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 the 1948 FA Cup Final. On 23 April 1948, the eve of the final, Matthews won the inaugural Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year award. Despite taking the lead twice in the match, Blackpool lost out 4–2 to Matt Busby's Manchester United in the final, with Matthews assisting Mortensen for Blackpool's second. Injury limited him to only 28 appearances in 1948–49, as Blackpool struggled to a 16th-place finish. He spent the summer touring theatres in a variety act with his brother Ronnie, though he was troubled by an ankle injury he picked up in a charity game. Blackpool finished