Nobby Stiles: Difference between revisions

| birth_place = [[Collyhurst]], [[Manchester]], England

Stiles grew up in [[Collyhurst]], a working-class district of [[North Manchester]], attending the local St Patrick's Catholic (Primary) School. He was born in the cellar of the family home during an air raid, the son of Charlie, a manager of an undertakers' parlour in a family business, and Kitty, who supplemented the family income working as a machinist.<ref name="Nobby Stiles: After The Ball">{{cite book |last=Lawton |first=James |title=Nobby Stiles: After The Ball |year=2003 |publisher=Coronet Books / [[Hodder & Stoughton]] |isbn=0-340-82888-9 |page=2 / 5 / 11}}</ref> He was of Irish descent.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://unherd.com/2021/07/how-england-and-ireland-made-the-three-lions/|title=The making of the Three Lions|first=Dan|last=Jackson|date=12 July 2021|website=UnHerd}}</ref>

Stiles supported [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]] and his talent was swiftly recognised when he played for [[England national football team|England Schoolboys]] at the age of 15.<ref name="DancingDestroyer"/> He achieved a childhood ambition when, in the same year, the club he supported gave him an apprenticeship in September 1959.<ref name="bbcobit">{{cite webnews |title=The 'toothless fella' who meant so much to fans |work=BBC Sport |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/36945085 |website=BBC Sport |access-date=31 October 2020}}</ref>

With England hosting the World Cup in 1966, manager [[Alf Ramsey]] had no competitive qualifying campaign to prepare, and therefore he spent the prior two years meticulously assessing players in friendly matches and [[British Home Championship]] games.<ref>{{cite web |title=England football team players: British Home Championship 1965 |url=https://www.11v11.com/teams/england/tab/players/season/1965/comp/361/ |website=www.11v11.com |access-date=31 October 2020}}</ref> With Bobby Charlton the only certainty for his World Cup midfield, he needed to create a trio of players to complement the Manchester United attacker and among those was the requirement for a "spoiler".<ref name="enforcer">{{cite web |last1=Wilson |first1=Paul |title=Nobby Stiles was an enforcer who pioneered the holding midfield role {{!}} Paul Wilson |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/oct/30/nobby-stiles-was-an-enforcer-who-pioneered-the-holding-midfield-role |website=The Guardian |access-date=31 October 2020 |date=30 October 2020}}</ref> Stiles was tested out for this role in a 2–2 draw against [[Scotland men's national football team|Scotland]] at [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley]] on 10 April 1965.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nobby Stiles Hall Of Fame profile |url=https://www.nationalfootballmuseum.com/halloffame/nobbystiles/#:~:text=Stiles'%20debut%20came%20against%20Scotland,friendlies%20and%20Home%20Championship%20games.&text=Having%20made%20his%20debut%20as,defensive%2C%20ball%2Dwinning%20midfielder. |website=www.nationalfootballmuseum.com |access-date=31 October 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=We're saddened to hear about the passing of 1966 World Cup winner Nobby Stiles |url=https://www.thefa.com/news/2020/oct/30/nobby-stiles-301020 |website=www.thefa.com |access-date=31 October 2020 |language=en}}</ref> He kept his place for eight of the next nine internationals, scoring the only goal in a Wembley win against [[Germany national football team|West Germany]] along the way,<ref>{{cite web |work=11v11.com |url=https://www.11v11.com/matches/england-v-west-germany-23-february-1966-229286/ |title=England v West Germany, 23 February 1966}}</ref> and by the time Ramsey confirmed his 22, it was thought likely that he would be in England's starting team for the World Cup.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000769/19660705/462/0038 |page=38 |edition=Last |newspaper=[[Coventry Evening Telegraph]] |title=Ramsey Makes Four Changes Against Poland |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]] |date=5 July 1966}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002191/19660604/116/0005 |page=5 |newspaper=[[Sports Argus]] |title=Winger's - Ramsey's Big Worry |first=Tom |last=Duckworth |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]] |date=4 June 1966}}</ref>

