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00:09We're a nation obsessed with sport.
00:11Every year we spend 9 billion hours either playing it or just watching it.
00:18And Britain has been the birthplace of so many sports which are now played the world over.
00:24In this special programme we'll be celebrating four of our most popular games.
00:28Football, rugby, cricket, tennis and the Olympics. Something for everybody.
00:36At our roadshows across the UK we asked you to share your cherished sporting mementos.
00:42What he achieved was groundbreaking. He actually changed racing.
00:47We'll be visiting some of our hallowed sports grounds and delving into the archives.
00:52From ancient manuscripts at Lord's Cricket Ground.
00:54These are the oldest written rules of cricket still in existence.
01:00To a coin used to start the most important match in English football history.
01:05Oh my goodness me.
01:07There cannot be many people stupid enough to pay thousands of pounds for a penny.
01:12But it's what the penny represents.
01:14Our experts get a glimpse of the extraordinary archives at the home of tennis.
01:18Down here we've got Tim Henman's racket from 2002.
01:22Oh it's very tempting to...
01:24We'll be speaking with legendary British Olympians and Paralympians.
01:29It was the greatest sporting moment of my life.
01:35It makes me emotional just talking about it.
01:40And we'll hear the remarkable story of the lost lionesses.
01:43Footballers who fought for the right to play on the world's greatest sporting stage.
01:48After playing in front of a few people at home on park pitches.
01:51We played in front of 95,000.
01:54We felt like celebrities.
01:57Welcome to a special sporting edition of the Antics Roadshow.
02:08We begin with the country's favourite sport.
02:11Football.
02:13Every year over 2 million people play.
02:16And stadiums see 50 million people come through the gates.
02:21And today we're at Craven Cottage, home to Fulham FC.
02:26London's oldest professional club, dating back to 1879.
02:34Various games called football date back centuries.
02:38But the sport we know today comes from the Victorian era.
02:41In 1863 the Football Association came together to lay down the rules.
02:46including no picking up the ball and no player shall wear projecting nails or iron plates on his boots.
02:53At our show at Shuttleworth House in Bedfordshire,
02:56Mark Allum saw a group of items from when these rules had only just been agreed.
03:02This is a story about early football, isn't it?
03:05It's about a very, very personal story for you too.
03:09And I'm captivated by this wonderful Victorian photograph here in the centre.
03:14So the gentleman at the front with the medals, that's my great-grandfather.
03:18He was born in 1867.
03:20Right.
03:20He founded that club, the Norfolkians Football Club, in about 1882.
03:26And of course we're talking amateur football here.
03:28Yes.
03:28Yeah.
03:29The name Norfolkians is a bit weird because it was based in Maidenhead.
03:33But I think it comes from the fact it was close to Norfolk Park or Norfolk Road or something like
03:38that,
03:38which is where the name comes from.
03:39Right.
03:40And they obviously did quite well as an amateur team, won a lot of cups and everything else.
03:44Yeah.
03:45And that's the photograph of the team after they had won the Wickham Cup in 1892.
03:49Right.
03:50Well, I can see they did rather well because we've got rather a lot kind of going on in this
03:54case particularly, haven't we?
03:55And we can see him actually wearing these on his jacket, his blazer.
03:59Now, what I love about that is this absolutely tangible connection between these objects and him and you, in essence.
04:08I mean, this has obviously been in the family for 130, 140 years.
04:12Yeah.
04:12So it's nice to be able to go back.
04:14And there's a bit of background, in fact, because the Norfolkians, they ended up merging with the Maidenhead Football Club.
04:20Right.
04:20But they hated each other.
04:22Oh, right.
04:22OK.
04:23And there were numerous press stories and papers and things like that from the period where there were fights.
04:29People got sent off because they attacked spectators.
04:32Oh, my gosh.
04:32Well, I can see from the third case as well that this story evolved, didn't it?
04:37Because over there we've got lots of F.A. stewards badges and they're all variously dated from the 1920s and
04:4330s.
