Introducing The Joe Kirkup Collection
If you are a football fan, there is always an era of shirts and the players who wore them that really gets the blood pumping, and for me it’s the 1960’s and 70’s. Flares and flair a plenty!
Everything from that era just ticks all the boxes for yours truly and, for that matter collectors in general, so having the privilege of offering the collection from Joe Kirkup is just more than a bit special. Someone was once quoted as saying “if you want a footballer or cricketer, just go to the top of a mineshaft and shout”- so many great names came from mining areas up North, and Joe was no different. Born in Hexham in 1939, I suppose he could have been on the radar of any of the Clubs up there back then, and let’s face it, Newcastle and Sunderland were no slouches when it came to harvesting local talent. But his journey would take him much further, and it was West Ham United who got his signature, so it was off to Green Street for the North Eastern boy.
He was a Youth Cup Winner in 1956/57 alongside future Hammers boss John Lyall, signing pro at the age of 17. Arguably his finest hour in the claret and blue was the European Cup Winners Cup Final at Wembley in 1965, and he made 165 appearances for the Boleyn ground club before a short tube trip across town took him to Stamford Bridge to become one of the King’s Road’s finest for a spell. He made history by being one of the first players named as substitute for the Pensioners that day in the 1967 FA Cup Final against Spurs, with the immortal Cliff Jones returning the favour on the Cockerill’s bench.
Sadly, he didn’t get a chance to add to his medal tally as he wasn’t used in the game, one that Chelsea sadly lost that day. 53 appearances in a little over a year were then followed by a move down on the coast with The Saints, and he settled there until departing for South Africa and Durban City in 1975.
The items we have curated are simply lovely and have been cherished by the man who won them from the day were received until they came to us. The 1965 European Cup Winners Cup shirt – claret and blue beauty that it is, long sleeved Bukta cotton with the wonderful official embroidered badge for the game alongside the Chelsea Umbro No.12 substitute special, accompanied by the walk out track suit for the game- now, the shirt is something else, and in remarkable condition. But period tracksuit tops are absolutely on the money as we speak and this is one of the best we have seen - Chelsea blue with the wonderful period badge, yellow mustard collar and cuffs with the club name matching on the back and bottoms to match. Beautiful.
Its always a genuine pleasure when these things come from the player, and there is, of course, no better provenance, and that means everything in the auction world. They are an undoubted highpoint in our September sale, and that is some accolade given the constant quality that we have to offer. The catalogue is live now, so have a look for yourselves at the Joe Kirkup collection and marvel at the items and the stories behind them. Enjoy.
