On the 30th April, Tom Finney, the Preston plumber, retired from football after the home match against Luton Town at Deepdale which the Lilywhites won 2-0.
Finney down the "wing" at Stamford Bridge, immortalised in a wonderful statue outside Deepdale.
Born in April 1922, Finney joined Preston as an amateur in 1938 and he turned professional in 1941 despite serving in the 8th Army (with my dad!). I don't think they crossed paths.
Finney was able to play down both wings and also as a centre-forward, winning 76 caps for England scoring 30 goals. He made 433 appearances for Preston and scored 193 league goals and 26 in the Cup. He led Preston to the 1954 FA Cup Final, losing to West Bromwich Albion 3-2 in a game he declared was his worst performance ever.
Having hung up his boots, he probably spent a bit of time repairing leaking pipes although he was persuaded to play for Distillery against Eusebio's Benfica in the European Cup three years later.
Finney gathered few rewards from football, apart from a War Time Cup medal beating Arsenal 2-1 in 1941 and a 1951 Second Division championship.
Prince Roberta Lanza di Trabbia, the President of Palermo, saw Finney play and offered him untold riches to sign for the club. The Preston board declined and he so stayed with his £14 per week wage, £2 win and £1 draw bonus and the rewards of his plumbing business. He soon retired and Preston quickly fell into decline. They could have used their new riches to buy themselves out of trouble.
Finney was voted Football League's player of the year twice.
He was knighted in 1998 and died on February 14th 2014 .
Bill Shankly that "he would have been great in any team, match or in any age, even wearing an overcoat".
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