AWARDS MARKING the achievements of footballer George Best yesterday fetched over £200,000 (€227,262) in a British auction.
Top of the lots was Best’s 1968 European Cup winner’s medal, which sold for £156,000 (€177,323) during a sporting memorabilia sale held in Bonhams in Chester. The medal, which had a pre-sale estimate of between £90,000 and £120,000, was presented to the footballer following Manchester United’s 4-1 victory over Benfica, marking the first occasion that an English team had won the European Cup.
The medal was one of 13 awards which were put up for auction by the executors of Best’s estate, the proceeds of which will go to the footballer’s sister, Barbara McNarry.
A replica of the European Cup Winner’s medal, which was made for Best by the Professional Footballers’ Association after he misplaced the original, also fetched £9,000 (€10,230).
The 2002 BBC Lifetime Achievement Award, an honour given to sports people who have made a major impact on the world of sport during their lifetime sold for £7,800 (€8,866) while a 2000 Belfast TelegraphHall of Fame award fetched £4,800 (€5,456).
Other Best memorabilia from private collectors also went under the hammer included a limited edition Fabergé egg, commemorating Best’s role in United’s victory in the 1968 European Cup, which sold for £25,200 (€28,638). It had been listed between £15,000 to £20,000. The last shirt worn by Best for Northern Ireland while he was a Manchester United player on November 14th, 1973, sold for £6,000 (€6,818).
The sale also featured the shirt worn by legendary Brazilian footballer Pelé in his final international appearance for the Brazil versus Yugoslavia match on July 18th, 1971, which fetched £8,640 (€9,822). Meanwhile. a collection of Muhammad Ali memorabilia, hand-signed and donated by him to Parkinson’s UK raised over £3,000 (€3,410) for the charity.