History of Football Memorabilia

As football grew in popularity during the second half of the 19th century, so did the demand for soccer related collectables. The concept of football memorabilia therefore is nothing new but it`s unlikely that anyone could have predicted just how popular the hobby would become and just how much collectors would be willing to pay for individual items.
The official match day programme has existed for well over a hundred years but if you were to attend a game in the late 1800`s, the programme itself was likely to be a single card sheet with details of both teams. If any of these programmes survive, they are rare not just for their age, but for the fact that they were very flimsy and as a result, few have survived.
The value of those early programmes is hard to confirm, but a single sheet issue from the 1889 Cup Final between Wolves and Preston sold for over £21,000 which is a record for any individual programme. Generally speaking, the more prestigious a game was, the higher the value but as with any form of collecting, a programme is essentially worth as much as someone is willing to pay for it.
In the present day, collecting cards and stickers of favourite players is a popular pastime for young fans but once again the concept is nothing new. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, cigarette and trade cards of famous footballers were widely issued by the likes of Smiths, Taddy and Pinnace and many of these have survived today.
The value however differs tremendously and whereas one or two pounds could be enough to purchase one of the more common Pinnace cards, the rarer issues from Taddy can fetch several hundred pounds.
As football progresses, programmes became thicker and glossier and other items of memorabilia were introduced as well. Rosettes in particular became very popular with supporters and items from the 1950`s and 1960`s are highly sought after by today`s collectors.
Club handbooks were issued every season and these were enthusiastically collected and read by home fans. Once again, you can expect to pay over a hundred pounds for some of the earlier and rarer issues.
Outside of the UK, the match day programme was something of a rarity in some countries and in places such as Italy, newspapers were printed and collected by the travelling fans. Any of these that have survived are very collectable indeed.
Perhaps the rarest of the more modern programmes was issued in 1973 for the European Cup Final between Ajax and Juventus in Belgrade. Only a few programmes were issued and there are conflicting stories as to why this happened. One suggestion is that they were only produced for dignitaries and officials while another version claims that the original printer was paid in advance and disappeared with the money.
Whichever account is true, you can now expect to pay up to £3000 for an original version of this programme.
These days, the trade in memorabilia has exploded thanks to the arrival of online auction houses. Modern collectables are popular too and if you`re interested in player shirts or signed photos, it`s a good idea to take tours of Anfield or any other ground in the country where these are widely displayed inside the stadiums.