Stoke City F.C. Jimmy McIlroy were all players signed in the latter stages of their careers. Matthews was awarded a knighthood for services to football in the 1965 New Year's Honours list. This was followed by his final appearance for the club against Fulham in February 1965, shortly after his 50th birthday. Gordon Banks, England's 1966 World Cup-winning goalkeeper, joined in 1967 for £52,000 from Leicester. Regarded as the best goalkeeper in the world, Banks proved to be a shrewd signing for Waddington as he helped the club maintain stability in the First Division. During the close season of 1967, Stoke City played
Gordon S. Heddell Alumni Association as its recipient of the 2009 Alumni Achievement Award for alumni of the University of Illinois at Springfield. Heddell received his bachelor's degree from the University of Missouri-St. Louis, his master's degree from Sangamon State University (today known as the University of Illinois at Springfield), and was a Woodrow Wilson public service fellow from 1994-2000. Heddell graduated at the top of his Treasury Federal Law Enforcement Academy class. Heddell created a partnership between the Secret Service and two inner city Washington D.C. public schools. Gordon S. Heddell Gordon S. Heddell (born August 13, 1943, in St Louis) is