The late Liverpool FC captain Emlyn Hughes's memorabilia collection sold for a combined £1.2m at an auction held on November 2, with multiple world records broken. The auction, run by BUDDs, included match-worn shirts, medals and tracksuits from Hughes's illustrious career.
Auction highlights and record sales
Kevin Keegan's match-worn Hamburg shirt from the 1977 Super Cup fetched the largest amount at £84,500, setting a world record. Hughes's collection also featured shirts he traded with football icons such as Johan Cruyff and Franz Beckenbauer. The shirt traded with George Best from England's game against Northern Ireland in 1970 sold for £49,400.
Hughes's match-worn shirt from when he captained Liverpool to their first European Cup in 1977 went for £72,000, while the winner's medal sold for £52,000. The League Championship winning plaque from the 1972/73 season achieved £62,400.
Family reflections on the sale
Hughes, who died of a brain tumour aged 57 in 2004, is the only player in Liverpool's history to captain the club to two European Cup titles. His children, Emma and Emlyn Jr, spoke to the ECHO at a public viewing last month, expressing their desire to share their dad's legacy with people worldwide.
Emma said: "Someone asked before, 'how are you feeling?' I feel proud, but on the day when they're going, I probably will feel emotional." Emlyn Jr added: "There will be emotions because there are stories he told about 77, 74 and one of the long sleeve shirts in the 1971 FA Cup Final. It'll be those memories when they do sell, when they do go through the auction that will come to the forefront."
Decision to part with the collection
The family made the difficult decision to sell the memorabilia after their mum, Barbara, died last year. The collection had been stored in boxes for many years, as Emlyn Jr explained: "They've been in the family for 50 years, but we made the choice to let other people enjoy them."
Emma noted: "Unfortunately he died before he met any of his three grandchildren. My son said I can go on social media and see what he's done, but they've never been on display anywhere, so it's not like you're going to be missing them."
Reflecting on how their dad would want to be remembered, Emlyn Jr said: "He would like to be remembered by the fans as he put everything into wearing that shirt. Every ounce of energy, everything he could do, went in to make Liverpool successful. And to be fair, he didn't do to bad of a job." Despite Hughes's success, his children remember him simply as their dad, with Emlyn Jr adding: "At the end of the day, it was dad. That was what he did. It's taking seeing it like this to appreciate it a little bit more. I'm immensely proud of what he did."