04:44So what happened?
04:44I presume he moved on from his playing days, didn't he?
04:47Indeed.
04:48Yeah.
04:48The club itself, he left in about 1913.
04:52Right.
04:52At which time he was the general secretary.
04:54But even from then onwards, he actually became part of the F.A.
04:58who was one of the junior people, was heavily involved in being stewards at the equivalent of the F.A.
05:03Cups and things like that,
05:04which in those days was held in Crystal Palace because Wembley, of course, wasn't built until 1923.
05:09But some of these are after 1923, so they would have been presumably at Wembley.
05:15I'm quite enamoured of the idea of this as a complete sort of story and timeline.
05:21And I think this is quite a valuable little collection in terms of early football memorabilia.
05:27I know you're not going to sell this, but I think contextually with the photographers and particularly some of those
05:32good F.A. stewards badges,
05:34I think, you know, putting a value on this for auction in a good sporting sale, I can easily see
05:39this being worth around about £2,000 to £3,000.
05:42I think he'd be shocked.
05:45A really, really good little collection to see.
05:52From these amateur beginnings in Victorian Britain, the high point of British football history remains the Men's World Cup win
05:59in 1966.
06:02The home tournament saw England face off against West Germany in the final at Wembley.
06:07Over 96,000 people crowded into the stadium to see England's 4-2 victory, with a further 32 million people
06:16watching at home,
06:17making it still the most watched event in British television history.
06:23And back at Craven Cottage, I've arranged to meet Nigel Ray, one of the world's foremost collectors of sports memorabilia,
06:29and the proud owner of two objects from this iconic match.
06:35Nigel, tell me about this shirt and who it belonged to.
06:38Nobby Siles.
06:39The famous image of him running around Wembley in 66.
06:43No teeth.
06:44Memorably.
06:45This is his shirt.
06:46He actually wore it in 66 finals.
06:48Wow.
06:48I mean, what an iconic bit of kit, my goodness, from that game.
06:53I mean, how important was he to England's success that day?
06:55I think it was huge, actually.
06:57There's some great stories about what Alfa Ramsey asked him to do,
07:02which was basically hunt the good players down and...
07:05Take them down.
07:06Yes.
07:07He wasn't a brilliant footballer, but he stopped people.
07:11He was a man-stopper.
07:12Yeah, literally, yes.
07:13And what was he like off the pitch?
07:14You couldn't get anybody more modest.
07:17Manchester United, through and through, lived and died for it.
07:20A great guy.
07:21Great guy.
07:21Well, listen, we're not only looking at Nobby Siles' shirt from the 1960s game,
07:25you've also got the coin from the coin toss.
07:28I will even give it to you,
07:29provided you provide not to drop it down the drain.
07:32Oh, my goodness me.
07:34Look at that.
07:36And there cannot be many people stupid enough
07:38to pay thousands and thousands and thousands of pounds for a penny.
07:43But it's what the penny represents.
07:45I mean, to all the footy fans out there,
07:46there's something magnificent about 1966, of course.
07:50Also something slightly tragic, and that is the last time we won.
07:53Yeah.
07:54And we still live off it.
07:55Because I live off it.
07:57Younger people watching today will not recognise this.
07:59I do, and you do, as an old English penny, of course.
08:02I mean, this is what we grew up with.
08:03I can't even remember.
08:04Was a penny worth 2.4 pence?
08:06I don't know.
08:07Or decimalisation, I don't know.
08:08I would take it down to the corner shop to get sweets.
08:10I don't know about you.
08:11But what a fantastic thing to hold in my hand.
08:14My goodness.
08:15I mean, all my family are crazy football fans.
08:17But to have this next to Nobby Saza's shirt.
08:21And do you think the way this coin landed on that day,
08:23do you think that made any difference to us winning or losing?
08:25No.
08:28Well said.
08:29What a thrill to see it.
08:30Thank you so much.
08:31Thank you very much.
