The earliest known surviving programme from football's FA Cup final will auction as part of Graham Budd Auctions' May 13-14 Sporting Memorabilia sale.
 The Old Etonians became the last amateur team to win the FA Cup |
The programme dates to 1882 and is valued at £20,000-25,000 ($31,000-38,800), as a crucial artefact in the development of the world's most popular sport.
See the amazing stock of football memorabilia we have for sale, which includes signed items from the 1966 World Cup.
The 1882 FA Cup final saw the Old Etonians - a team made up from previous attendees of Eton College - pitted against Blackburn Rovers at the Kennington Oval. The Old Etonians prevailed, winning 1-0, to become the last amateur club to win the coveted cup.
The programme was originally owned by lawyer Sir Thomas Berry Cusack-Smith, who had himself been educated at Eton. In a diary entry that will be offered with the programme, he writes:
"Gigas came to lunch. Went with him & Guy to The Oval and saw the Etonians win the Cup after a most exciting match in the presence of 5,000 persons. Met S. Goodhart & J.B. Bradshaw."
Cusack-Smith has underlined six Old Etonian players within its pages, annotating, "THOSE MARKED DESERVED NOTICE". The reverse of the booklet bears an advert for a weekly sports magazine.
Paul Fraser Collectibles interviewed auctioneer Graham Budd on the potential of sports memorabilia. We also have a superb interview with Kevin Moore, director of the National Football Museum.
