I am not sure where my football card collection from the 1950s and 1960s and my prized Football Monthly copies are.
They contain a lot of images of Tom Finney.
They were the foundations of my passion for football.
I loved the idea that Tom Finney was born near to the football ground of the club for whom he played all his professional life.
A photograph of him carried me through every game of wet weather football I played.
Whenever I attacked up a right wing, even in the late 1960s, I imagined I was him.
What an inspiring player.
I wonder how many other aspring Tom Finneys there have been. Marvellous that a boy from Deepdale could motivate a generation.
Photo Credits
Tom Finney – Preston North End and England (Footysphere, CC BY-SA 2.0)
The Splash (Sir Tom Finney)
