History of the World Cup: A History of the Actual World Cup Trophy
There were several remarkable events that happened in London in 1966 that focused on the
Jules Rimet Trophy (
aka The World Cup):
The first of which was that
England won; Then,
the 15 inch, solid gold trophy was stolen, held for ransom, and subsequently discovered in some shrubbery by
a dog named Pickles.
The English FA had commisioned a base metal replica, which, after the Queen awarded the trophy to
Bobby Moore , was substituted for the priceless trophy in the England dressing room where
a policeman/security guard swapped it with legendary Manchester United & England fullback
Nobby Stiles. Now, that was the one which toured the country over the next few years & not the the real one.
The replica was sold for £254,000 by Sothebys in 1997 to none other than FIFA, whereas
the original was stolen again in Brazil, and
has never been seen since. The replica is on long term loan to the
National Football Museum in Preston, Lancashire, though
they don't always tell you:
it's a fake.