A former Albion director made a unique addition to his memorabilia collection when football legend Sir Tom Finney autographed an FA Cup final ball from more than 50 years ago.
Baggies vice-president Joe Brandrick met Sir Tom at Deepdale as Albion took on Preston in the Championship.
And Joe, who stood down earlier this year from the board, re-acquainted Sir Tom with the ball that was used in the 1954 FA Cup final between the sides.
Albion won the game 3-2 having finished as runners-up to Wolves in the old First Division, but there were no hard feelings from 85-year-old Sir Tom last night as he signed the ball that has already been autographed by surviving Baggies team member Ray Barlow.
“It was very disappointing from my point of view and the point of view of the Preston players,” Sir Tom said.
“You are always disappointed when you lose in a cup final. But they were a good side, they really were.”
Joe, of Wombourne, is a long-time collector of Albion and general sports memorabilia and he bought the historic ball last year from the family of Len Millard, who captained Albion in the cup final.
It is kept with other club exhibits in the Albion museum at The Hawthorns.
Albion won in 1954 through two Ronnie Allen goals and a Frank Griffin strike. Angus Morrison and Charlie Wayman scored for Preston.
Sir Tom – an outside right regarded as one of England’s finest ever footballers – played 433 times for Preston and scored 187 goals.
He won 76 England caps and scored 30 times.
He remains North End president.
One Comment
I ran the No.4 T.R.R.E. HQ Sqdn football team in Aldershot and we were granted ONE ticket. All the team except one said I could buy it if they won the raffle. Guess who won it? And this Geordie bloke supported Newcastle!! So I watched us beat Preston 3-2 for the 1954 Cup Final in the NCOs NAAFI room on a 9 inch black and white TV. He came back from Wembley wishing I’d gone instead. We had beaten Newcastle up there 7-3 six months earlier and he was STILL sulking.