 Finney with the England national team c. 1950 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Thomas Finney | ||
| Date of birth | (1922-04-05)5 April 1922 | ||
| Place of birth | Preston, England | ||
| Date of death | 14 February 2014(2014-02-14) (aged 91) | ||
| Place of death | Preston, England | ||
| Position | Centre forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1940 | Preston North End | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1940–1960 | Preston North End | 433 | (187) |
| 1962 | Toronto City | 1 | (1) |
| 1963 | Distillery | 0 | (0) |
| Total | 434 | (188) | |
| International career | |||
| 1948 | England B | 1 | (0) |
| 1946–1958 | England | 76 | (30) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Sir Thomas Finney (5 April 1922 – 14 February 2014) was an English internationalfootballer who played from 1946 to 1960 as acentre forward forPreston North End andEngland. He is widely acknowledged to have been one of England's greatest ever players. He was noted for hisloyalty to Preston, for whom he made 433Football League and 39 FA Cup appearances, scoring a total of 210goals. He played for England 76 times, scoring 30 goals.
Finney was born on 5 April 1922 at his parents' home on St Michael's Road,Preston, Lancashire, a few hundred yards fromDeepdale stadium, the home ofPreston North End. His parents were Maggie (née Mitchell) and Alf Finney. He had an elder brother called Joe and four sisters called Madge, Peggy, Doris and Edith. Alf was a clerical worker in local government who sometimes found himself unemployed on account of the changing economic climate.[1] When Tom was very young, the family moved to Daisy Lane in the Holme Slack area of Preston. They were struck by tragedy in 1927 when Maggie was suddenly taken ill and died, aged 32. Alf managed to keep the family together with the help of relations and neighbours.[2]
Inspired by his father, who was a keen football fan, Finney played the game from a very early age both at school and in the fields near his home. His ambition was always to become a professional footballer but he was somewhat frail and sickly in his youth and stood only 4 ft 9 in (1.45 m) when he left school in 1936 at the age of fourteen. He became anapprentice for a local plumbing company called Pilkington's.[3]
The following year, Finney saw an advert placed by Preston North End in the local newspaper for junior players aged fourteen to eighteen. He asked his father to help him get a trial. His father met Preston trainerWill Scott and it was arranged. Finney had an outstanding match in the trial and was immediately offered a contract at the wage of£2 10s a week. He went home to get his father's approval but Alf Finney refused, insisting that he must first complete his apprenticeship before signing professional terms. Preston were nevertheless happy with this and Finney joined them as an amateur, doing his training in the evenings after work and eligible to play for the club's junior teams.[4]
Largely inspired byBill Shankly, who was a first team regular, and helped by Scott, Finney worked hard in training and began to enhance his skills and technique.[5] He later described Shankly as his "football mentor".[6] Finney soon won a place in Preston's youth team, known as the B team, which won four trophies while he played for them. Although he was satisfied with plumbing as a full-time career, he set himself the goal of becoming a professional footballer and playing for the club's first team.[5]
Finney was 17 when theSecond World War began in September 1939. His elder brother Joe was playing forNetherfield and training with nearbyBlackburn Rovers. Their father thought it would be sensible for both his sons to be at the same club. Finney had a trial for Netherfield at this time, but was rejected by the Kendal club. Almost 70 years later, Finney returned to the ground at Parkside Road, Kendal, as a guest of the club. The club's then chairman apologised to Finney on the pitch in front of 500 fans, describing Netherfield's decision as the "biggest mistake in football history".[7]
In January 1940, Finney was about to join Rovers when he received a letter from North End which resulted in him signing on as a professional. He later recalled that he was signed on wartime terms of tenshillings a match.[8]
First-class league and cup football had been suspended for the duration, but regional wartime competitions were organised as a boost to the people's morale. There were ten regional leagues in1939–40 and Preston were in theNorth West League, finishing as runners-up to championsBury.[9] Finney continued to play youth team football through the season.[5]
