Cover of The Way It Was

The Way It Was

Stanley Matthews was the most popular footballer of his era, the man who epitomised a generation of legendary players: Tom Finney, Nat Lofthouse, Billy Wright and many more. He was the first footballer ever to be knighted, the first European Footballer of the Year (at 41), and he played in the top division until he was 50 - and he will be forever remembered for his performance in the Matthews FA Cup final of 1953, when he inspired Blackpool to victory over Bolton. THE WAY IT WAS is a the fascinating memoir of a great footballer and the remarkable story of an extraordinary life, written in the last months of his life.

Audience
adult
Length
epic · 640 pages

Click a tag to see books like this one that share it. Point at it (on a phone, tap it) for less of it instead.

Read it? Sign in to help tag it.

Liked The Way It Was? Here’s where I’d start.

These suit anyone who liked The Way It Was. Sign in and mark a few books for picks shaped around your own taste.

  1. The Secret Footballer: Access All Areas Shares sport, football, sports
  2. Farewell But Not Goodbye Shares sport, football, biography
  3. Pelé: The Autobiography Shares sport, football, sports
  4. Managing My Life: My Autobiography Shares sport, football, sports

“If you want more of the same (biography about sports), start with these.”

  1. All in: What It Takes to Be the Best
  2. In Search of Duncan Ferguson: The Life and Crimes of a Footballing Enigma
  3. The Instigator
  4. Hit Man: The Thomas Hearns Story

“If it was the sport that hooked you, try one of these.”

  1. The Greatest Footballer You Never Saw: The Robin Friday Story
  2. Back From the Brink: The Autobiography
  3. How Not to Be a Professional Footballer
  4. Arsene Wenger: The Inside Story of Arsenal Under Wenger

“These start from a similar idea, even if they go somewhere else with it.”

  1. My Story
  2. Taking Le Tiss
  3. Thirty-One Nil: The Amazing Story of World Cup Qualification
  4. David Beckham: My Side