Sir Stanley Matthews, (1 February 1915 – 23 February 2000) was an English football player. Often regarded as one of the greats 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. His nicknames included The Wizard of the Dribble and The Magician.
A vegetarian teetotaller, he kept fit enough to play at the top level until he was 50 years old, the oldest player ever to play in England’s top football division. He played his final competitive game in 1970, at the age of 55, for Hibernians in Malta, which team he also coached at the time. Matthews was also an inaugural inductee to the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002 to honour his contribution to the English game.
