A FORMER Bolton Wanderers player, who was in the squad for the famous Stanley Matthews FA Cup final, has died, aged 75.

Vincent Pilling, a right winger, was the 12th man for the Wanderers team defeated 4-3 in the 1953 final against Blackpool, for whom Matthews starred.

It was before substitutes were allowed in football and Pilling never appeared on the Wembley pitch.

Pilling, who was born in Daisy Street, Deane, was encouraged in his football career by his father, a greengrocer and Wanderers fan.

He was a Whites player between 1952 and 1955 and also played for Burnley and several lower league teams before a knee injury ended his career, in the late 1950s.

In his time at Bolton, Pilling played alongside Wanderers legends, such as Willy Moir, Nat Lofthouse, Harold Hassall and Bobby Langton.

Along with other ex-players, he was also a member of the Bolton Wanderers Former Players Association.

When his football career ended, Pilling took over his father's greengrocer's shop in Willows Lane, Deane, and became a well-known and popular character in the area.

His wife Helen said: "Vincent loved talking to people.

"He would exchange stories and banter with a young Peter Kay.

"You could tell even then that Peter was going to become a comedian, even though he was only 13 or 14-years-old.

"We have always wondered whether some of Peter's observational humour came from the shop."

Pilling was also a member of Deane Golf Club for 40 years and had a handicap of four in his golfing prime.

He also managed Peters United in the Bolton Boys Federation and was the coach of Breightmet United, with Kevin Tebay, when they were in the Bolton Combination.

The former Thornleigh Salesian College pupil and member of St Ethelbert's Church, Deane, was a tank driver during his national service days. Pilling served in Germany, at the start of the 1950s, before joining Bolton Wanderers.

He had two children, Andrew and Janet, and five grandchildren.

A Requiem Mass funeral will take place on Friday at 11am at St Ethelbert's, followed by cremation at Overdale in Chorley New Road at noon.