LONDON, July 12 — Probably the most iconic England football shirt in history, worn by Geoff Hurst when he scored a hat-trick in the 4-2 World Cup final victory over West Germany in 1966, failed to net a buyer at auction today.
The long-sleeved red cotton shirt — bearing the number 10 — was valued at between £300,000 and £500,000 (RM1.5 million to RM2.6 million), but despite some bids in the room, it fell short of the reserve price at Sotheby’s in London.
“The shirt is a hugely important and valuable piece of footballing history and it generated a great deal of interest ahead of the sale,” said a Sotheby’s spokeswoman.
“Though widely admired in the months preceding today’s auction, and despite having seen bidding in the salesroom, the shirt failed to reach its reserve price so unfortunately did not find a buyer today.”
Hurst would probably have never featured in the side but for an injury to first-choice striker Jimmy Greaves prior to the quarter-finals.
He seized his chance impeccably, scoring a hat-trick — including the final goal to the immortal line by the commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme “the crowd are on the pitch, they think it’s all over... it is now!” — in what is England’s only ever major tournament victory.
The shirt is believed to have been first auctioned at Christie’s in 2000, when it was sold for £91,750 to a private collector.
It was then bought in 2008 by property investor Andrew Leslau for an undisclosed sum on behalf of international investors.
Leslau insured the shirt for £1 million, calling it “the most important shirt in English football history”. — AFP