08:34We'll have more stories from the beautiful game later in the programme.
08:43But now we travel across London to another legendary sporting ground.
08:49This is the long room at Lord's Cricket Ground,
08:53the home of the Marylebone Cricket Club,
08:55and to many, the home of cricket itself.
09:04Cricket doesn't have rules, it has laws.
09:07And since 1788, the MCC here at Lord's has been responsible for them.
09:12As with all sports,
09:13these were the results of years of tinkering and changing.
09:17And our sports memorabilia expert, David Convery,
09:20is with cricket archivist Richard Geffen,
09:22who brought some even older laws
09:25which show how different the game once was.
09:28Richard, we find ourselves at Lord's Cricket Ground here,
09:31surrounded by some wonderful memorabilia,
09:33but my focus and attention is on this document in front of us.
09:37Now, I've known about this, I've read about it,
09:40but to get to see it is a real treat for me.
09:42Tell us what it is. Go on.
09:44These are the oldest written rules of cricket still in existence.
09:49And they were written for a match in 1727
09:53between the Duke of Richmond and Mr Broderick.
09:55Now, the Duke of Richmond is based at Goodwood,
09:58in Goodwood House, in Chichester.
09:59And Mr Broderick's ground is at Pepper Harrow,
10:02which is between Milford and Godalming in Surrey.
10:06Now, at this time, rules were just local competitions.
10:09There was no sort of unified rules of any part of the country.
10:12So each set of rules was unique to that individual,
10:15or in this case, to the Duke and, of course, Mr Broderick.
10:18And I notice there's 16 written rules here.
10:21A few have caught my eye, of course.
10:2312 men. Yes.
10:24Number three, the ball being clothed or unclothed.
10:27Now, various interpretations of that rule,
10:29for me, obviously, catching the ball in the jumper
10:32or in the caps, ungentlemanly.
10:35Yes, yes.
10:36If you caught it, obviously, that was fine,
10:38but in those days, obviously, it wasn't allowed.
10:40And I think I'm right in saying it must have been quite difficult
10:42to be caught, because I think the ball was rolled along the ground
10:45in those early days, rather than bounced.
10:48And here, the rule states that if somebody's taken injured,
10:52you can replace them.
10:53Within Pepper Harrow, within the parish,
10:55and the Duke had to be a player from the last three games.
10:58But interestingly, if they couldn't find somebody,
11:01then the other side dropped one down.
11:03And the one that got me prize money, number 10 on the list here,
11:0712 shillings, wasn't a bad purse for those days.
11:09No.
11:10And modern money is about £2,000, £2,500, so not too bad.
11:14And very much in favour of the batsmen, with only two stumps.
11:17Yeah, absolutely.
11:19I have to say thank you for bringing it along.
11:20It's a real bucket list moment for me.
11:23I'm taking into account what the rules of football made.
11:272011, they were sold.
11:28They made just shy of £1 million.
11:30I reckon if it came to auction, I've no hesitation value in between £300,000 and £500,000.
11:36It is a true piece of sporting history.
11:38It's unique, isn't it?
11:42The first international cricket match wasn't played here, but in New York, between the USA and Canada,
11:48which Canada won by 23 runs.
11:51The first international game in England wasn't until 1880, against Australia.
11:57And then the game spread through the British Empire.
12:00And in 1932, the Indian Test cricket team came to these shores and played their first game at Lourdes.
12:06They'd have walked out of the long room, down these steps, onto the ground.
12:10And I expect they thought, as I am.
12:14Wow.
12:17And joining us at Lourdes are a father and daughter with items from that match.
12:24We've brought a cricket bat with us today.
12:26This has been in the possession of my father for over 20 years.
12:30I grew up in Hong Kong and my dad had a best friend when we were there called Solly.
12:35And I actually gifted my dad this cricket bat and the book that you see in front of us.
12:42The bat dates from 1932.