The number of leagues were reduced to two in 1940 and Preston joined theNorth Regional League (NRL) for the1940–41 season, which began on Saturday 31 August 1940. They began their campaign with an away match againstLiverpool atAnfield. Finney, now 18, made his first team debut playing on the right wing (wearing the no. 7 shirt). Five of his youth team colleagues, includingAndy McLaren, also made their first team debuts. Played before an estimated 6,000 people, the result was a 3–3 draw after Preston led 3–2 at half-time. The Liverpool team includedBob Paisley,Billy Liddell and, playing as a guest,Stan Cullis. For military reasons, neitherMatt Busby of Liverpool nor Bill Shankly of Preston were available. TheLancashire Evening Post praised Finney's performance as he wasinvolved in creating two of the Preston goals and, but for a lucky save bySam Bartram, would have scored the winning goal near the end of the match.[10][11]
With Finney in the team, Preston went on to enjoy a successful season and won the NRL with 18 wins in the 29 matches they played. They also won theFootball League War Cup, defeatingArsenal 2–1 in a replay atEwood Park after the final atWembley Stadium ended 1–1.[12] There were 36 teams in the 1940–41 NRL – 34 in theSouth Regional League (SRL) – but, because of wartime demands limiting the availability of players and venues, fixtures were often unfulfilled. For example, Bury played the most matches (38) while their near neighboursBolton Wanderers could only manage 16.[12]
The War Cup began in February with ties played on a two-legged, home-and-away basis. Finney began with two goals at home against Bury, a match described as a thriller that ended 4–4. Preston won 2–1 in the second leg atGigg Lane and then enjoyed convincing victories over Bolton Wanderers andTranmere Rovers to reach the quarter finals. They defeatedManchester City 5–1 on aggregate but faced a tough semi-final tie againstNewcastle United. Preston won the first leg at home 2–0 and held on for a 0–0 draw in the second atSt James' Park. In one of his rare appearances that season, Bill Shankly scored both goals in the home leg.[13]
The final at Wembley was the biggest event of Finney's career so far and he described the experience at some length in his autobiography. Playing on the right wing, he directly facedEddie Hapgood, who was theEngland captain, and Finney said the prospect made him "feel quite weak at the knees".[14] Because of wartime travel constraints, only a few hundred Preston fans were in the 60,000 crowd but among them were Finney's father and brother. Finney got the better of Hapgood to provide the assist for McLaren to score the opening goal. He says Preston should have made the most of their advantage but they failed to score from several good chances and Arsenal equalised with a goal byDenis Compton. The match ended 1–1 and Finney said the team were disappointed.[15]
The Preston fans formed the majority of the crowd at the replay in Blackburn. Finney recalled that it was touch-and-go as to whetherBobby Beattie, their Scottish internationalinside forward would be able to play because of hisRAF commitments. He had not arrived at Deepdale when the team set off for Blackburn and they were surprised to find him waiting at Ewood; he had gone straight there after getting a late release to play. Beattie scored both of their goals as they defeated Arsenal 2–1;Bernard Joy scored an equaliser for Arsenal after Beattie's first.[16] Finney gave most of the credit to Beattie but both of the goals came from moves in which he was primarily involved.[17] Finney recalled that, for winning the War Cup, each of the Preston players were awarded five wartime savings certificates with a value of fifteenshillings apiece.[18] Having faced Finney twice, the experienced Hapgood said he was "amazed to see a right-winger dribbling so brilliantly with his left foot".[19]
In December 1942, Finney made a guest appearance forSouthampton in a 3–1 defeat byArsenal atThe Dell.[20][21]
Aged 20, Finney was called up in April 1942 and assigned as atrooper to theRoyal Armoured Corps.[22]
He was sent to Egypt and served withMontgomery'sEighth Army.[23] When on leave in North Africa, he was able to play for army football teams against local opposition.[24] Many years later, he met the Egyptian film actorOmar Sharif, who told him that as a teenager he had been a substitute for one of the teams Finney played against, but he did not take part in the match.[25]
In April 1945, Finney took part in the final offensive at theBattle of the Argenta Gap as aStuart tank driver with the9th Lancers.[citation needed]
League football resumed on Saturday 31 August 1946. Preston were in theFirst Division and began the new season with a home match againstLeeds United.[26] Playing on theright wing, Finney made his debut in a team that includedBill Shankly andAndy Beattie. The crowd was over 25,000 and, on what Finney called "a carnival sort of afternoon", Preston won 3–2.[27] Finney said he was "lucky enough to score one of the goals" and his biographer Paul Agnew cites this as a typical example of Finney's modesty.[28] Newspapers of the day reported that Preston's win was a "one-man show"; that Finney created all their goals; that Leeds would have won but for Finney; and that Finney's goal, Preston's second, was "a brilliant solo effort".[29] Although this match was his league debut, he was by no means a newcomer to the team, and the local supporters knew from his wartime appearances that Finney was an outstanding prospect. It was not until he played league football that his genius as a player was fully recognised.[30]
