The sale of Gordon Banks's 1966 World Cup winners medal for £124,750 illustrates once more that sports memorabilia is big business.
Indeed, the six items of the Banks's collection sold at Christie's auction house in London on Thursday realised more than £171,690. Christie's football memorabilia specialist David Convery was particularly pleased with the sale of the World Cup medal.
"It's a world record for any football medal sold at any football auction throughout the world."
David Convery explained the history of Christie's football sales.
An area to bear in mind is "MATCH WORN shirts for sale". Be careful as some shirts being sold over the internet are far east copies made up to relevant match specifications so as to pass off as match worn. Match worn is when a shirt has been worn by player in a professional football game. To identify a matchworn shirt the shirt may have bobbles, small tears, dirty or colour run due to washing.
Shirt may have been worn in several football matches and not just one - a good indication is often football shirts are machine washed together so sometimes particulary clubs such as Aston Villa, West Ham United, Birmingham City, West Bromwich Albion, Coventry City, Chelsea, Manchester United because the players name and players squad number are in white felt (Depending on season and whether home/away)the darker colour from shirt will dye the white felt on number/name so gives the felt a discolour. This would be same if your missus washed your white socks with a red t-shirt. Shirts are usually mass laundry by majority of football clubs. Certain clubs have shirts dry laundry these are the big money clubs where players like to have soft perfumed smelling shirts!!
Hungarian and Real Madrid legend Ferenc Puskas, who is desperately ill in a Budapest hospital with a form of Alzheimer's disease, was forced to sell off his medals, including the golden boot he was awarded to commemorate his amazing international scoring record, at Bonhams, in London, to help pay for his treatment.
One of the world's greatest footballers sold his memorabilia for £85,000 at auction to help in his battle with terminal illness. The collection of Puskas memorabilia was bought privately, before it was due for sale at Bonhams Auction House in Chester
Monday, 05 December 2005.
Yesterday saw a milestone moment in the construction of the new Wembley Stadium as a space-age time capsule - packed full of poignant items - was buried underneath the centre spot.
Prominent Wembley figures who took part in the ceremony included Tottenham Hotspur and England player Jermain Defoe, FA head of football development Sir Trevor Brooking, stadium architect Lord Norman Foster, four-time Olympian and IOC member Dame Mary Glen Haig plus WNSL chief executive Michael Cunnah.
Sunday July 23, 2006
Thieves have stolen England caps and a World Cup shirt in a haul from Wayne Rooney's parents' house in Liverpool.
The Manchester United star's family home in Sandfield Park was targeted between 5pm and 11.20pm Saturday night.
Merseyside police are now hunting the culprits after the upstairs window was forced and jewellery and memorabilia - also including a cup final football shirt and the Young Sports Personality of the Year trophy 2002 - was stolen.
The National Football Museum is displaying football memorabilia from around the world to celebrate the ten-year anniversary of an anti-racism campaign.
'Culture Clash' celebrates the achievements of the 'Let's Kick Racism Out of Football' (or Kick It Out) campaign by displaying shirts, medals and photographs representing Asia, Africa and South America.
Hugh Hornby, head of Curatorial and Research at the museum, said: "Although this is the National Football Museum for England, it is good for us to connect with the rest of the world through objects, images and text. I think it is worth featuring countries from which overseas players have come. There is a positive message, particularly in the photos of the last World Cup from Japan and Korea."
The football shirt worn by George Best during one of his greatest games sold for £24,000 when it went under the hammer on Wednesday.
The late soccer legend came back from a six-week suspension to score six goals in Manchester United's 8-2 demolition of Northampton Town in the fifth round of the FA Cup in 1970.
The jersey he was wearing that day was sold as part of a football memorabilia auction at Christie's in London.
Kim Book, then Northampton's goalkeeper, last year told The Press Association "not even the Berlin Wall" could have stopped Best that day.
The match was one of the most extraordinary played by the United and Northern Ireland star, remembered as one of the greatest players to have graced football.
