A North Yorkshire auctioneers with offices in Harrogate sold a 1966 World Cup winner’s medal, shirt and squad cap today for a combined hammer price of £445,000.

The items originally belonged to Alan Ball, who at just 21 years old was the youngest and least experienced member of the legendary 1966 World Cup winning England team.  

His medal sold for £200,000 hammer, his red number 7 shirt fetched £130,000 and his cap sold for £115,000 at Tennants Auctioneers’ toys and models, sporting and fishing sale in Leyburn. 

Lancashire-born midfielder Alan Ball played for Blackpool, Everton, Arsenal and Southampton, and won 72 caps for England. He went on to manage several clubs, including Manchester City and Southampton.  He died in 2007.

Alan Ball’s 1966 World Cup winner’s medal.

Alan Ball’s shirt sold for £130,000

His cap fetched £115,000

Ball sold his medal and cap at auction in 2005, when they were purchased by the owner of Bolton Wanderers, businessman and philanthropist Edwin ‘Eddie’ Davies (1946-2018). 

From the same estate came a Pele match-worn Brazil shirt, worn during the first half of the famous Brazil v England 1970 World Cup match, which sold for £33,000.

Tennants Auctioneers’ sporting specialist, Kegan Harrison, said:

“We are absolutely delighted to have achieved such fantastic results for the vendor, who has had a long-standing relationship with Tennants.  

“The 1966 World Cup victory will always be a golden moment in English sporting history, and we have been honoured to have handled the sale of these extraordinary items. It has been 56 years since that incredible match, but it is still very close to the hearts of all football fans.” 

Tennants Auctioneers is based at Leyburn, North Yorkshire and has an office on Montpellier Road in Harrogate, as well as in London.

Harrogate-born footballer Rachel Daly’s amazing year continued today when she was named Barclays Women’s Super League Player of the Month for November.

Daly, who was part of England’s thrilling European Championships success in the summer, has been in red-hot form in front of goal since signing for Aston Villa from Houston Dash this season.

She won the player of the month award in September and has now landed it a second time for playing a key role in Villa victories over Liverpool and Reading in November.

Rachel Daly displays her award.

The former Killinghall Nomads player scored a penalty to seal a 1-0 win over Liverpool before recording a hat-trick against Reading at Villa Park to give her four league goals last month.

Daly is the league’s joint top scorer and has helped catapult Villa to fifth in the table.

Read more:

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A 3G sports pitch has opened for community use in Harrogate.

St Aidan’s Church of England High School applied to create the pitch more than two years ago and is now inviting people to use it.

it was completed in the summer and officially launched at the school’s new Family Fest day. However, it was only in use for PE lessons and school football clubs until this week.

St Aidan’s chair of governors Jo Wicks said:

“We are delighted to finally be able to share this long-awaited and much-needed facility with the local community.

“Our pupils and PE staff are already enjoying their new dry and safe pitch, and we look forward to welcoming local clubs to St Aidan’s. Thanks to everyone involved for your hard work and resilience.”

When the original planning application was submitted in spring 2020, the school said the pitches would mainly be used by its own pupils, as well as those from primary schools in the area who did not have access to their own playing spaces.

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St Aidan’s plans to open the facility to the community from 6pm to 8pm on weeknights as well as Saturdays from 9am to 5pm and Sundays from 10am to 2pm. It would also be open from 9am to 4pm during school holidays.

The associated floodlights drew some concern from neighbours, who also raised objections to the potential for light pollution on the Stray.

However, there were also many supportive comments, including from other football clubs which said there was a demonstrable lack of year-round playing pitches in the Harrogate district.

Planning officers had recommended the proposal be refused by Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee because of the impact on the surrounding area.

Councillors instead approved the plans in January 2021, saying they would be “letting our young people down” if they did not allow the pitches to be created.

Harrogate Town are set for a crunch Yorkshire derby in the FA Cup first round today.

Town travel to Bradford City for a 12.30pm kick off as they look to get their cup campaign off to a good start.

More than 300 Harrogate fans are set to head to Valley Parade, and planned strike action on the railways this weekend has been called off.

Town manager Simon Weaver said his side have to remain focussed if they want to get through to the next round.

He said:

“We will just have to make sure we are focussed and concentrated throughout the game.

“We know that if you allow Bradford to play then they have got some good quality players and are organised by a very good manager.

“We can’t take our eye off the ball throughout the entirety of the game. We have got to make sure we are on it.”

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Town will be hoping for a repeat of last season when they managed to beat League One side Portsmouth to make it to the third round.

Harrogate beat Bradford last season on their visit to Valley Parade. But the Bantams took the bragging rights last month at the EnviroVent Stadium with a 2-1 win.

City boss Mark Hughes has said his side are also eyeing a cup run this campaign.

Hughes said:

“I am looking forward to it. A local derby is always a good watch, and we are hoping for a big turnout.

“We want to progress in the cups this season. There clearly is a financial edge to going far, but the reality is, if you get to the third round, there are some good ties we want to be involved in.

“We will try and get there. Our intention is to stay in the competition for as long as we can.

“There is a real understanding within the squad about the history of the competition. The FA Cup is not on the same level, in terms of the prestige and standing, compared to other competitions.

“We have to navigate the game at the weekend. We have beaten them away from home, so there is no reason why we should not be confident.”

Harrogate’s Rachel Daly was among the winners at this week’s Pride of Britain awards.

Daly was part of the England women’s football team that beat Germany 2-1 in the final of Euro 2022 this year.

At a ceremony hosted by Ashley Banjo and Carol Vorderman, the team received a special award for inspiring girls to play football.

Pic: Rachel Daly Instagram

The ceremony was held at London’s Grosvenor House on Monday and broadcast on ITV last night.

