Sporting Memorabilia & Equipment

It’s that time of year again, although Murray and Konta (at the time of writing) are spoiling the now traditional game of ‘how early are the Brits going to crash out of Wimbledon’ and a double win is actually a possibility.

When you hear that a team with ‘Auckland’ in the title won the first football World Cup, two obvious questions immediately come to mind: the first World Cup was surely won by Uruguay in 1930, wasn’t it? And... when have the Kiwis ever been any good at footy?

No offence to Neil Diamond, a highly respected singer, but if you are a 12-year-old boy then memorabilia linked to him is not likely to be top of your present list. Fortunately, the other gift was a pair of boxing gloves owned by Muhammad Ali.

Cricket can be a confusing game, full of ins and outs, stopping for lunch and tea and rain, with five-day games that can still end in a draw.

A cold-painted bronze of amateur golfing champion John Laidlay is among the pieces appearing at Bonhams' upcoming auction in Los Angeles next week.

The white shirt bears a dark ‘V’ across the front more like St Helens rugby league team, but the ball underneath is unmistakably round rather than oval. Then the words ‘Manchester United’ emblazoned below the figure give the game away.

Saturday’s last-gasp, nail-biting England victory was hailed as one of the greatest games of the Six Nations championship. Talking of rugby ‘greats’, a jersey coming up at auction on February 18 is a reminder of an earlier international player who falls into the ‘legend’ sports category.

In September last year Wayne Rooney hit his 48th goal for England, overtaking at last Sir Bobby Charlton’s scoring record. But the achievements of a much earlier England star will be celebrated on December 15 thanks to an auction in Cornwall.

Medals won by former Everton winger Cliff Britton (1909-75), who later went on to manage the club in the 1950s, are being offered at an auction in East Yorkshire.

A little-publicised California law aimed at protecting buyers of sports memorabilia is threatening to impact the wider art and antiques sector.

The boxing trunks worn by Muhammad Ali in a famous but controversial fight against Henry Cooper will be offered at a Graham Budd auction next month, estimated at £70,000-90,000.

A collection of Muhammad Ali memorabilia is being sold in a Dallas saleroom following an outpouring of related consignments from the public in light of the boxer’s death.

The Olympic Games produce magical memories and high achievement and few competitors have created so many memories and achieved as much as Usain Bolt.

When American amateur golfer Robert E Hunter won a gold medal at the 1904 Olympics he could not have ever envisaged that the next chance to compete in the Games would be 2016.

Fighting valiantly through the Champions League qualifying rounds after overcoming the mighty Lincoln Red Imps last night, Celtic are well on the way to emulating their 1967 Lisbon Lions European Cup glory.

It may only be a few weeks until the 50th anniversary of the 1966 World Cup final but, judging by the way their team exited the Euros, England fans will have to wait a lot longer before their team ever again reaches the final a major football tournament.