The Ballon d'Or has been won by gods. But the first name on the list is a 41-year-old Englishman who never won the league.
THE DESK — NOTES & REMARKS
Companion piece to THE PODIUM — answers the question that film plants. Farewell photograph colourised by George Chilvers.
THE LOWDOWN — THE FULL HISTORY
THE WINNER
Stanley Matthews, the Blackpool winger known as the Wizard of the Dribble, won the first-ever Ballon d'Or in 1956 at age 41 — beating Alfredo Di Stéfano and Raymond Kopa by three points.
THE RECORD
Seventy years later, no older player has ever won it. The first record the award ever set is still standing.
THE CAREER
Matthews played First Division football five days past his fiftieth birthday, and was knighted while still playing.
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THE TERRACES — DISCUSSION
The argument also lives in the YouTube comments ↗.