Sir Tom Finney's life in pictures
- Published
Born in Preston, Sir Tom Finney spent his entire career playing for Preston North End. He made his Football League debut aged 24 but still played 433 games and scored a staggering 187 goals for the club
He also scored 30 goals for England in 76 international games, including this strike against Italy in Turin in 1948
He was not just renowned for his sheer brilliance on the pitch; he was respected worldwide for his sportsmanship, and did not receive a single booking or sending-off throughout his career
Finney was known as 'The Preston Plumber' to fans because he set up a plumbing business with his brother and carried on working even after his football career took off
Finney twice won the footballer of the year award, given annually by the Football Writers' Association - including this presentation in London in 1954
His loyalty to Preston meant the only domestic honour he won was a championship medal in the old Division Two in 1951
Finney had to settle for an FA Cup runners-up medal when Preston lost in the 1954 final to West Bromwich Albion. He also narrowly missed out on the old First Division title in the 1957-58 season when North End finished runners-up
With his England team-mates (left to right): Finney, Maurice Setters and Bobby Charlton manhandling Billy Wright during a high-spirited training session for the England World Cup squad at Roehampton in 1958
Finney was once tempted to leave North End, when Italian club Palermo offered him £120 a week plus a villa and car to move there. He was on only £14 a week at the time but the Preston chairman refused to discuss it and Finney stayed with North End until he retired in 1960
Finney and his wife, Elsie, at Buckingham Palace as he receives his OBE on 24 October 1961. He was later knighted in 1998
Serving as club president for many years, he remained a staunch supporter of North End, celebrating their Division Two title win with manager David Moyes in 2000
As well as still being heavily involved with the football club, he continued with charity and community work. He is pictured here with promising junior footballers at Moor Park Football Festival
Sir Tom Finney spent his final years in a nursing home, but by the time he died at the age of 91 on 14 February 2014, he was England's oldest international footballer and - along with Roy Bentley - one of only two players remaining from the side which lost 1-0 to the United States at the 1950 World Cup