Tom Finney
Personal information
Full name	Sir Thomas Finney
Date of birth	April 5, 1922 (age 84)
Place of birth	Preston, England
Nickname	The Preston Plumber
Position	Striker, Outside Right
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1946-1960	Preston North End	433 (187)
National team
1946-1958	England	076 0(30)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. * Appearances (Goals) Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... April 5 is the 95th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (96th in leap years). ... Year 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar). ... Preston is a city and local government district in North West England. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London (de facto) Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2006 est. ... The striker (wearing the red shirt) has run past the defender (in the white shirt) and is about to take a shot at the goal, while the goalkeeper positions himself to attempt to stop the ball. ... Vittorio Pozzo’s Metodo system from the 1930s was one of the many variants of 2-3-5 formation which featured attacking wingers Outside right is a position in football which refers to a footballer who plays as a forward on the right wing, typically as part of a 2... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... First international Scotland 0 - 0 England (Partick, Scotland; 30 November 1872) Biggest win Ireland 0 - 13 England (Belfast, Ireland; 18 February 1882) Biggest defeat Hungary 7 - 1 England (Budapest, Hungary; 23 May 1954) World Cup Appearances 12 (First in 1950) Best result Winners, 1966 European Championship Appearances 7 (First in...

Sir Thomas Finney, OBE (born 5 April 1922, Preston) is a former English footballer, famous for his loyalty to his league club, Preston North End, and for his performances in the English national side. Commanders Badge of the Order of the British Empire (Military division) The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority... April 5 is the 95th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (96th in leap years). ... Year 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar). ... Preston is a city and local government district in North West England. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London (de facto) Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2006 est. ... Football (soccer) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... First international Scotland 0 - 0 England (Partick, Scotland; 30 November 1872) Biggest win Ireland 0 - 13 England (Belfast, Ireland; 18 February 1882) Biggest defeat Hungary 7 - 1 England (Budapest, Hungary; 23 May 1954) World Cup Appearances 12 (First in 1950) Best result Winners, 1966 European Championship Appearances 7 (First in...

Early life

Finney was born at home in Preston on a street next to the Deepdale stadium. He was frail and somewhat sickly in his youth and stood only 4 ft 9 in (1.45 m) at the age of fourteen. When he was offered the opportunity to sign for Preston North End (PNE), his father insisted that he complete his apprenticeship in the family's plumbing business before signing as a professional. Preston is a city and local government district in North West England. ... Deepdale is a stadium in Preston, England, the home of Preston North End F.C. and Englands National Football Museum. ... Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of skilled crafts practitioners, which is still popular in some countries. ... A plumber wrench for working on pipes and fittings Plumbing, from the Latin for lead (plumbum), is the skilled trade of working with pipes, tubing and plumbing fixtures for potable water systems and the drainage of waste. ...

Second World War

Soon after he signed, however, World War II began and normal football was suspended, though Finney started to achieve some recognition during war-time tournaments. Called up to the Royal Armoured Corps in 1942, he fought in Montgomery's Eighth Army in Egypt. Local leave in North Africa allowed him to play in army teams against local opposition and on one occasion he played against the future actor Omar Sharif. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... The Royal Armoured Corps (RAC) is currently a collection of ten regular regiments, mostly converted from old horse cavalry regiments, and four Yeomanry regiments of the Territorial Army. ... Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, KG, GCB, DSO, PC (17 November 1887–24 March 1976), often referred to as Monty, was a British Army officer. ... The Eighth Army was one of the best-known formations in World War II, fighting in the North African and Italian campaigns. ... Actors in period costume sharing a joke while waiting between takes during location filming An actor or actress is a person who acts, or plays a role, in a dramatic production. ... For Pakistani actor of same name see Umer Sharif. ...

Post-war career and England debut

Once normal competition was restored, he made his debut for the club in August 1946 and soon established himself as an agile forward. Post-war demand for plumbers ensured that he had a second income to supplement the GBP14 he received under football's maximum wage regulations, and he became famous as the "Preston plumber". One month after his first appearance for Preston, Finney made his England debut, going on to win 76 caps and score 30 goals. GBP may be: short for Game Boy Player the ISO currency code for the British Pound Sterling. ... A maximum wage is an enforced limit to how much an individual can earn. ... First international Scotland 0 - 0 England (Partick, Scotland; 30 November 1872) Biggest win Ireland 0 - 13 England (Belfast, Ireland; 18 February 1882) Biggest defeat Hungary 7 - 1 England (Budapest, Hungary; 23 May 1954) World Cup Appearances 12 (First in 1950) Best result Winners, 1966 European Championship Appearances 7 (First in... A cap is an appearance for a select team, such as a school, county or international team in sports. ...

