THE 15-carat gold 1930 FA Cup winners’ medal belonging to Bolton Wanderers’ legend David Jack is set to fetch between £10,000 and £15,000 at auction.
Bolton-born Jack — one of the greatest goalscorers Bolton has ever produced — TWICE made football history.
He was the first player to score at the newly-built £800,000 Wembley Stadium when he starred for Bolton in their historic 2-0 win against West Ham in the first Wembley FA Cup final on April 28,1923.
Then, five years later, on October 13, 1928, he became Britain’s most valuable footballer — and Britain’s first £10,000 footballer — when Bolton sold him to Arsenal for a record £10,890, which is where he was playing when he won the medal.
This would have been enough to buy 21 homes in Bolton — the average house cost just £500.
David Bone Nightingale Jack was the son of another Wanderers player and solicitor’s clerk, Robert “Bob” Jack, and lived in Kirkby Road, Heaton.
He was born on April 3, 1899, and went on to become one of Bolton’s greatest players. Between 1920-1921 and 1928-1929, Jack scored 144 goals for Bolton in 295 Football League matches, more than repaying the £3,000 Wanderers paid Plymouth Argyle to bring Jack home to his beloved Bolton in December, 1920.
During his eight-year spell at Burnden Park, Jack twice helped Bolton win the FA Cup — in 1923 and 1926. He then won a third FA Cup winner’s medal — now coming up for sale — with Arsenal in 1930 and also helped the Gunners win three Football League championships, in 1930-1931, 1932-1933 and 1933-1934.
Altogether, he scored 113 goals in 181 league matches for Arsenal.
When his playing days were over, he managed Southend United (1934-1940), Middlesbrough (1944-1952) and League of Ireland club Shelbourne (from 1953).
He also worked for the Inland Revenue.
Jack was aged just 59 when he died on September 10, 1958.
His 1930 FA Cup winners’ medal will be offered for sale at Graham Budd Auctions at Sotheby’s on November 5.
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