The Daily Mirror’s Pride of Britain recognise extraordinary achievements by ordinary people.

It was the latest success of a remarkable year for Aston Villa striker Daly, who was named Women’s Super League player of month in September.

Read more:

• Rachel Daly wins Women’s Super League player of the month award
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Harrogate’s Rachel Daly won the Barclays Women’s Super League player of the month award for September.

Daly, who plays for Aston Villa, scored three goals last month including a brace against Manchester City.

Meanwhile, Carla Ward, coach of Aston Villa Women, picked up manager of the month award for the WSL.

Villa went unbeaten throughout September and currently sit third in the league.

On her return the England from Houston Dash, Daly scored twice in the opening WSL fixture against City at Villa Park.

The match ended in a 4-3 win for Villa and Daly was crowned player of the match.

Her third goal of September came against Leicester City in a 2-0 victory.

The award continues a stellar year for Daly, 30, who was also a key part of the England Lionesses’ success at Euro 22 in the summer.

Read more:

• Rachel Daly joins Aston Villa on three-year deal
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Leading football clubs in Harrogate and Knaresborough are considering whether to kick-off earlier on Saturday afternoons over winter to save money on floodlights.

Rising energy bills mean the cost of lighting up matches is expected to soar this season, especially after the clocks go back on October 30.

Bringing forward the traditional 3pm Saturday afternoon kick-off could save those clubs in the district with floodlights — Harrogate Town, Harrogate Railway Athletic and Knaresborough Town — thousands of pounds over the season.

For the district’s only professional club, Harrogate Town, any change seems unlikely. A club spokesman said:

“We have no plans to move our kick-offs at this stage.

“It was discussed at an English Football League meeting with all clubs last week and the overriding feeling was that it would be detrimental to attendances.”

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But the issue is less clearcut for semi-professional teams, which attract smaller attendances.

Michael Edwards, chairman of Harrogate Railway, who play in the Northern Counties East League Division One, said it was one of many teams in the league pursuing the idea. He said:

“It could save hundreds if not thousands of pounds over a season and every little bit counts.”

He said Harrogate Railway were looking to start some matches at 1.30pm or 2pm from November onwards — but any change has to be agreed by both teams three weeks in advance.

Clare Rudzinski, secretary of Knaresborough Town, who play in the Northern Counties East League Premier Division, one tier above Harrogate Railway, said the issue would be raised at a committee meeting next week.

Floodlights will continue to be used at midweek matches, when the evening kickoff times make floodlights essential.

A bumper crowd is expected at Harrogate Town tomorrow as they welcome Bradford City in a crunch Yorkshire derby.

Town are on on a poor run of form and haven’t won in League Two since beating Gillingham away on August 16.

It’s been even longer since they last tasted victory at home, when they beat Swindon 3-0 on July 30.

The squad had a major overhaul during the summer, with 15 new signings, but it’s taking longer to gel than manager Simon Weaver would have liked.

Despite all he’s achieved during his 13 years in charge, Weaver’s position is being questioned by some fans.

In a pre-match interview, he said:

“We expect Bradford will bring lots of fans. There’s lots of interest from a Harrogate point of view and we expect a buoyant crowd. It should be an eventful game.”

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Attendances at the EnviroVent have been down on last season but around 2,500 tickets have been sold for the game so far, which includes 600 Bradford fans.

The game kicks off at 1pm.

Tickets are on sale from the club’s Commercial Street store until 4pm today. There will be no further sales after this point.

Rachel Daly’s remarkable year continued today when she scored twice on her Aston Villa debut in the Women’s Super League.

Daly was a key player in England Lionesses’ success at Euro 22 in the summer.

The Harrogate-born player subsequently signed a three-year contract with Villa to return to England after a six-year stint in the National Women’s Soccer League in America with Houston Dash.

In today’s opening WSL fixture, Daly’s curled strike gave Villa a 2-0 lead in the home fixture against Manchester City. After City fought back to lead, Daly pounced to score the winner and be named player of the match.

The exciting match was broadcast live on BBC Two and watched live by 7,000 fans at Villa Park in Birmingham.

Daly played at left back for England at Euro 2022 but has reverted to her forward role with Villa, who finished ninth of 12 in the WSL last season. City were third, so today’s thrilling win was an ideal start to Daly’s new adventure.

Read more:

• Rachel Daly joins Aston Villa on three-year deal
• Rachel Daly picked for England World Cup 2023 qualifier squad

A former manager in Harrogate’s Claro League is looking for football players from the late 1970s and early 1980s to take part in a reunion.

Harry Teggin, who managed the Claro Catholic team between 1967 and the 1983/84 season, is organising an event at the Bilton Club on Friday, September 23.

After realising that he had begun only seeing some of his fellow footballers at funerals, he decided a more positive event was needed.

Mr Teggin said:

“I’d had enough of that really. Let’s have one where we’re not saying goodbye.”

He is hoping to reach players from multiple clubs in the Claro League from the period such as Belford, Gluepot and Harrogate Phoenix.

At the time, many teams had formed around pubs or youth clubs.

Read more

The Claro League ended in 2017 after a drop in interest levels in Sunday league football. Only six teams had applied to play in the following season.

Some teams applied to play in West Yorkshire but others were disbanded.

It marked a decline from the 1970s when the league was one of two in the town and had five divisions,

Teams came from as far away as Wetherby and Tadcaster.

‘We’ve always been a close-knit team’

When he started out as manager at Claro Catholic, Mr Teggin said his job mainly involved getting players home from nights out and setting up the pitch on a Sunday morning.

But friendships formed and still endure today. He said:

“We’ve always been a close-knit team and we always had good camaraderie with the other teams.”

Some of the players, Mr Teggin revealed, later went on to play for Harrogate Town.

The former manager urged anyone who was involved to contact him and come to the event.