With anticipation building for England’s chances of winning this year’s world cup, the Bonhams Sale of World Cup Memorabilia will provide football fans with an opportunity to revel in the past and hark back to 1966. The ‘Sporting Legends – Football, Cricket, Rugby and Tennis’ sale will take place on 7 June in Knightsbridge, London, SW7



Tickets that were clutched feverishly during England’s triumphant 1966 final – when Geoff Hurst became the first player ever to score a hat-trick in a world cup final – and have been treasured ever since, will be offered for sale.



Amongst the 1966 memorabilia on offer will be a complete set of 32 tickets, 29 of which are complete with entry stubs, one for each game in the tournament, together with ticket application and details of the game. This lot (347) is estimated to sell for £3,000 – 4,000 and represents a poignant record of the only time that England has hosted the World Cup, or won it.



Bobby Moore, who as captain of the 1966 winning team, gallantly wiped the mud from his hands on the velvet platform before shaking the hand of Queen Elizabeth II and receiving the trophy, has his place secured in the annals of footballing history. His personal folder of team and group photographs from the 1960s and ’70s – many signed by the England team, which he collected while he was manager of Oxford City – is estimated to sell for £2,000 – 3,000.



Other world cup items in the sale include the 1930 World Cup ball, used following objections from Argentina that the ball they, themselves, had provided was deflating after Cea scored for Uruguay in the 57th minute, bringing the score level to 2 – 2. Uruguay then supplied this ball for the remainder of the game and went on to win 4 – 2. After the match, the winner’s ball was given to Juan Pedro Arremond, who had been unable to play through injury, and it has passed by direct descent to the vendor. Estimate £5,000 – 7,000.



A 1950 World Cup Winners medal, won by Ruben Moran of the victorious Uruguayan team will be offered, with an estimate of £8,000 – 10,000. Held in Brazil, this was the only time that the tournament was not decided by a knock out final, although the final match did decide the winner. At 18, Moran was the youngest player to play in a World Cup Final – a record that English fans are hoping to overturn when 17-year-old Theo Walcott becomes a hero this summer…



Another medal belonging to one of the greatest and best loved British footballers of all time, George Best, is a further highlight in the sale. Best will be remembered for his dazzling displays on the pitch for Manchester United and Ireland and his tabloid-courting celebrity lifestyle. He was nick-named ‘the fifth Beatle’ for his long hair and good looks.



In 1977 the Professional Footballers Association presented George Best with the “All Star Award Winner Division 2” medal. This award is engraved “G. Best Fulham F.C.” and is expected to sell for £8,000 – 10,000.



The No.7 shirt that Best wore in the last game that he played for his country, winning his 37th cap on 12 October 1977, will also come under the hammer, (estimate £5,000 – 8,000). This signed shirt was acquired by the current owner at a charity auction organised by George Best’s friend Milan Mandaric, Chairman of Portsmouth F.C.



Two shirts from the infamous “Hand of God” match in 1986 will change hands on 7 June without divine intervention. Gary Stevens’ No.2 Umbro shirt was exchanged after the game with Argentina’s Jose Luis Brown, who sold it to the present owner, (estimate £2,000 – 3,000), and the No.8 shirt issued to Argentinian player Nestor Clausen is expected to fetch £1,500 – 2,000.



There will also be an opportunity to bid for the football shirt worn by Celtic’s greatest player Jimmy Johnstone in the 1968 World Cup play-off game in Uruguay when he was sent off the p itch. The shirt, signed by Johnstone and Bertie Auld is estimated to sell for £7,000-9,000.



Scotland fans will be interested to see two lots relating to another footballing hero from north of the border – Tommy Gemmell. His match worn boots, worn in Celtic’s 1967 European Cup Final victory when they became the first British team to win the European Cup are to be sold, (estimate £6,000 – 8,000). Gemmell scored the equalising goal, with a rocket from outside the penalty area to beat the blanket defence after Inter Milan had taken the lead through a penalty. Stevie Chalmers converted another Gemmell shot with just five minutes to go, a well-deserved victory for the team that became known as the Lisbon Lions.



Lot 393 is an oil on board portrait of Tommy Gemmell, commissioned by the Evening Daily Telegraph in 1967 from R.C.A artist Roger Coleman. Estimate £300-500.



A collection of nine medals won by Alex Wilson, the Arsenal goalkeeper of the 1930s – then the best team in the country – will be offered, including the 1936 FA Cup Winners medal in its original box, (estimate £5,000 – 7,000).



A whole host of additional items of football memorabilia and ephemera is up for grabs in the sale, including match-worn shirts and boots by top players from then and now: Pele, Maradona, Henry and Ronaldinho.

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