Dallaglio's World Cup medal sells for £54,000 at sports memorabilia auction
Lawrence Dallaglio's 2003 World Cup winner's medal sold for £54,000 at a 332-lot Budds auction, as a Michael Jordan jersey fetched over £10m and the memorabilia market hits new highs.
At a glance
- Lawrence Dallaglio's 2003 Rugby World Cup winner's medal sold for £54,000 at a Budds auction of sporting memorabilia.
- A Michael Jordan jersey from the 1998 NBA finals sold for over £10m this week, two weeks after another fetched £9.3m.
- Babe Ruth's 1932 World Series jersey remains the most expensive sports memorabilia item, selling for over £18m in 2024.
A medal from Lawrence Dallaglio's 2003 Rugby World Cup win sold for £54,000 at a Budds auction house sale of sporting memorabilia, near the bottom of its estimate. The former England captain's collection formed the centrepiece of the 332-lot “Octoberfest” sale, which also featured shirts worn by Harry Kane, Eric Cantona's shorts and the coffee table Des Lynam used in the BBC's 1998 World Cup studio.
Dallaglio, declared bankrupt a year ago, is the latest in a line of sportspeople to sell mementoes of their careers. Boris Becker raised nearly £700,000 seven years ago by selling trophies, including a replica of the US Open trophy he won against Ivan Lendl in 1989, though it did not prevent further trouble with the taxman.
The auctioneer's view
The sale was run by auctioneer David Convery, who has spent three decades on the podium and has secured world-record prices, from the oldest surviving FA Cup to Pelé's 1970 World Cup final shirt. He said it was rare for items such as Dallaglio's England and Lions caps — with old-fashioned gold braid, tassel and individually numbered peaks — to reach the market; they drew a flurry of bids. A set of tankards from his collection sold for £1,600. An unattributed Barclays Manager of the Month trophy, travel case included, outstripped its estimate at £700.
Not everything flew. Diane Modahl's leotard from the 1998 Commonwealth Games found no takers even at £50 with the 800m runner's spikes and signature thrown in. A £5 note autographed by Jack Nicklaus did considerably better. Postwar names were out of vogue: Trevor Bailey's touring blazers went for less than a decent new one at John Lewis, while Paul Stirling's Ireland T20 shirt was worth more than Godfrey Evans's wicketkeeping gloves.
Record prices at the top
The Budds sale took place as the top of the market reached new heights. This week a jersey worn by Michael Jordan in game two of the 1998 NBA finals, his “Last Dance” season with the Chicago Bulls, sold for over £10m. Two weeks earlier his game three jersey fetched £9.3m, breaking the record set by his game one jersey, which Sotheby's sold in 2022. Babe Ruth's jersey from his “called shot” in the 1932 World Series is still the most expensive item of sports memorabilia, having sold for over £18m in 2024.
Globalisation and the internet have transformed the market over two decades, with game-worn football shirts now bought by billionaires. An anonymous buyer paid over £7m four years ago for the shirt Diego Maradona wore for the Hand of God goal, swapped at the final whistle with England's Steve Hodge. Six of Lionel Messi's Argentina shirts proved to be worth more than the entire turnover of his own clothing line.
Smaller lots still drew competition: the Des Lynam coffee table, previously owned by Robbie Williams, went to a UK bidder for £800 after a transatlantic contest with a US rival. After three hours, the auctioneer was still going strong.
Source: The Guardian Business.
Questions and answers
- How much did Lawrence Dallaglio's World Cup medal sell for?
- His 2003 Rugby World Cup winner's medal sold for £54,000 at a Budds auction house sale, near the bottom of its estimate. His England and Lions caps also drew a flurry of bids.
- What is the most expensive item of sports memorabilia ever sold?
- Babe Ruth's jersey from the 1932 World Series, when he hit his “called shot” against the Chicago Cubs, sold for over £18m in 2024. That remains the record.
- Why is Lawrence Dallaglio selling his rugby memorabilia?
- The former England rugby union captain was declared bankrupt a year ago and is among sportspeople who have sold career mementoes. Boris Becker raised nearly £700,000 selling trophies seven years ago.
