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Lot 71
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← Football & Racing 1st November 2006

George Best's Northern Ireland home international debut jersey worn in the match v Uruguay at Windsor Park Belfast 19th April 1964, a green No.7 with white v-neck collar & cuffs, short-sleeved, embroidered IFA cloth badge; sold with a certificate of authenticity signed by George Best (2) On 19th April 1964 Northern Ireland recorded an emphatic 3-0 victory over Uruguay in a match that marked the home international debut of the seventeen-year-old George Best, having won his first cap in the match against Wales at Swansea a fortnight earlier. The vendor of the shirt was a personal friend of George Best and acquired the shirt through a contact at the Uruguayan F.A. in 1997, as it had been swapped in an exchange after the game. Subsequently, George Best personally signed a card confirming that he wore the shirt on his home debut, and this is offered in the lot. In Joe Lovejoy's biography Bestie (published by Macmillan), Best's team-mate Terry Neill vouches for the fact that the young George stood out against Uruguay in difficult conditions: 'I remember we were all in the dressing room getting ready and me, being the conscientious pro who had to work at everything, had my boots polished, with lovely, new, clean, white laces in them. I was admiring myself in the mirror then I spotted Bestie, shaking his boots and banging them on the floor to get the mud off from the last game. I'd done everything right, had my proper rest, trained hard and looked after my gear, and here was this kid who looked as if he'd just woken up after a night out, with kit like a tramp, and he was the one who went out and played like a star. George was playing on the right, and the Uruguayan left-back was intent on tackling him anywhere from the eyebrows down ... I couldn't see the point of anyone getting hurt unnecessarily when we were just about to go off on our summer break, so I sidled over to George and said ''He's trying to 'do' you, drop deep and stay out of trouble if you like.'' I was wasting my breath. George was in the mood, completely irrepressible, and played the guy like a matador. We stuffed them 3-0 ... He totally destroyed that full-back.

Hammer Price:
£11,000
Estimated Price:

£7,000 - £10,000

George Best's Northern Ireland home international debut jersey worn in the match v Uruguay at Windsor Park Belfast 19th April 1964, a green No.7 with white v-neck collar & cuffs, short-sleeved, embroidered IFA cloth badge; sold with a certificate of authenticity signed by George Best (2) On 19th April 1964 Northern Ireland recorded an emphatic 3-0 victory over Uruguay in a match that marked the home international debut of the seventeen-year-old George Best, having won his first cap in the match against Wales at Swansea a fortnight earlier. The vendor of the shirt was a personal friend of George Best and acquired the shirt through a contact at the Uruguayan F.A. in 1997, as it had been swapped in an exchange after the game. Subsequently, George Best personally signed a card confirming that he wore the shirt on his home debut, and this is offered in the lot. In Joe Lovejoy's biography Bestie (published by Macmillan), Best's team-mate Terry Neill vouches for the fact that the young George stood out against Uruguay in difficult conditions: 'I remember we were all in the dressing room getting ready and me, being the conscientious pro who had to work at everything, had my boots polished, with lovely, new, clean, white laces in them. I was admiring myself in the mirror then I spotted Bestie, shaking his boots and banging them on the floor to get the mud off from the last game. I'd done everything right, had my proper rest, trained hard and looked after my gear, and here was this kid who looked as if he'd just woken up after a night out, with kit like a tramp, and he was the one who went out and played like a star. George was playing on the right, and the Uruguayan left-back was intent on tackling him anywhere from the eyebrows down ... I couldn't see the point of anyone getting hurt unnecessarily when we were just about to go off on our summer break, so I sidled over to George and said ''He's trying to 'do' you, drop deep and stay out of trouble if you like.'' I was wasting my breath. George was in the mood, completely irrepressible, and played the guy like a matador. We stuffed them 3-0 ... He totally destroyed that full-back.