Rare Football Memorabilia On Auction In London

This Tuesday and Wednesday in London, several hundred rare football collectibles are being sold by auction through auctioneer Graham Budd. Among the collection are rare medals, programmes, tickets and a treasure trove of football shirts, photographs and rare pieces of memorabilia.

Here are a few items that stood out for me:

• Nat Lofthouse England shirt from 1952,
• Ole Gunnar Solskjaer shirt signed by the 1995-96 Man United squad,
• 1916 photograph of the first ever USA national soccer team (pictured above),
• The original 1905 lease agreement between a landlord and Chelsea to acquire Stamford Bridge, and
• An oil painting with a portrait of BBC football commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme (who was best known for the “Some people are on the pitch” phrase from the 1966 World Cup final).