Finney went on to play for Preston in fourteen English league seasons from1946–47 to1959–60, including twelve in the First Division.[31] He played in theSecond Division for two seasons after Preston were relegated at the end of the1948–49 season. In the Second Division, Preston finished sixth in1949–50 and then won the division championship in1950–51.[31] The club was thereby promoted back to the First Division where they remained for ten years until the end of the1960–61 season, the one following Finney's retirement.[31] Preston's best league position during Finney's career was second in both the1952–53 and1957–58 seasons.[31]
Post-war demand for plumbers ensured that Finney had a second income to supplement the£14 he received as a footballer.[citation needed] He became known as "The Preston Plumber" and ran his own successful plumbing business from the 1940s until the 1990s.[32]
Along withStanley Matthews, Finney was English football's most famous player in the decade after the war.[33] In 1952, Preston's chairman Nat Buck rejected an offer for Finney worth £10,000 over two years from Italian clubPalermo, and Finney remained aone-club player.[34]
In the1952–53 season, Preston were runners-up toArsenal in the First Division. Preston won their last three games and this run took them two points clear of Arsenal at the top of the league table, but Arsenal still had a game in hand. This match, at home toBurnley, was the championship decider and was played on the night before the1953 FA Cup Final. Arsenal had to win to equal Preston's points total and overtake them ongoal average.[note 1] They won 3–2 and claimed the title by the margin of 0.099 of a goal. It was the closest that Finney came to a major title in his career.[33]
He played for Preston in the1954 FA Cup final againstWest Bromwich Albion, his only cup final appearance. Preston lost 3–2 and Finney revealed in his autobiography that he was not fully match fit and "did not give his best performance".[citation needed]
Finney formed an attacking partnership withTommy Thompson in the 1950s. In the 1956–57 season they scored a combined total of 57 goals; in1957–58 their combined tally was 60 goals.[citation needed] Preston were First Division runners-up again in 1957–58, five points behind championsWolverhampton Wanderers.[33]
Finney made his international debut forEngland on 28 September 1946, only four weeks after his Football League debut. The match was atWindsor Park againstIreland in theHome Championship. Finney scored once in England's 7–2 victory. He later said the match was his "proudest day as a footballer".[35]
Finney won 76caps and scored 30 goals in an England career that spanned twelve years and included 51 victories.[36] He scored his 29th international goal in June 1958 against theSoviet Union to become joint England all-time top-scorer, sharing the record withVivian Woodward andNat Lofthouse.[citation needed] In October the same year, he netted his 30th goal, againstNorthern Ireland, to become the sole holder of the record.[37] Finney made his final appearance for England on 22 October 1958, in a 5–0 win over the Soviet Union at Wembley. In the same match, Lofthouse equalled Finney's tally of 30 goals for England.[38] Both were surpassed byBobby Charlton on 12 October 1963.[39]
Finney was a versatile attacking player who could operate in any forward position on either side of the pitch or at centre forward. In the 1950s, he was often compared withStanley Matthews and football fans would debate who was the best player, given Matthews' dribbling skills and Finney's all-round ability.[32] Relatively small in stature, Finney could withstand hard tackling, but his movement, speed and ball control invariably enabled him to avoid contact with defenders. While Finney was himself a frequent goal scorer, he was also a creator of goals and it was because of hisassists that he was considered "the ideal team man".[32]
Finney was votedFootballer of the Year in1953–54. He won the award again in1956–57, becoming the first player to win it a second time.[32]
Finney respected the rules of football and believed in fair play and sportsmanship. He was never booked or sent off in his career.[34] Both on and off the field, he always had a reputation as a gentleman.[32]Dave Whelan supported this view when he said of Finney: "He was and still is a total gentleman".[40]
Finney retired from competitive football in 1960 because of a persistentgroin injury.[34] He had played his entire career for his local club, making 433 League appearances and scoring 187 goals. At the end of the 1960–61 season, the first after Finney's retirement, Preston were relegated from the First Division[41] and have not returned to the top flight since.
