A gentleman and a soccer player for the ages

All the games in England this weekend began with the opposing teams lined up to observe a minute’s silence, or more likely — and more naturally — a minute’s applause — for Sir Thomas Finney, dead at the age of 91.

Tom Finney was a plain-speaking working class lad who grew up in a street right next to the stadium where Preston North End played.

Because Finney was a tad younger than those guys — it wasn’t until four months later that Finney made his professional debut for Preston.

Primarily a right winger, Finney could play on the left, he could play either left or right inside forward, he could play center forward.

Surely during the next eight years — during which I must have attended dozens and dozens of games at Stoke and Wolverhampton and Derby and Nottingham and Birmingham and Aston Villa and Coventry and West Brom — surely I must have seen Preston, must have seen Finney? Finney played in seven of them, Matthews didn’t get a game.

Over the next three years, Matthews played twice for England while Finney played 19 games.

Finney played for England in the 1954 World Cup, Matthews did not.

This past weekend Finney, Tom Finney, was much on people’s minds, and it was intriguing to realize that there was little talk of his playing skills, and no talk of his rivalry with Matthews.

Remembering Tom Finney this past weekend has given us all a chance to honor a man who quietly and unceasingly stuck by values like skillful play, loyalty, and sportsmanship — values that the sport of soccer seems to be in danger of forgetting.