12:44It was his grandfather's, Surabhaja Kola, who was actually one of the players who toured in the 1932 Test Tour
12:52of England,
12:53which I believe, because India had just been awarded ICC official status,
12:58was the first test and the first tour India had officially done.
13:02So, historically, it's got an awful lot of relevance to it.
13:06He seems to have got pretty much all of the signatures from the county teams and the international teams.
13:13And it really is full, you know, front, back and even down the sides as well.
13:18It's just a fascinating piece of history.
13:20There's a scorebook that goes with it, which records all of the games across the tour.
13:25And the pages are absolutely full, so it was clearly a very gruelling tour.
13:30Quite excitingly, this page has documented one of the matches that they played here at Lourdes.
13:37Within it, there's a bowler on this page called Nissan.
13:40He has five wickets, so he's on the honour boards here at Lourdes.
13:45I've always felt like an imposter with a bat.
13:48I'd really always wanted to reconnect with Solly, and I'd love to give it back to him if he's still
13:53around.
13:54So, Solly, if you're out there, we have a bat and book for you.
14:08The first mention of men's cricket dates all the way back to the 1550s.
14:12But the earliest known women's game wasn't played until 1744.
14:17And it took until 1934 for the first international women's game between England and Australia in Brisbane.
14:25At our show at Shuttleworth House, Siobhan Tyrrell saw some items from one of the earliest pioneers of women's cricket.
14:33We've got a lovely blazer here and photographs.
14:36I mean, the blazer looks like it would possibly fit you.
14:38I think it might fit me.
14:40At the University of Bedfordshire, we house a tremendous archive of women's sporting history.
14:47And this particular blazer is from the 1920s.
14:52And it was worn, we believe, by a very famous England cricketer, Betty Snowball,
14:57who was also a student at Bedford between 1927 and 1930.
15:02So is this Betty here with her team?
15:05Yes, it's the Bedford cricket team.
15:08And there's Betty sitting at the front there with the cricket bat just in front of her.
15:11A great shot, isn't it?
15:13She would have been about 20, 21 years old then.
15:16Right, start of her career.
15:18Yes.
15:18She played for England at cricket from 1934 to 1949.
15:24She went in the first test match and she went over to Australia and to New Zealand.
15:29So she was an early trailblazer of cricket, women's cricket.
15:33She was indeed.
15:34And on the way back, the fourth test was in New Zealand.
15:38And Betty was only five feet and she scored 189 runs against New Zealand at Christchurch.
15:45And her record held for 88 years and 128 days.
15:51And it was only recently beaten by an England cricketer, Tammy Beaumont, in 2023.
15:58But she wasn't just a cricketer.
16:01She was a sports person, really, wasn't she?
16:03Absolutely.
16:04Though she played cricket for England, she played lacrosse and squash for Scotland.
16:09Amazing.
16:10These women were at the cutting edge.
16:12They were pioneers.
16:13Before the female cricketers, now that we see on television at last.
16:17So difficult to value.
16:19You've bowled me a tricky one here, haven't you?
16:22Sorry, I have.
16:23I think it needs to go into the right auction.
16:26So it really needs to go into a sporting memorabilia auction.
16:29And this area of collecting women's sporting memorabilia has really grown.
16:34And you've got an amazing archive here and it's lovely to have the photograph.
16:38That's got to be worth between £3,000 to £5,000.
16:42Such a growing market.
16:45Wow.
16:47Gosh.
16:48Quick question.
16:50Did we beat the Aussies?
16:52Of course.
16:52Yay!
17:00And women's cricket is increasingly getting the recognition it deserves.
17:04In 2022, the Eastgate at Lourdes was renamed in honour of Rachel Hayhoe Flint,
17:11ex-England captain and the first female cricketer to hit a six in a test match.
17:19Walking around Lourdes is like walking through the history of cricket.
17:23And one of the sport's most prized trophies is here in the club's museum.
17:29The Ashes Urn.
17:32The story of the urn dates back to 1882,
17:36when Australia beat England in a match played in London's other famous cricket ground,
17:40the Oval.
