When football’s dignitaries assemble on Monday at the London Palladium for the Ballon d’Or ceremony it will be a far cry from the first awards 70 years ago. That was held in the slightly less glamorous surroundings of Blackpool town hall, where Stanley Matthews was presented with the prize by Gabriel Hanot, the visionary editor of L’Équipe who came up with the idea of crowning the world’s best player every year. A specially commissioned china plate was also handed over by the town’s mayor before the 41-year-old Matthews, who was famously teetotal, gave a short speech.
But obviously it’s grown over the years, and now it’s a huge event. We’re very excited.” The switch of venue to England from its usual home in Paris is a mark of respect to the man who became the first active player to receive a knighthood in 1965, a few months before retiring at the age of 50. It also provides an opportunity to recall an astonishing career that began with his local side Stoke in 1932 and made the “Wizard of Dribble” the most famous player on the planet.
Towards the end of his career, when he was back at Stoke, he had the fire brigade come and water the pitch before the game so it would be a little slick, which was better for him. Now they water the pitches all the time, you know. So he was very revolutionary in all the things he did, plus his diet and his training.” Matthews’ father, Jack, was a renowned boxer known as the Fighting Barber of Hanley and it was from him that he is said to have developed his work ethic.
Matthews owned a Blackpool hotel that regularly welcomed celebrities including the comedian Charlie Chester, and was known for his early morning fitness routines on the beach that helped to prolong his career. He remains the oldest Ballon d’Or winner and won the last of his 54 England caps – a number that would have been higher but for the second world war – in 1957 at the age of 42. Matthews Jr thinks his father could have lasted even longer in today’s possession-based game.
Whereas Harry Kane and the rest of the favourites for this year’s Ballon d’Or are all multimillionaires, Matthews had to make do with at most £20 a week until the maximum wage was abolished in 1961. His love affair with the continent grew a few months after he had won the Ballon d’Or when he arrived in Ghana to play a series of exhibition matches to celebrate its independence. He was presented with an ivory sword and crowned as a “soccerhene” (soccer chief).
He started coaching a team in Soweto during the mid-70s who became known as Stan’s Men and secured them sponsorship from Coca-Cola before taking them to play in a tournament in Brazil. Pierce was surprised when he discovered the lengths Matthews went to under significant pressure from the apartheid government not to travel. The UK government was involved.
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