As the latest English squad prepares to probably crash out in a similar fashion to the 2016 European Championship debacle against Iceland, a series of lots to be offered at a Suffolk auction on June 18 act as a reminder of 1966 glory.
The Sir Alf Ramsey Collection comprises 30 lots in total relating to the manager who masterminded England’s greatest moment, as Germany were defeated 3-2 at Wembley.
It is offered as a special section of the Art Deco, 20th Century Design and Retro Auction being held on the same day as the modern-day England kick off their 2018 World cup campaign against Tunisia in Volgograd.
The collection has been consigned to the Clarke & Simpson saleroom in Campsea Ashe, near Wickham Market, on instructions from the executors for the estate of the late Lady Victoria Ramsey (Sir Alf’s widow, who died in March). She lived in nearby Ipswich – where Sir Alf made his name as a club manager with Ipswich Town FC.
The highest-estimated lot, at £1000-1500, is a silver and enamel decorated presentation salver, presented to Sir Alf by the Council of the Football Association, As a token of esteem and appreciation to mark the One Hundredth occasion on which he has acted as Team Manager of the England Team. Wales V England. November. 1972.
See accompanying illustrations for more lots.
'Shoddy treatment'
Despite Sir Alf’s World Cup win, Lady Victoria said after his death that “disgraceful” treatment by the Football Association when he was sacked eight years later after England failed to qualify for the 1974 World Cup finals had left him “a broken man”.
At the age of just 54 he never had a high-profile football management job again. He eventually retired to the family home in Ipswich.
Sir Alf had been famed for innovative tactics after becoming the England boss in 1963 but as a sometimes aloof and graceless character, many people never warmed to him (although his clipped accent did not reflect his origins from a deprived background in Dagenham).
He was a handy player in his day, winning the Second and First Division titles in consecutive years between 1949 and 1951 with Tottenham Hotspur. He also earned 32 England caps, but they did encompass the infamous 1950 defeat by the US - and his last game was the 6-3 trouncing by Hungary in 1953.
By 1955 he was manager of Ipswich Town. From languishing in the Third Division South, two years later they topped that division, then the one above in 1961 and incredibly, were the First Division champions in 1962.
Then the national team beckoned – and World Cup glory. Fifty-two years later, it still remains England’s only appearance in a final, let alone winning one.