17:43It was the first time that England had been defeated on home soil.
17:47And the next day, this mock obituary appeared in the Sporting Times.
17:50And it said,
17:52In affectionate remembrance of English cricket, which died at the Oval, R.I.P.
17:58The body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia.
18:03Ouch.
18:05There was already a plan for the English team to head over to Australia.
18:09So when they set out three weeks later, the English captain, Ivo Bly,
18:13promised to recover the ashes of English cricket.
18:17England won the series 2-1.
18:19And after the final match, Ivo was presented with this small urn,
18:24thought to be a perfume bottle with ashes inside.
18:29What the ashes actually are is a bit of a mystery.
18:32One story says they're the ashes of a bale used in the final match.
18:37Another claims they're the remains of a wedding bale.
18:41Either way, the ashes have been fought over by countless players ever since.
18:45And while this replica urn is given to the winning captain,
18:49the genuine article remains here.
19:01Though international sporting competitions began with cricket,
19:04other sports soon followed.
19:06In rugby, the longest rivalry is between Scotland and England,
19:11starting in the 1870s.
19:13And our next sporting location is the Stonek Stadium,
19:17home of the Saracens Rugby Club.
19:20Here, our expert Adam Schoon is with rugby collector Geoff Nagel.
19:24When a player suits up for England for the first time,
19:27they're given a cap.
19:28And Geoff's collection shows how a sport which began on British school fields
19:32spread across the globe.
19:35Geoff, we're looking at three rugby caps from your collection,
19:39which bridge the dates from 1872 right through to 1909.
19:45Tell us a little bit about the first cap.
19:49This relates to the very beginning of 20th-side rugby,
19:53the first international in England,
19:55played at the Oval cricket ground on a very wet day.
19:59We then progress through to first fixture against the French, 1906,
20:04a very cold trip to Paris.
20:05And we end up with an unusual one with AWF,
20:09which relates to the first game against Australia,
20:11the Touring Wallabies, and then we play Wales and France.
20:14So you have an introduction to the game as it spreads globally.
20:19Yeah, so 20 men, then it went to 15.
20:23When did it change?
20:24Within a number of years.
20:25I mean, 20th-side on a wet pitch.
20:28That's a lot of...
20:29A lot of muscle pushing against each other
20:31and probably not a lot of finesse.
20:34So, looking at the cap,
20:35it's made of this absolutely beautiful velvet in panels.
20:39And, of course, they're quite sort of tinsel-y looking.
20:42You've got this absolutely gorgeous tassel.
20:45The origin is...
20:46The origin comes from rugby school,
20:48the different house caps.
20:50Hence the name.
20:51But you can imagine lots of proud Victorian gentlemen
20:53with their handlebars and pistachios,
20:55sitting with their arms folded.
20:57Incredibly proud of their individual caps.
21:00We once had an empire,
21:02and during that time,
21:04the military would go around the world.
21:06You think of New Zealand, Australia, South Africa,
21:10and they took the game with them.
21:12Yeah.
21:12And now it is absolutely global, isn't it?
21:15What makes these quite unusual is that they're dated.
21:18Normally, an England player will be given a plain cap,
21:21silver rose.
21:22Most people keep them blank,
21:24which makes it hard to identify.
21:26But these have all been embroidered,
21:28and you can relate them to certain players' careers.
21:31So, Thomas Batson from the Blackheath Club,
21:33and he played in the first three games at the Oval.
21:36And what about the man who earned this cap?
21:39Thomas Hogarth, interesting character,
21:41a shipyard worker from Hartlepool.
21:43He was invited to play for England.
21:46They were a player short on their first ever trip to Paris
21:49in that first international against the French.
21:50Now, that's interesting,
21:52because somebody from Hartlepool working in the ship industry,
21:57mixing probably with ex-public school boys.
22:00But you've got that first social mix,
22:03which is what rugby's all about today, isn't it?
22:05That's the way the game has spread.
22:07And then, finally, we move on to Frank Tarr.