Stiles won his 15th [[cap (football)|cap]] as England kicked off the competition with a goalless draw against [[Uruguay national football team|Uruguay]] and maintained his place as the uncompromising hardman playing ahead of the back four and making sure there was space and time for the likes of Charlton ahead of him.<ref name="sky">{{cite web |title=Nobby Stiles: England World Cup-winner dies aged 78 after long illness |url=https://www.skysports.com/football/news/12016/12118983/nobby-stiles-england-world-cup-winner-dies-aged-78-after-long-illness |website=Sky Sports |access-date=31 October 2020 |language=en}}</ref> With Stiles not missing a minute, England progressed through the group with wins over [[Mexico national football team|Mexico]] and [[France national football team|France]] and then scraped past a violent [[Argentina national football team|Argentina]] side in the last eight.<ref name="sky"/> In the France game, Stiles seriously injured their midfielder [[Jacques Simon (footballer)|Jacques Simon]] with a bad late tackle and there were calls from the media and FA for Stiles to be dropped. Ramsey publicly defended Stiles, being sure that the tackle was mistimed rather than malicious.<ref>{{cite webnews |last1=Walters |first1=Mike |title=Remembering Nobby Stiles, England's 'Toothless Tiger' who deserved better |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/nobby-stiles-obituary-england-1966-22933984 |websitework=mirrorDaily Mirror |access-date=31 October 2020 |language=en |date=30 October 2020}}</ref>{{better source needed|reason=tabloid|date=October 2023}}

Stiles, winning his 20th cap, had no man-marking brief against West Germany but played a strong, tough match as England saw a 2–1 lead levelled with the last kick of the game before [[Geoff Hurst]] completed a [[hat-trick]] to win the competition in extra time.<ref>{{cite webnews |last1=Douglas |first1=Steve |title=Nobby Stiles, World Cup winner with England in 1966, dies |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/soccer/nobby-stiles-world-cup-winner-with-england-in-1966-dies/2020/10/30/d4d794b4-1ad0-11eb-8bda-814ca56e138b_story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201104172723/https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/soccer/nobby-stiles-world-cup-winner-with-england-in-1966-dies/2020/10/30/d4d794b4-1ad0-11eb-8bda-814ca56e138b_story.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 November 2020 |websitenewspaper=Washington Post |access-date=31 October 2020}}</ref> At the final whistle, Stiles did a spontaneous jig with the [[Jules Rimet Trophy]] in his hand while holding his false teeth in the other.<ref name="telegraph">{{cite web |last1=White |first1=Jim |title=Remembering Nobby Stiles: Tough and uncompromising but the nation's 1966 dancing hero was one of us |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2020/10/30/remembering-nobby-stiles-tough-uncompromising-nations-1966-dancing/ |website=The Telegraph |access-date=31 October 2020 |date=30 October 2020}}</ref> Thirty years later this moment would be referred to by [[Frank Skinner]] and [[David Baddiel]] in the lyrics to "[[Three Lions (song)|Three Lions]]", the England theme song written with [[the Lightning Seeds]] for [[UEFA Euro 96|Euro 96]]: in the 1996 version, a list of English football memories ends with "...Nobby dancing", and in the 1998 version, in a reference to the World Cup finals taking place in France, the middle section consists of the line: "We can dance Nobby's dance, we can dance it in France".<ref name="telegraph"/>

Stiles played in the next four internationals, but was deemed to have performed poorly as England lost to [[Scotland men's national football team|Scotland]] at Wembley in 1967 and was dropped by Ramsey.<ref name="guardianobit" /> Stiles was selected for the England squad which contested the [[UEFA Euro 1968|1968 European Championships]], but the holding role in midfield had been taken by [[Tottenham Hotspur F.C.|Tottenham Hotspur]]'s [[Alan Mullery]].<ref name="enforcer" /> England went out to [[Yugoslavia national football team|Yugoslavia]] in the semi-finals, during which Mullery became the first ever England player to be sent off. Stiles was recalled for the otherwise meaningless third place play-off game against the [[Soviet Union national football team|Soviet Union]],<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000445/19680608/099/0005 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]] |page=5 |newspaper=[[Aberdeen Evening Express]] |date=8 June 1968 |title=Wright, Stiles face Russia tonight |first=Ivor |last=Broadis}}</ref> but it was clear that despite his misdemeanour, Mullery was now Ramsey's first choice.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://thesefootballtimes.co/2018/08/21/remembering-alan-mullery-the-first-player-to-be-sent-off-for-england/ |date=21 August 2018 |publisher=These Football Times |first=Gary |last=Thacker |title=REMEMBERING ALAN MULLERY, THE FIRST PLAYER TO BE SENT OFF FOR ENGLAND}}</ref>

