Post-war Career and England Debut
Once normal competition was restored, he made his debut for the club in August 1946 and soon established himself as an agile forward. Post-war demand for plumbers ensured that he had a second income to supplement the £14 he received as a footballer and he became famous as the "Preston Plumber". Such was his influence on the team that Preston were, rather unfairly, known to some as "the Plumber and his 10 drips". Twenty eight days after his first league appearance for Preston, Finney made his England debut, going on to win 76 caps and score 30 goals.
He played against Italy in 1948, he is the only player for either side that played that game who is still alive.
Tom Finney was Footballer of the Year in 1953–54, the year of his only appearance in the FA Cup Final (losing 2–3 to West Bromwich Albion), and again in 1956–57, becoming the first player to win this award more than once. Sir Tom has recently revealed in his autobiography confessed that he wasn't fully match fit for the FA Cup final of 1954, and therefore didn't give his best performance.
In June 1958, he scored his 29th international goal, against the Soviet Union to become joint England all-time top-scorer, sharing the record with Vivian Woodward and Nat Lofthouse. In October the same year, he netted his 30th goal, against Northern Ireland, to become the sole holder of the record. Two weeks later, Lofthouse equalled his tally. Both were surpassed by Bobby Charlton in October 1963.
Read more about this topic: Tom Finney
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