Statue of Sir Stanley Matthews at the Bet 365 (was Britannia) Stadium home of Stoke City Football Club, Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire, England, UK
Sir Stanley Matthews was born on February 1st 1915 in Hanley near Stoke. Matthews’ raw pace and quick feet automatically got him recognised and soon he was playing games for England schoolboys. By the age of 17, he had already signed a professional contract with Stoke City and soon started matches regularly. In his second season, he was a key player in Stoke’s midfield and was duly awarded his first cap for England in 1934 at the age of just 19. In just three years, he was a regular on the right wing for England. At only 20, Stanley Matthews was quickly becoming the biggest star in English football. His speed and constant trickery helped him to strike fear into opposition defenders. The ‘Wizard of Dribble’, as he was known, had become a dangerous weapon for both England and Stoke. During the Second World War, league football was postponed and Matthews was sent to Blackpool to serve in the Royal Air Force. Matthews eventually re-joined Stoke City in 1961 and got them promoted from the second tier of football in his first season there. At the age of 50, a knee injury made him retire although he maintained that he could have carried on. In April 1965, a testimonial was played for the great man in front of 35,000 people in Stoke’s Victoria Ground. This match attracted world stars of the time such as Lev Yashin and Ferenc Puskás. Later that year, he would become the first ever football player to be knighted. A true sportsman to the end, Matthews never received a yellow card in 701 three nine-foot statues were made by local artists, showing Sir Stanley at different stages of his career, which spanned more than 30 years. The final resting place for the statues was Stoke City's new home Britannia Stadium. However, the statues point towards the club's old Victoria Ground, where Sir Stanley played. The statues themselves were fashioned from local clay before being cast. The creation of the statues took a whole year to complete, sculpted by Carl Payne
Size: 4300px × 3924px
Location: Stoke City Football Club, Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire, England, UK
Photo credit: © John Keates / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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