Sir Thomas Finney (5 April 1922 – 14 February 2014) was an English international footballer who played from 1946 to 1960 as a winger or centre forward for Preston North End and England.

He was noted for his loyalty to Preston, for whom he made 433 Football League and 39 FA Cup appearances, scoring a total of 210 goals.

[2] Inspired by his father, who was a keen football fan, Finney played the game from a very early age both at school and in the fields near home.

His ambition was always to become a professional footballer but he was somewhat frail and sickly in his youth and stood only 4 ft 9 in (1.45 m) when he left school in 1936 at the age of fourteen.

[3] The following year, Finney saw an advert placed by Preston North End in the local newspaper for junior players aged fourteen to eighteen.

He went home to get his father's approval but Alf Finney refused, insisting that he must first complete his apprenticeship before signing professional terms.

Preston were nevertheless happy with this and Finney joined them as an amateur, doing his training in the evenings after work and eligible to play for the club's junior teams.

[4] Largely inspired by Bill Shankly, who was a first team regular, and helped by Scott, Finney worked hard in training and began to enhance his skills and technique.

The club's then chairman apologised to Finney on the pitch in front of 500 fans, describing Netherfield's decision as the "biggest mistake in football history".

[7] In January 1940, Finney was about to join Rovers when he received a letter from North End which resulted in him signing on as a professional.

[8] First-class league and cup football had been suspended for the duration, but regional wartime competitions were organised as a boost to the people's morale.

They also won the Football League War Cup, defeating Arsenal 2–1 in a replay at Ewood Park after the final at Wembley Stadium ended 1–1.

[12] There were 36 teams in the 1940–41 NRL – 34 in the South Regional League (SRL) – but, because of wartime demands limiting the availability of players and venues, fixtures were often unfulfilled.

Preston won 2–1 in the second leg at Gigg Lane and then enjoyed convincing victories over Bolton Wanderers and Tranmere Rovers to reach the quarter-finals.

Playing on the right wing, he directly faced Eddie Hapgood, who was the England captain, and Finney said the prospect made him "feel quite weak at the knees".

He says Preston should have made the most of their advantage but they failed to score from several good chances and Arsenal equalised with a goal by Denis Compton.

Finney recalled that it was touch-and-go as to whether Bobby Beattie, their Scottish international inside forward would be able to play because of his RAF commitments.

He had not arrived at Deepdale when the team set off for Blackburn and they were surprised to find him waiting at Ewood; he had gone straight there after getting a late release to play.

[17] Finney recalled that, for winning the War Cup, each of the Preston players were awarded five wartime savings certificates with a value of fifteen shillings apiece.

[24] Many years later, he met the Egyptian film actor Omar Sharif, who told him that as a teenager he had been a substitute for one of the teams Finney played against, but he did not take part in the match.

[25] In April 1945, Finney took part in the final offensive at the Battle of the Argenta Gap as a Stuart tank driver with the 9th Lancers.

[29] Although this match was his league debut, he was by no means a newcomer to the team, and the local supporters knew from his wartime appearances that Finney was an outstanding prospect.

[35] Finney won 76 caps and scored 30 goals in an England career that spanned twelve years and included 51 victories.

[36] He scored his 29th international goal in June 1958 against the Soviet Union to become joint England all-time top-scorer, sharing the record with Vivian Woodward and Nat Lofthouse.

[32] Relatively small in stature, Finney could withstand hard tackling but his movement, speed and ball control invariably enabled him to avoid contact with defenders.

In 1962, he played in the Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League with Toronto City, appearing in one match and recorded a goal.

[41] On 31 July 2004, Finney unveiled the water feature sculpture The Splash, by sculptor Peter Hodgkinson, outside Deepdale stadium which at that time housed The National Football Museum.

[51] Finney was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1961 Birthday Honours after his retirement from competitive football.

[34] Stanley Matthews once ranked him alongside Pelé, Diego Maradona, George Best and Alfredo Di Stéfano as one of the few players who could "dictate the pace and course of a game on a regular basis".

[56] In April 2014, Northern Premier League club Bamber Bridge announced their Irongate Ground would be renamed the Sir Tom Finney Stadium.