Blackburn Rovers star's England cap up for auction (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Blackburn Rovers star's England cap up for auction

9:30am Monday 8th February 2010 in

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THE 1950 England World Cup cap of Blackburn Rovers legend Bill Eckersley has been listed for auction.

The family of the full-back, who spent his entire playing career between 1947 and 1961 at Ewood Park, have put the treasured item up for sale with Bonhams auction house.

The blue velvet six-panel cap with silver tassel and trim, which is embroidered with the England badge and ‘World Cup 1950 tournament’ on its peak, is expected to fetch between £1,000 and £1,500 when it goes under the hammer in Chester on February 28.

However, Stephen Eckersley, who inherited the cap from his father after it was previously displayed behind the bar at Lancashire pubs including the Fox and Hounds Pub in Ewood, said he had not decided yet whether the auction of the cap would go ahead.

The 53-year-old said he had been forced to consider its sale due to financial difficulties.

He said: “It may not even go on sale, it’s just one of those things because it has a history behind it.

"In a couple of weeks if I get sorted out financially I’ll probably not sell it at all.”

Mr Eckersley said he offered the cap to Blackburn Rovers but they were not interested.

He said: “It’s a cap from the first World Cup England played in and he was the first Blackburn Rovers player to win one at a World Cup but they didn’t want to know.”

William ‘Bill’ Eckersley was born in 1925. The left-back made more than 400 appearances for Rovers and his consistent performances led to him being considered one of the best full-backs in the country.

He earned 17 caps for England, collecting his first in England's final match of the 1950 World Cup, a defeat against Spain.

His final England appearance came in the famous 1953 friendly against Hungary when the Magyars beat England 6–3. Bill Eckersley died in 1982.

Chris Hughes, of Bonhams, said: “Caps like this are quite popular and collectors seek them.

"It’s very rare if one is unsold when it’s entered into a sale.