Stanley Matthews he helped Blackpool to win the cup with a formidable personal performance in the "Matthews Final" of 1953. Between 1934 and 1957 he won 54 caps for England, playing in the FIFA World Cup in 1950 and 1954, and winning nine British Home Championship titles. Following an unsuccessful stint as Port Vale's general manager between 1965 and 1968, he travelled around the world, coaching enthusiastic amateurs. The most notable of his coaching experiences came in 1975 in South Africa, where in spite of the harsh apartheid laws of the time he established an all-black team in Soweto known as "Stan's
Stanley Matthews put his foot down to ensure he stayed, with an inspirational speech he promised Matthews that an FA Cup winners medal was still possible, telling him that "a lot of people think I'm mad, but even though you're 37, I believe your best football is still to come." Despite spending some three months of the season out with a muscle injury, the 1952–53 campaign proved Smith's words to be accurate, as a 38-year-old Matthews won an FA Cup winners medal in a match which was, despite Mortensen's hat-trick, subsequently dubbed the "Matthews Final". Bolton were leading 3–1 with 35 minutes