IT WAS a night of celebration, tinged with sadness.

For while the crowd that packed into the Victoria Ground on April 28, 1965, were there to honour the great Stanley Matthews, they were also there to say goodbye.

The Stoke City and England player had enjoyed an extraordinary football career when he announced his retirement from professional football.

And to mark the Wizard of Dribble's achievements, the Stoke City board awarded him a testimonial match at his beloved Victoria Ground.

The night kicked-off with a game between post-war favourites, including Sir Stan's old Blackpool captain Harry Johnston.

This was followed by the match the fans had all been waiting for, featuring many of the greatest players in the world at the time.

Stan's XI included Jimmy Greaves and Bryan Douglas, while Stoke City's John Ritchie came on as second half substitute.

Their opponents, the International XI, included the great Russian goalkeeper Lev Yashin, and they beat Stan's side 6-4.

The result was irrelevant, however, and afterwards Yashin and Hungarian legend Ferenc Puskas hoisted a tearful Stan, who was 50 at the time, on their shoulders and carried him off the pitch, pictured left.

Recently, a picture taken at this momentous occasion has been delighting visitors at the Dear Happy Ghosts exhibition of press photographs from The Sentinel's archives.

The crowd scene, shown here, features just a portion of the 35,000 spectators who turned out for the special night.

Marleen Hancock, aged 58, and her husband Geoff, aged 64, of Yeaman Street, Stoke, picked out two of their relatives, and a friend, in the image.

"We were at the exhibition," says Marleen, "and we saw Geoff's brother Syd, who has since died, in the picture.

"We also noticed Syd and Geoff's next-door neighbour Keith Wilson, and my late dad George Roberts was also in the photograph."

Marleen and Geoff weren't at the match themselves, but they are both Stoke City fans.

"We just couldn't believe what we were seeing," adds Marleen.

"I can't even remember my dad going to the testimonial."

For Sir Stan, the match was a heartfelt farewell to an illustrious career.

He played for Stoke City between 1932 and 1947, and returned to the Potters from 1961 to 1965 after spending 14 years at Blackpool.

He won 54 England caps, plus 30 wartime appearances, and ran out for Stoke City and Blackpool 701 times in a 33-year career.

And, in 1965, he became the first footballer to be knighted for his services to the game.

He died in January 2000, aged 85.

Were you at Sir Stan's testimonial at the Victoria Ground or do you recognise anyone in this photograph? Write to Colette Warbrook, including a contact telephone number and address, at Features Desk, The Sentinel, Forge Lane, Etruria, Stoke-on-Trent, ST1 5SS, or email colette.warbrook@thesentinel. co.uk