THE world of football had hardly seen a talent like it.

Tom Finney burst on the scene with a dazzling array of wing wizardry that was a sheer delight to watch and the comparison in skill between Finney and Matthews showed just how rich Lancashire was for wingers.

1951 saw Preston North End emerge as champions of the Second Division and they were promoted along with Manchester City.

The Deepdale fans couldn't wait for the new season to start and North End played some nice football to finish in seventh place as Manchester United took the title, but at least the fans were happy as Preston finished two places higher than Blackpool.

The following season saw a championship race the like of which may never be as close again.

Arsenal, Preston Wolves and Burnley were all in the end of season shake-up.

Burnley dropped by the wayside and Wolves also folded under the pressure, leaving Preston and Arsenal to battle out the finish.

Preston headed the table by two points having completed their League programme with Arsenal, in second place, having one more match to play against Burnley on the eve of the FA Cup final.

Highbury, with the rain pouring down, saw Burnley take an early lead but The Gunners hit back to take a 3-1 interval lead.

Burnley pulled a goal back but Arsenal, captained by Joe Mercer, held on the win and take the title by one tenth of a goal.

Dramatic in the extreme.

1954 saw North End again finish runners-up this time in the FA Cup final beaten 3-2 by West Bromich Albion in a thriller.

Preston finished in mid-table in the First Division but Tom Finney won the Footballer of the Year trophy and went on to win it again three years later.

Scot Symon the Preston manager left to join Glasgow Rangers.

Preston again challenged for the title in 1957, finishing third behind Manchester United and Spurs, with Blackpool three points adrift in fourth place.

The next season they went one better, finishing in second place behind Wolves as yet again the silver eluded the Deepdale side.

Going back to that Second Division title win in 1951, Preston North End equalled the League record with 14 successive victories.

In February 1958, the football world was rocked by the tragedy of the Munich air crash in which 23 passengers including eight Manchester United footballers died in the snow.

Manchester United rallied with a makeshift team to reach the FA Cup final.

The entire nation wanted United to win but Nat Lofthouse scored twice to take the Cup back to Bolton's Burndon Park.

Next week, the Swinging Sixties, with Preston North End and the Beatles.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.