Britain Unlimited covers 250 Great British people and what made them famous

Who was Stanley Matthews? Association Footballer, nicknamed "The Wizard of Dribble" in Britain and "Der Zauberer" (The Magician) abroad. Winner of 54 International caps and made 698 appearances in the Football League. Date and Place of Birth: 1st February 1915, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. Family Background: One of four brothers. Son of Jack Matthews a barber and boxer known as "The Fighting Barber of Hanley". Education: Wellington Road School, Hanley. Chronology: 1931: Began playing for his local Club Stoke City as a winger aged17. He had previously worked in the office, such was his enthusiasm for the club. 1934: Played against Italy in the infamous "Battle of Highbury" and was written of as not having the "big match temperament". 1935: First picked for England. 1937: Played for England at Tottenham Hotspur's ground against Czechoslovakia and scored a hat trick as England won 5-4 and were reduced to ten men. 1939: Played in the Berlin Olympic Stadium where England were forced to give the Nazi Salute at the beginning of the game. Matthews was outstanding and helped the team to win 6-3. 1940: He and his wife Betty opened a small hotel in Blackpool and he played as a guest for Blackpool many times during the Second World War. 1946: Dropped form the Stoke Team in favour of the young George Mountfords. Dropped from the England Team in favour of Tom Finney but later in the season was brought back to play Portugal in Lisbon where England won 10-0. 1947: Transferred to Blackpool for the sum of £11,500. 1948: Voted Footballer of the Year. Blackpool lost 4-2 to Manchester United in the FA Cup Final. 1951: Two goals by "Whor" Jackie Milburn helped Newcastle United lift the FA Cup from Blackpool 2-0. 1953: Won an FA Cup winners medal eventually, playing against Bolton Wanderers. This game has gone down in history as the Matthews final. 1954: Matthews was moved to the Inside Right position to play Switzerland and helped it England to a 4-4 draw. 1956: Became the first ever European Footballer of the Year. 1961: Ended his career with Blackpool and returned to to play for Stoke, aged 46. 1963: Voted Footballer of the Year as he helped Stoke get promoted to the First Division. 1965: Knighted. Went on to manage Port Vale. 1970: Moved to Malta where he played for the Hibernians team aged 55. Took up coaching appointments in South Africa and Canada. 1990: Became President of Stoke City Football CLub. Marriage: 1. To Betty(died 1968). 2. 1968 to Mila Winters a Cultural Assistant in the U.S. Embassy, London. (died 1999) Places of Interest: LANCASHIRE: National Football Museum, Deepdale Stadium, Preston. STAFFORDSHIRE: Stoke City Football Club, Britannia Stadium. Date and Place of Death: 23rd February 2000, Hanley, Staffordshire, England. Age at Death: 85. Site of Grave: Ashes interred under the pitch at the Britannia Stadium, Stoke-on-Trent.