That’s what they called Tom Finney, the amazing one-club footballer who spent his entire career with Preston North End. He won 76 international caps, played on both wings as well as centre forward, scored 30 goals for England, and was considered the most complete British footballer of all time.
And together with all that (and more), he ran a plumbing business on the side!
I found him a lovely, soft-spoken man, and the immortal Bill Shankly said of him: “Tom Finney would have been great on any team, in any match, and in any age… even if he had been wearing an overcoat.”
Tom was never booked, never sent off, never even ticked off by a referee.
A slight, sickly boy of 14 who weighed less than 5 stone, he was offered a contract as a junior by Preston. But (as was the case with me) his father wouldn’t permit him to sign, and insisted that he learn a trade first. So, as an apprentice plumber, Tom joined Preston as a part-time amateur, and didn’t make his professional debut until he was 24. He stayed with the club until he retired aged 38.
A natural left footer, he worked ceaselessly to develop his right foot ball control, and he became supremely successful. As he wrote in his first book, “It is absolutely necessary to become completely two-footed in first class soccer.”
He showed me where, in his second book, he wrote, “I had to concentrate on high speed, with the knack of passing a defender on the run; and, most importantly, I had to become completely two-footed.”
He was emphasising his belief in the necessity to change matters in which one foot was only good for standing on. So he practised hour after hour, day after day, and week after week. “It was no hardship for me to put in extra hours, and I worked on the right foot until it became as strong as my left. That involved many afternoons.”
Finney had exquisite balance, skill, and tactical intelligence.
The Italian prince Roberto Lanza offered him a £10,000 signing-on fee to play for his club, Palermo. He also offered him a Mediterranean villa, a sports car, unlimited travel between Italy and England, £100 per match, and £130 a month in wages. Tom Finney stayed loyal to Preston North End.
I went to see him to seek his help with my museum project. I wanted to see if he would donate something from his playing career, and if the club might help with a Preston showcase. He was wonderfully enthusiastic and encouraging.
When I went back on a second visit, he had a shirt (pictured) ready for me, as well as a special scroll he had received for his war-time internationals.
Sir Tom Finney was a kind and generous man. If there were more like him around, the world of football, and the world in general, would be far better places.
He was 91 when he died in 2014. May he rest in everlasting peace.
