OTD E0048 — 18 Dec 1956: Hanot, Matthews & The First Ballon d’Or

18 Dec 1956: L’Équipe reveals the very first Ballon d’Or – and 41 year-old Stanley Matthews finishes just ahead of Alfredo Di Stéfano and Raymond Kopa. We follow Gabriel Hanot from the European Cup to creating the award, explain why Matthews won, and tell the story of how he actually received the trophy live via BBC link-up – then trace how the Ballon d’Or evolved from a European newspaper poll into a global spectacle in a team sport.Tips/corrections: [email protected]