Finney continued playing football after he left Preston, often appearing in charity and benefit matches. In 1962, he played in theEastern Canada Professional Soccer League withToronto City, scoring one goal in his only appearance.[42] In 1963, he played for Northern Irish clubDistillery againstBenfica in theEuropean Cup.[43]
Finney continued to run his plumbing business in Preston and he also worked for local charities and hospitals.[32] On 9 November 1988, he was the subject ofThis Is Your Life. Finney was led to believe he was attending a sports function in central London, and was then surprised by the hostMichael Aspel and many of Finney's former teammates.[44][45] In 2007, he was awarded anhonorary fellowship byMyerscough College in Preston.[46] Celebrating Finney's 90th birthday in 2012,Tommy Docherty said "To me,Messi is Finney reborn".[41]
On 31 July 2004, Finney unveiled the water feature sculptureThe Splash, by sculptorPeter Hodgkinson, outside Deepdale stadium which at that time housedThe National Football Museum.[47] The sculpture was inspired by the 1956 Sports Photograph of the Year which shows Finney beating twoChelsea defenders at a waterloggedStamford Bridge,[48] which was taken on 25 August 1956 by photographer John Horton.[49] The museum relocated to Manchester in 2012 but the statue remains at Deepdale.
Finney maintained his links with Preston North End as the club's president and 2006 marked 60 years since his League debut for the club. To celebrate this diamond anniversary, theNational Football Museum, an organisation which he championed and with which he had close links, invited football fans to sign a specially commissioned flag which was presented to Finney at the beginning of the2006–07 season to mark his 60 years with Preston.[50] He was also club president of non-leagueKendal Town.[51]
Finney was appointed an Officer of theOrder of the British Empire (OBE) in the1961 Birthday Honours after his retirement from competitive football. Later, in recognition of his charitable work, he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the1992 New Year Honours and thenknighted in the1998 New Year Honours.[32]
Finney was married to Elsie Noblett from 1945 until her death in 2004. They had two children: a son Brian (born 1947) and a daughter Barbara (born 1950). In her later years, Lady Finney suffered fromAlzheimer's disease, which led Finney, as her full-time carer, to be a strong supporter of the Alzheimer's Society.[52] Two Preston care homes, Finney House and Lady Elsie Finney House, are named after the Finneys.[53][54]
Finney died in Preston on 14 February 2014.[55] The cause of death was not announced.[56] At the time of his death aged 91, he was one of England's oldest living former international footballers.[57]
Finney was highly regarded by his former teammateBill Shankly, who described Finney as "the greatest player I ever saw, bar none".[32] On another occasion, Shankly said that Finney was "a ghost of a player but very strong. He could have played all day in his overcoat".[34]Stanley Matthews once ranked him alongsidePelé,Diego Maradona,George Best andAlfredo Di Stéfano as one of the few players who could "dictate the pace and course of a game on a regular basis".[56]
In a tribute to Finney,The Football Association described him as "one of England's all-time greatest players" andBobby Charlton said Finney's contributions to football were "immeasurable".[56] In April 2014,Northern Premier League clubBamber Bridge announced their Irongate Ground would be renamed the Sir Tom Finney Stadium.[58]
Ahead of the2021–22 EFL Championship season, the EFL agreed that theWest Lancashire derby between Preston North End andBlackpool would take place at Deepdale on the evening of 5 April 2022, to celebrate the centenary of Finney's birth. Preston won 1–0 before a crowd of 18,740, nearly a full house.[59]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Preston North End | 1946–47 | First Division | 32 | 7 | 3 | 2 | — | 35 | 9 | |
| 1947–48 | First Division | 33 | 13 | 4 | 1 | — | 37 | 14 | ||
| 1948–49 | First Division | 24 | 7 | 2 | 2 | — | 26 | 9 | ||
