THE shirt of a late Bradford City legend is going up for auction, thought to be worn in the match which saw football’s most famous fight.
The shirt belonged to Trevor Cherry, who died last year aged 72, and is believed to be from a 1975 game he scored in between Leeds United and Derby County.
Cherry was on the losing side that day but the match is best remembered for the fight between the late, great, Norman Hunter and Franny Lee, with the feisty pair exchanging blows twice on the pitch, in scenes you would never seen on the pitch in the modern game.
Cherry is best known for his 399 match spell at Leeds in which he won the league and helped United to the European Cup final before going on to captain the club, but he also played 92 times for the Bantams and also managed City from 1982 to 1987, leading the team to the Division Three title and was at the helm during the club's darkest day, the Bradford City Fire.
He also amassed 27 caps for England, captaining his country once.
The shirt is owned by Notty Hornblower, a lifelong Derby fan and owner of Hope House Costume Museum in the Peak District.
She said: “I’d forgotten all about it. I found it by chance in July when I was clearing out a haberdashery cabinet.
"It had been there for donkey’s years. I thought it might be with around £70. I decided to show it to David Wilson-Turner, head of sports memorabilia at Hansons. He said, ‘you better sit down’, and when he said it could be worth £1,000 I was gobsmacked.
“I’ve been following Derby County since 1968. Back in the 70s, I knew all the players, wrote a ladies’ column in the club’s matchday programme, and ran Belper Junior Rams.
“I won the shirt in a raffle at a sports club event in the 70s, possibly a DCFC supporters’ club night. I remember being told it belonged to Trevor Cherry and had come from that famous game in 1975. Perhaps he left it behind at the Baseball Ground because he was furious about losing the game.”
David Wilson-Turner added: “Sadly, we can’t check with Trevor because he passed away in 2020 at the age of 72.
"But football memories live on and Cherry along with the famous Lee and Hunter fisticuffs will never be forgotten.
"The shirt is sure to be popular with Leeds fans because Cherry was a club legend. He captained the team and played for them for 10 years from 1972.”
The shirt will go under the hammer at Hanson’s Auctioneers in Derbyshire on August 24.
It is expected to sell for between £700 and £1,000, and the auction is being held online.
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