the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year awards.
• Matthews was the oldest player to play in England's top football division at 50 years and 5 days.
• He was the oldest player to represent England at 42 years and 104 days.
• In 1975, despite harsh apartheid laws, he established an all-black team in Soweto known as 'Stan's Men'.

A Career Spanning Three Decades and Two Clubs

Matthews' playing career stretched an extraordinary 33 years across two clubs. He began at Stoke City in 1932, earning his first-team debut against Bury at Gigg Lane, and remained with the Potters until 1947. He then moved to Blackpool for 14 years, where his story took on dramatic tension: he stood on the losing side in the 1948 and 1951 FA Cup finals before finally lifting the trophy in 1953. That match, now immortalized as the "Matthews final," was defined by his individual brilliance. After a second spell at Stoke from 1961 to 1965, he helped them win the Second Division title in 1962–63, just as he had done in 1932–33. His 1956 Ballon d'Or win made him the first-ever recipient of that prestigious European honor, cementing a career that few players could match in sheer duration and variety of achievement.

Unmatched Longevity and Pioneering Honors

Matthews defied the physical clock in a way no other footballer has. He remained fit enough to compete at the highest level until the age of 50, and he holds the record as the oldest player to appear in England's top division at 50 years and 5 days. He was also the oldest to represent his country, doing so at 42 years and 104 days. His achievements earned him distinctions no one else has matched: he is the only footballer ever to receive a knighthood while still an active player. He was also the first person to claim both the European Footballer of the Year award and the Football Writers' Association's Footballer of the Year prize. In 2002, he became an inaugural inductee into the English Football Hall of Fame, a recognition of his singular contribution to the sport. His nicknames—"The Wizard of Dribble" and "The Magician"—reflected the almost supernatural control he maintained over the ball throughout a career that outlasted most of his peers by decades.

Roots in Hanley and the Making of a Dribbler

Stanley Matthews was born in a terraced house on Seymour Street in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, the third of four sons of Jack Matthews, a local boxer nicknamed the "Fighting Barber of Hanley." His father initially wanted him to follow into the boxing ring, but a pivotal intervention by his mother Elizabeth—after a training session left young Stanley vomiting—convinced Jack to let his son pursue football. The boy's natural gift for dribbling was honed in the most humble of settings: countless hours weaving around kitchen chairs set up in the backyard, and the street kickabout games he later credited with giving him "a focus, a purpose, discipline." Ironically, he grew up a supporter of Port Vale, Stoke's local rivals. His talent was first publicly displayed in 1921 when his six-year-old self won an open race at the Victoria Ground, with his father betting on him. By 1929, he was playing for England Schoolboys against Wales before a crowd of 20,000 at Dean Court, Bournemouth.

Beyond the Pitch – Coaching and Defiance

After retiring from professional play, Matthews' journey took him far from English football grounds. An unsuccessful period as Port Vale's general manager between 1965 and 1968 led him to travel the world coaching amateur players. His most remarkable chapter came in South Africa, where, in 1975, he established an all-black team in Soweto that he called "Stan's Men." This was a bold act of defiance against the harsh apartheid laws governing the country at the time, using football as a vehicle for inclusion and dignity. His global coaching work reflected a man whose passion for the game extended well beyond personal glory. The nicknames that followed him throughout his career—"The Wizard of Dribble" and "The Magician"—captured not just his technical brilliance but a broader sense of wonder he brought to the sport. His 2002 induction into the English Football Hall of Fame as an inaugural member sealed his place as a figure whose influence transcended any single era or competition.

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