| 1949–50 | Second Division | 37 | 10 | 1 | 1 | — | 38 | 11 | ||
| 1950–51 | Second Division | 34 | 13 | 2 | 0 | — | 36 | 13 | ||
| 1951–52 | First Division | 33 | 13 | 0 | 0 | — | 33 | 13 | ||
| 1952–53 | First Division | 34 | 17 | 3 | 2 | — | 37 | 19 | ||
| 1953–54 | First Division | 23 | 11 | 8 | 3 | — | 31 | 14 | ||
| 1954–55 | First Division | 30 | 7 | 3 | 2 | — | 33 | 9 | ||
| 1955–56 | First Division | 32 | 17 | 1 | 1 | — | 33 | 18 | ||
| 1956–57 | First Division | 34 | 23 | 6 | 5 | — | 40 | 28 | ||
| 1957–58 | First Division | 34 | 26 | 1 | 0 | — | 35 | 26 | ||
| 1958–59 | First Division | 16 | 6 | 0 | 0 | — | 16 | 6 | ||
| 1959–60 | First Division | 37 | 17 | 6 | 4 | — | 43 | 21 | ||
| Distillery | 1963–64 | Irish League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Career total | 433 | 187 | 40 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 474 | 210 | ||
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 28 September 1946 | Windsor Park,Belfast, Northern Ireland |  Ireland | 4–0 | 7–2 | 1946–47 British Home Championship |
| 2 | 30 September 1946 | Dalymount Park, Dublin, Republic of Ireland |  Republic of Ireland | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| 3 | 27 November 1946 | Leeds Road,Huddersfield, England |  Netherlands | 6–1 | 8–2 | Friendly |
| 4 | 3 May 1947 | Highbury, London, England |  France | 1–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
| 5 | 25 May 1947 | Estádio Nacional, Lisbon, Portugal |  Portugal | 4–0 | 10–0 | Friendly |
| 6 | 21 September 1947 | Heysel Stadium, Brussels, Belgium |  Belgium | 3–0 | 5–2 | Friendly |
| 7 | 4–2 | |||||
| 8 | 18 October 1947 | Ninian Park,Cardiff, Wales |  Wales | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1947–48 British Home Championship |
| 9 | 10 April 1948 | Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland |  Scotland | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1947–48 British Home Championship |
| 10 | 16 May 1948 | Stadio Comunale,Turin, Italy |  Italy | 3–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
| 11 | 4–0 | |||||
| 12 | 10 November 1948 | Villa Park, Birmingham, England | Wales | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1948–49 British Home Championship |
| 13 | 13 May 1949 | Råsunda Stadium, Stockholm, Sweden |  Sweden | 1–3 | 1–3 | Friendly |
| 14 | 18 May 1949 | Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway |  Norway | 2–0 | 4–1 | Friendly |
| 15 | 14 May 1950 | Estádio Nacional, Lisbon, Portugal | Portugal | 1–0 | 5–3 | Friendly |
| 16 | 3–0 | |||||
| 17 | 4–1 | |||||
| 18 | 5–3 | |||||
| 19 | 14 April 1951 | Wembley Stadium, London, England | Scotland | 2–3 | 2–3 | 1950–51 British Home Championship |
| 20 | 19 May 1951 | Goodison Park, Liverpool, England | Portugal | 3–2 | 5–2 | Friendly |
| 21 | 12 November 1952 | Wembley Stadium, London, England | Wales | 1–0 | 5–2 | 1952–53 British Home Championship |
| 22 | 21 November 1953 | Yankee Stadium, New York City, US |  United States | — | 6–3 | Friendly |
| 23 | — | |||||
| 24 | 26 June 1954 | St. Jakob Stadium,Basel, Switzerland |  Uruguay | 2–3 | 2–4 | 1954 FIFA World Cup Quarter-finals |
| 25 | 2 November 1955 | Wembley Stadium, London, England |  Northern Ireland | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1955–56 British Home Championship |
| 26 | 30 November 1955 | Wembley Stadium, London, England |  Spain | 3–0 | 4–1 | Friendly |
| 27 | 14 November 1956 | Wembley Stadium, London, England |  Wales | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1956–57 British Home Championship |
| 28 | 19 October 1957 | Ninian Park, Cardiff, Wales | Wales | 3–0 | 4–0 | 1957–58 British Home Championship |
| 29 | 8 June 1958 | Ullevi,Gothenburg, Sweden |  Soviet Union | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1958 FIFA World Cup Group 4 |
| 30 | 4 October 1958 | Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland | Northern Ireland | 2–2 | 3–3 | 1958–59 British Home Championship |
Preston North End[60]
England
Individual[60]
England squads | |||||||||||||
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