Graham Budd

The highlight of an impressive range of football memorabilia offered by specialist Graham Budd (20.5% buyer’s premium) was the earliest Manchester United medal sold at auction.

Gold medal won at Wimbledon in 1936 by British tennis great is purchased by the Lawn Tennis Museum at the All England Lawn Tennis Club

As with so many other sales schedules for the summer, Graham Budd’s June two-day auction had to be cancelled due to the coronavirus lockdown. However, he has just announced that he will be holding his next on November 9-10 as a live ‘broadcast’ auction (all forms of bidding except for in the room, viewing by timed appointment at the firm’s Enfield premises).

The whistle that blew after just a minute of play to signal the first penalty kick ever awarded in a World Cup Final has sold for £4200 at a London auction.

The earliest days of Tottenham Hotspur FC are revealed in a remarkable hand-written ledger coming up at auction in a November 4-5 London sale.

Many talented footballers had their careers interrupted or even curtailed by the world wars. Although Allenby Chilton is not exactly a household name, not many players featured in both a Manchester United title-winning side and the D-Day Normandy landings.

The London firm founded by Frederick Henry Ayres in the mid 19th century is best known for its for high-quality rocking horses but Ayres also produced a wide range of equipment for indoor and outdoor games and sport.

This silver tennis bangle, below, triggered a classic singles match at auction.

Searching online for the term ‘skirt lifter’ is probably unwise in the public domain, but an intriguing item sold at Graham Budd’s latest auction shows it is a popular collecting field.

Manchester United fans grumbling about the current style of play will be interested to learn that when Matt Busby joined as manager he was contractually obliged to play entertaining football.

One of the most comprehensive and best-preserved football memorabilia collections auctioneer Graham Budd (17.5% buyer’s premium) has ever handled netted a hammer total of £107,000 for a remarkable 47 lots including medals and caps on November 14-15.

“Wait a minute. You’re putting my gloves in jail? This is awful. How can you put my gloves in jail? They ain’t done nothing… yet!”