Retirement

He retired from Preston North End in 1960, only when forced out with a persistent groin injury. He had played his entire career for his local club, appearing 433 times and scoring 187 goals. The balance of Preston's team hardly matched Finney's brilliance, the young Bill Shankly notwithstanding, and he never won a major trophy. His loyalty is remarkable, even extending to rejecting a 1952 offer from Italian club Palermo that included a £10,000 personal signing-on fee and high pay and perquisites. He actually wanted to leave - the chairman wouldn't allow it.^{[citation needed]} The groin is the crease at the junction of the torso with the legs and the adjacent region that includes the external genitals. ... William Bill Shankly, OBE (September 2, 1913 – September 29, 1981) was one of Britains most successful and respected football managers. ... Unione Sportiva Città di Palermo is an Italian football team which currently plays in Serie A, the top level of Italian football. ... The symbol £ represents the pound currency which Britain uses. ... Employee benefits (also called fringe benefits, perquisites, or perks) are various non-wage compensations provided to employees in addition to their normal wages or salaries. ...

The Splash

Splash: the statue of Tom Finney which stands outside Deepdale stadium

On 31 July 2004, Sir Tom unveiled the water feature sculpture "The Splash" which stands outside The National Football Museum. The sculpture was inspired by the 1956 Sports Photograph of the Year which features Tom Finney beating two defenders at a waterlogged Stamford Bridge.^[1] Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 593 pixel Image in higher resolution (3002 × 2226 pixel, file size: 2. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 593 pixel Image in higher resolution (3002 × 2226 pixel, file size: 2. ... July 31 is the 212th day (213th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 153 days remaining. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The National Football Museum is a museum in England, founded to preserve, conserve and interpret several important collections of association football memorabilia. ... The interior of Stamford Bridge is decorated in Chelseas blue and white Stamford Bridge is a football stadium in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham that is home to Chelsea Football Club. ...

Continuing links with Preston North End

As of 2007, Sir Tom maintains his links with Preston North End as the club's president. 2006 marked 60 years since his first league debut for PNE. To mark this occasion the National Football Museum, an organisation which he has championed and has close links with, invited football fans to sign a specially commissioned flag which was presented to Sir Tom at the beginning of the 2006-07 season to mark his 60 years with PNE.^[2] The 2006-2007 season is the 127th season of competitive football in England. ...

He also writes a regular PNE column for the University of Central Lancashire's students' union newspaper, Pluto. The University of Central Lancashire (or UCLan) is a university based in Preston, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom, with additional campuses in Carlisle and Penrith. ... The largest Students Union building at Oklahoma State University, which doubles as a student activity center (student union in the USA) A students union, student government, student leadership,or student council is a student organization present in many elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, colleges and universities. ...

Ability

His total mastery of all the techniques triumphed over the lack of medals. He was versatile, playing in all the orthodox five forward positions of the day for Preston and appearing for England at right-wing, left-wing and centre-forward. He was a genuine two-footed player, packing an explosive shot in either his right or his left. He had speed, balance, was a pin-point passer and, for a man of no great height, could head with awesome power.

Quotes about Finney

• "Tom Finney would have been great in any team, in any match and in any age ... even if he had been wearing an overcoat." (Bill Shankly)
• "Tom Finney should claim income tax relief ... for his 10 dependents." (Satirical observation on the weakness of the Preston team in his absence)
• "If all the brains in the game sat in committee to design the perfect player, they would come up with a reincarnation of Tom Finney." (Anonymous newspaper feature)

William Bill Shankly, OBE (September 2, 1913 – September 29, 1981) was one of Britains most successful and respected football managers. ...

Honours

• Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year, 1954 and 1957;
• OBE, 1961; and
• Knighthood, 1998.

The Football Writers Association (FWA) is an association of English football journalists and correspondents writing for newspapers and agencies. ... Commanders Badge of the Order of the British Empire (Military division) The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority... The silver Anglia knight, commissioned as a trophy in 1850, intended to represent the Black Prince. ...

Career statistics

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Bibliography

• Finney, T. (2004) Tom Finney Autobiography ISBN 0-7553-1106-X
• Finney, T. (1982) Tom Finney's Preston North End Scrapbook ISBN 0-285-62554-3
• Finney, T. (1958) Finney on Football ISBN B0000CK63X
• Finney, T. (1955) Instructions to Young Footballers ISBN B0000CJABP
• Finney, T. (1953) Football Round the world ISBN B0000CIMPY
• Agnew, P. (2002) Tom Finney: A Football Legend ISBN 0-9530847-9-5
• Booth, J. (ed.) (1998) Tom Finney: A Pictorial Tribute ISBN 1-901966-00-3

External links

• Full list of Finney's international goals
• Tom Finney at the International Football Hall of Fame
• Tom Finney at the English Football Hall of Fame
• Football fans are asked to raise the standard for North End's greatest player

References