The gold trophy awarded to the eventual winners of each FIFA World Cup tournament is the most precious prize in football. But the trophy to be awarded to the team that ultimately wins in South Africa in 2010 will not lift the original trophy, first awarded in 1930, but a replacement that has been in use since the original was used, the Jules Rimet trophy. awarded in perpetuity to Brazil in 1970, in recognition of their third World Cup victory. But the story behind the fate of the Jules Rimet trophy is much stranger than you might imagine.
The trophy itself was first created for the first World Cup in Uruguay in 1930. At the time it was officially known as the “Victoria”, it wasn’t until 1946 that it was renamed after the man whose vision had spawned the competition. first of all. It was a true work of art. Designed by Abel Lafleur, its blue lapis lazuli base featured a solid gold depiction of the goddess Nike, the ancient Greek patron of victory.
In January 1966, the Jules Rimet trophy arrived in London so that it could be displayed before the World Cup, scheduled for the same year in England. The trophy came into the care of the English Football Association, who kept it at their headquarters at Lancaster Gate, displaying it publicly only on a few well-organized occasions.
However, in February the Stanley Gibbons Stamp Company applied to the FA for permission to “borrow” the trophy, to be used as the central attraction for its Stampex exhibition the following month. The company promised it would be well guarded and covered it with a $30,000 insurance policy, even though it was only valued at $3,000.
In March the exhibition opened at the Central Hall in Westminster. Two guards were employed to be near the trophy day and night, accompanied by two plainclothes policemen during the day. But still, it was later admitted that neither had their eyes on the prized cup at all times.
On Sunday March 20, security guards conducting their noon inspection discovered that the cabinet containing the Jules Rimet trophy had been opened with prayer and the award was missing.
Scotland Yard took over the investigation immediately, but the first leads failed. Then, on Monday 21 March, FA Chairman Joe Mears received an anonymous phone call at his office. The caller said Mears could expect a package, addressed to him, to be delivered to Chelsea Football Club the next day.
But the package made it to the Mears house. It contained the removable lining of the Jules Rimet trophy and a note demanding fifteen thousand pounds in small notes. The note further instructed the FA to place a coded advertisement in the personals column of The Evening News. If subsequent demands followed, the note continued, they would get the trophy back on Friday.
The events of the following days seem like something out of an old gangster movie. Mears contacted Scotland Yard, who began to put a plan into motion. Fake money packages were created and two officers were assigned to be with Mears at all times. Meanwhile, he was sent home to await another phone call.
When the phone call finally came, a terrified Mears was in the throes of an asthma attack. His wife gave the phone to his assistant McPhee (who in real life was Detective Inspector Buggy). “McPhee” was instructed to proceed, cash in hand, to nearby Battersea Park.
Buggy moved forward, followed by several Flying Squad colleagues in unmarked cars. At the gate he was met by a “Mr. Jackson” Buggy who showed the man the suitcase and didn’t realize the coin was counterfeit. Buggy demanded to see the trophy before handing over the money. Jackson agreed, getting into Buggy’s car and promising to take him to the trophy.
Somewhere along the way, “Jackson” realized that they were being followed and became agitated. He told Buggy to stop at the next set of lights so he could go find the trophy from his stash. After getting out of the car, he sped away. Buggy gave chase and eventually found him hiding in a private garden. At the police station he was identified as Edward Betchley, a local car salesman and petty thief. He was charged with the theft and the subsequent extortion attempt, but the Jules Rimet trophy was still missing.
On March 27 a local, David Corbett and his dog Pickles were walking in the Beulah Hill area of South London, as was their custom. The dog discovered a package, roughly wrapped in newspaper. Corbett opened it and recognized its contents immediately. He immediately handed over the Jules Rimet World Cup trophy to the local Gypsy Hill police station. His browser may not support the display of this image.
Although initially under suspicion, Corbett had an unerring alibi for the time of the theft and after FA officials positively identified the trophy as genuine, news of its recovery broke and Pickles found himself hailed as a national hero.
Corbett received a $12,000 reward, and Pickles even had a brief career in movies. In the summer of 1966 England won the World Cup, so the Jules Rimet trophy remained hidden in England for another year. Immediately after the recovery of the original, a replica was created to be displayed for public purposes.
In 1970, at the man’s own instructions 40 years earlier, when Brazil triumphed in the competition he devised for the third time, they were awarded the Jules Rimet trophy to stay. A new trophy was created to be awarded to future winners. Your browser may not support the display of this image.
In 1983, the Jules Rimet cup was stolen once more and has never been found. Investigators believe it was immediately melted down for its gold value, and Pickles the dog was no longer around to help them search for it.
