1090 WORLD CUP PRECURSOR MEDAL

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?

But far from the New Zealanders having a football heritage to match the mighty All Blacks at rugby union, this "Auckland in fact refers to West Auckland FC. A team of miners from County Durham in north-east England.

In 1909, this club from the Northern League was invited to compete for the prestigious Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy in Turin, considered by many to be a precursor to today's World Cup.

That trailblazing tournament is recalled in an intriguing lot coming up at the north-eastern auction house Anderson & Garland in Newcastle-upon-Tyne on June 13-15: the winner's medal awarded to Alfred Edwin (Tot) Gubbins of West Auckland FC.

To read the complete article, see:
Medal at auction recalls when England won the first World Cups (https://www.antiquestradegazette.com/news/2017/medal-at-auction-recalls-when-england-won-the-first-world-cups/)

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