In 2000, Stiles was awarded hisan MBE after a campaign by sections of the media who were surprisedhighlighted that five of the 1966 team had never been officially decorated for their achievements. Stiles duly joined [[Alan Ball Jr.|Alan Ball]], [[Roger Hunt]], [[Ray Wilson (English footballer)|Ray Wilson]] and [[George Cohen]] in collecting his gongaward.<ref>{{cite web cn|title=Ex Man Utd, England WC winner Stiles dies at 78 |url=https://www.espn.com/soccer/manchester-united/story/4221806/former-man-united-england-world-cup-winner-stiles-dies-at-78 |website=ESPN.com |access-date=31 October 2020 |language=en |date=30 October 20202023}}</ref>

*[[Football League First Division]]: [[1964–65 Football League|1964–65]], [[1966–67 Football League|1966–67]]<ref name="DancingDestroyer"/><ref name="enforcer" />

*[[FA Cup]]: [[1962-631962–63 FA Cup|1962-631962–63]]

*[[UEFA Champions League|European Cup]]: [[1968 European Cup Final|1967–68]]<ref name="enforcer" />

*[[FIFA World Cup]]: [[1966 FIFA World Cup Final|1966]]<ref name="enforcer" />

Stiles was a devout Catholic throughout his life, and even tried to attend mass on the day of the worldWorld cupCup final. In 1968, Stiles released his first autobiography, ''Soccer My Battlefield''; his second, ''After the Ball'', followed in 2003. In 2007, he was inducted into the [[English Football Hall of Fame]].<ref name="sky"/>

Stiles's [[FIFA World Cup]] medal and a European Cup medal were bought by Manchester United for more than £200,000 at an auction on 27 October 2010. The World Cup medal, which Stiles won in the [[1966 FIFA World Cup Final|1966 final]] against West Germany, sold for £160,000.<ref>{{cite news |title=Manchester United buy Nobby Stiles' medals |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-11630764 |publisher=BBC News |date=27 October 2010 |access-date=27 October 2010}}</ref> His European Cup medal, which he won with Manchester United in 1968, was also sold, realisingreaching more than £49,000. Stiles sold the medals so that his family could benefit from the proceeds.<ref name=BBC/>

Stiles died on 30 October 2020 at Manor Hay Care Centre in Manchester,<ref>{{Cite ODNB |last=Taylor |first=Matthew |date=11 April 2024 |title=Stiles, Norbert Peter [Nobby] (1942–2020), footballer |doi=10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.90000381706}}</ref> aged 78, after suffering with prostate cancer and dementia as a result of [[chronic traumatic encephalopathy]] (CTE) from the repeated heading of footballs.<ref>{{Cite webnews|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36963874|title=World Cup winner Stiles dies aged 78|viawork=www.bbc.co.ukBBC Sport }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=World Cup winner Nobby Stiles dies aged 78 |url=https://www.itv.com/news/2020-10-30/world-cup-winner-nobby-stiles-dies-aged-78 |work=ITV News |date=30 October 2020}}</ref><ref name=GuardDec20>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/dec/21/nobby-stiles-family-told-heading-did-give-world-cup-winner-brain-damage|title=Nobby Stiles' family told heading did give World Cup winner brain damage|date=21 December 2020|work=[[The Guardian]]|accessdate=4 August 2022}}</ref> Stiles's brain was donated to the FIELD study conducted by Dr Willie Stewart into the link between dementia and a career in professional football. Stiles was one of five England players from the 1966 World Cup final thatwho died from or suffered from dementia.<ref name=GuardDec20/>

[[Category:English men's footballers]]

[[Category:England men's international footballers]]

[[Category:AssociationMen's association football midfielders]]

[[Category:Expatriate soccer managerscoaches in Canada]]

[[Category:SportspeopleAssociation football players with chronic traumatic encephalopathy]]