Stiles spent the majority of his club career for Manchester United, spending eleven years at Old Trafford, where he became renowned for his tough tackling and ball-winning qualities.
Stiles grew up in Collyhurst, a working-class district of North Manchester, attending the local St Patrick's Catholic (Primary) School.
[7] Stiles was an unlikely-looking footballer in many ways – he was short, at a time when teenagers were being rejected by clubs purely because of their lack of height; he also had several teeth missing and wore dentures, the removal of which prior to matches gave him a gap-toothed expression which had the potential to scare.
[4] United reached the European Cup final, which was to be staged at Wembley, and Stiles's old nemesis Eusébio was again someone he had to deal with as part of a fearsome attacking potential posed by opponents Benfica.
[14] With England hosting the World Cup in 1966, manager Alf Ramsey had no competitive qualifying campaign to prepare, and therefore he spent the prior two years meticulously assessing players in friendly matches and British Home Championship games.
[15] With Bobby Charlton the only certainty for his World Cup midfield, he needed to create a trio of players to complement the Manchester United attacker and among those was the requirement for a "spoiler".
[16][17] He kept his place for eight of the next nine internationals, scoring the only goal in a Wembley win against West Germany along the way,[18] and by the time Ramsey confirmed his 22, it was thought likely that he would be in England's starting team for the World Cup.
[22][better source needed] In the semi-final, Stiles performed an effective man-marking job on the Portuguese playmaker, and prolific goalscorer Eusébio, to the extent that the immensely skilled player was essentially nullified for the whole match, which England won 2–1.
[7] His tactics, despite the criticism they provoked from some, were effective; Eusébio's only major contribution was a late penalty, in a match where both sides were considered to have played attractive football in a good spirit with few fouls, and England progressed to the final.
He was selected by Ramsey for the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, but only as Mullery's understudy, and not only did he not get a kick during the competition as England surrendered the title in the quarter-final, he never played for his country again.
[31] Stiles joined the exodus of ageing and semi-retired European players to the NASL in 1981, to become coach of the Vancouver Whitecaps, spending three years at the Canadian club.
[32] He later revealed his struggle with depression while in the job, finding it tough to cope with working in the Midlands and the daily commute from Manchester where his family lived.
[33] Between 1989 and 1993 he worked for Manchester United as their youth team coach, developing the considerable skills of teenage prodigies such as David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, and Paul Scholes.
[40] In November 2017, a BBC documentary on the subject of brain injuries amongst retired footballers presented by former England striker Alan Shearer included an interview with Stiles' son.
[41] Stiles died on 30 October 2020 at Manor Hay Care Centre in Manchester,[42] aged 78, after suffering with prostate cancer and dementia as a result of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) from the repeated heading of footballs.
[43][44][45] Stiles's brain was donated to the FIELD study conducted by Dr Willie Stewart into the link between dementia and a career in professional football.