that it was what he would get later that counted. Shankly took his brother's advice and signed the Preston contract in a railway carriage. Shankly began his Preston career in the reserves, who played in the Central League which was a higher standard than the North Eastern League. He made his first team debut on 9 December 1933, three months after his 20th birthday, against Hull City. Shankly created an early goal to help Preston win 5–0, earning him praise in a national newspaper for his "clever passing". With his wholehearted attitude and commitment to the team, he quickly established himself as a first-team regular and became a crowd favourite. Preston fulfilled their potential and gained promotion to the First Division as runners-up to Grimsby Town. It was therefore a successful debut season for Shankly who stayed with Preston until he retired in 1949. His wage was increased to eight pounds a week with six pounds in the summer. In a summary of the 1933–34 season, a Preston correspondent, Walter Pilkington, wrote: One of this season's discoveries, Bill Shankly, played with rare tenacity and uncommonly good ideas for a lad of 20. He is full of good football and possessed with unlimited energy; he should go far. In his autobiography, Shankly wrote that Preston had more than held their own in the 1934–35 season and the club was not relegated again until the end of the 1948–49 season in which he left them. Shankly developed into a tough half back, as good as any in the Football League. The outstanding Northern Ireland international Peter Doherty recalled how Shankly dogged his footsteps in one match and kept muttering: "Great wee team, North End, great wee team", subduing Doherty completely as Preston defeated Manchester City 3–1. In 1936–37, Preston reached the FA Cup Final but were well beaten 3–1 by Sunderland at Wembley Stadium. Preston recovered to reach the 1938 FA Cup Final in which they defeated Huddersfield Town 1–0 with a penalty scored by George Mutch in the final minute of extra time. As well as winning the FA Cup, Preston finished third in the league. That season marked the pinnacle of Shankly's playing career. Shankly had just reached his 26th birthday when the Second World War began and the war claimed the peak years of his playing career. He joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) and managed to play in