Way It Was [Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]

Stanley Matthews (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 10, 2000

The first footballer ever to be knighted, the first European Footballer of the Year (at 41), and now an ambassador for football all over the world, Stanley Matthews is truly a sporting legend who will be forever remembered for his performance in the Matthews FA Cup Final of 1953, when he inspired Blackpool to victory over Bolton. But THE WAY IT WAS is not just the fascinating memoir of a great footballer, it is the story of an extraordinary life. Stanley recalls the time when as a member of the England team he had to give Hitler the Nazi salute, and when he swapped stories with Ronnie Biggs whilst in Brazil as a coach. Full of warmth and humour, this wonderful autobiography will be treasured by all generations of football-lovers.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'There is a heartfelt, elegiac quality [to] THE WAY IT WAS ... It is only a pity he is not here to see it published' -- Chris Maume, Independent 'The book is an appropriate and nearly always engrossing chronicle of an illustrious career, and good to have' -- Ian Hamilton, Sunday Telegraph 'Especially rewarding, though, are Stan's descriptions of his technical perfectionism' -- Brian Glanville, Sunday Times 'A fascinating and amusing insight into the inner workings of football during its golden era' -- Saul David, Daily Telegraph 'THE WAY IT WAS is a ticket to a different era, when the game wasn't saturated with money and men like Sir Stanley upheld sporting ideals' -- Mike Pattenden, Times 'Brings vividly to life some of the greatest games of the time and features his perceptive analysis of the characters who illuminated the age' -- Independent 'The story of one of the greatest footballers of all time ... is told in great detail and with an unexpected sense of humour. It is his vivid memory that makes THE WAY IT WAS such a good read' -- FourFourTwo 'A gracefully crafted autobiography filled with entertaining anecdotes reflecting an age when the game was uncorrupted by greed and hooliganism' -- Birmingham Post --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Stanley Matthews was born in 1915 and began his career at Stoke City. He made his England debut in 1934 and went on to win 54 caps by 1957. Transferred to Blackpool, he finally won his only trophy in 1953 at the age of 38. He finished his career at Stoke, retiring from the game in 1965, when he was knighted. He has since travelled the world as an ambassador for football.

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Hodder Audio (May 10, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 184032337X
• ISBN-13: 978-1840323375
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,640,401 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful History, May 22, 2002

By 

Patrick Murphy (Maine, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Way It Was (Hardcover)

What a wonderful memoir.
Stanley Matthews was one of the greatest footballers ever, and in this book tells his story with humour, but without the bravado of our era.
He gives us lovely images of the players of his time, and the games they played.
Makes one wish that one could go back in time.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fine detailed account of yesteryear by a major sports figure, January 2, 2010

By 

Tom Plum "TC" (Roswell, NM United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Way It Was: My Autobiography (Paperback)

Stanley Matthews memoir is filled with meticulous details of a bygone era. I'm under the impression that Matthews in British sport must hold a place similar to the way we see some of our baseball legends, something like that. The breadth of detail is in fact a bit cumbersome and at times, maybe dry, I really think the book should be read alongside Matthews' contemporaryTom Finney Autobiography which has a nice easygoing flow to it and is highly readable compared to this one. Still, it easily merits a top rating.

Matthews accounts are of the utmost intimate matters, as an example: playing a Match against Nazi Germany in May, 1938 before a crowd of over 100,000 people in Berlin. The English players actually gave a Nazi salute before the game and there is a famous photograph of this. In this book, you will find out what was going on behind the scenes and I will say here, it was for diplomatic reasons, maybe a bit in the "peace in our time" vein.

You will find out in those early days of International soccer, these fixtures were regarded comparable to the World Cup or Olympic games, whereas some tournaments were boycotted back then or not even attended at all with the ominous signs of war growing in Europe and around the world (One source, Wangerin's "Soccer in a football world" states that the latter is precisely why the USA did not go to the 1938 World Cup). Qualifying for these tournaments must not have been fully developed at this time.

The summer of 1939 saw a similar incident, as the English team went into Milan to play the Italian team, the streets were filled with thousands of well-wishers. In the hotel lobby was a contingent of Maltese fans expressing their support for the 3 Lions buoyed it seems by an uneasy feeling of vulnerability to the Axis powers, Germany and Italy. In this famous game at the San Siro stadium, just like in the 1934 World Cup where referees were suspended for aiding Italy in its wins, this game again, saw farcical refereeing by a German to aid the host team (expounded on brilliantly in articles by the BBC). In reference, the movie Victorywith Pele and Stallone is not really far from the truth in that game it portrays. The game ended 2-2 and the Crown Prince of Italy even sent the English FA a letter offering to reverse the result, there was some sort of controversial goal but the FA accepted the original result without further actions.

Matthews playing in the service during World War II, Matthews receiving a bit more than a pick me up from a doctor during his career when the flu bug bit (sounded like he was describing an amphetamine like product which he claims was done only one time or so) and in fact, even Matthews playing until he was seventy years old and yes, retiring due to injury are all covered in this book along with apparently Matthews being a bit of a health nut way back in the day, maintaining a healthy diet and not drinking. One will also read of other major sports figures of the day, Dixie Dean the scoring-machine and of course, one reads of Matthews professional career mainly with Stoke City and Blackpool

The editorial reviews above reads: "'A gracefully crafted autobiography filled with entertaining anecdotes reflecting an age when the game was uncorrupted by greed and hooliganism' -- Birmingham Post

Okay, basically right but it was not uncorrupted as before a players' union was set up in England, the owners were the benefactors of much of the revenue and players were largely chattel

An extraordinary memoir found in these pages is the account of the Burnden (fire) stadium tragedy which demonstrates that events like Hillborough were not the first time events like this that had marred the sports scene though it seems to largely be the last time an event of that magnitude happened. A need for change was seen necessary for the general safety of the public.

I upped this to 5 stars because though, it is long and detailed, it really serves also as a very valuable reference in addition to being the autobiography of a man who Pele says "showed us how to do it."