22:11Frank Tarr was a solicitor who played for Leicester.
22:14Frank Tarr, sadly, passed during the war.
22:17He was the first international to sign up on the first day of the war.
22:21Sadly, like so many of that generation, he didn't come back.
22:25It does make this cap particularly poignant.
22:28Well, they're all in incredibly fine condition.
22:31Value-wise, I mean, this one, obviously, is incredibly rare, incredibly early.
22:39What a survivor.
22:41£5,000 to £8,000 for that one at auction.
22:43Very nice.
22:44And these two, I think, probably £2,000 to £3,000 apiece,
22:48maybe a little more, because you know who owned them.
22:52The fact we can relate them to individual characters...
22:54Yes.
22:54..and tell their story as well, they give a lot of pleasure.
23:01The competition between England and Scotland
23:03became known as the Calcutta Cup,
23:06named for its links to early British rugby clubs in India.
23:11And one viewer contacted us
23:13about a memento of that famous grudge match.
23:18This here in front of me is a corner flag
23:21from the Calcutta Cup, 1928, which took place in Twickenham.
23:27So this is my great-great-grandfather,
23:31Admiral Sir Percy Royds.
23:33He was the president of the Rugby Football Union
23:36from 1927 to 1928.
23:38He was a rugby player.
23:40He played three times for England.
23:43He also played for teams like Kent and the Barbarians
23:46and in the Royal Navy as well.
23:48It was given to him after the match took place.
23:51The flag is made of silk.
23:52It's got very intricate stitching, England v Scotland.
23:56And on the other side of this flag,
23:59it is this really pretty blue silk embroidery.
24:02We've got the England rose there and the Scotland thistle there.
24:05It is coming apart a little bit,
24:06but it's mostly in quite good condition.
24:09It is very interesting how they have these really pretty,
24:12delicate silk flags just flying on the poles on the corner
24:15while the match was taking place.
24:17And of course, there are four corners of the pitch,
24:19so there would be four corner flags in total.
24:22We only have this one,
24:23so there might be three still out there somewhere.
24:26So maybe if anyone watching does have another one from this match, 1928,
24:31you might have the other flags that go with this one.
24:35And it wasn't just England and Scotland who fell in love with the sport.
24:39In Wales, rugby came close to a religion.
24:43At our roadshow in Swansea,
24:45Ben Rogers Jones saw one of its greatest players
24:48immortalised in pottery.
24:50It's a great privilege and an honour to introduce
24:54two knights of the realm to the Antiques Roadshow.
24:57Sir Gareth Owen Edwards and Sir Gerald Reams-Davis,
25:03both huge heroes of mine from the golden years of Welsh rugby in the 1970s,
25:10knighted for their sporting prowess,
25:13and of course, their proud owner.
25:15How long have you had them?
25:16I've had them since 1977.
25:18These are my heroes.
25:20These are Gerald Davis and Gareth Edwards, fantastic players.
25:23Absolutely, yeah.
25:24They were top of the game, top of the world game in the 1970s.
25:29So these are grogs, of course.
25:31Yeah, grogs.
25:31Made in Pontypris.
25:33That's right.
25:33By a sculptor called John Hughes.
25:36That's right.
25:36And I've got great admiration for John Hughes
25:39because he was not just a great sculptor,
25:41but he was a brilliant entrepreneur.
25:44So he started potting in his shed in the back garden
25:48and realised he was pretty good.
25:50He bought an old pub, converted it into this shop
25:53and started tapping into the rugby market
25:56in the best time to do it in the 1970s.
25:58Oh, yeah.
25:59When Welsh rugby was on a high.
26:01So where do these sit at home?
26:02Oh, I go on a little bureau.
26:05They encapsulate the moment.
26:07You've got Gareth's sideburns and his flowing hair and that pose.
26:11He was so cheeky.
26:13He was so determined.
26:14And Gerald, the flying winger, with his beautiful moustache,
26:18beautiful hair, scoring a try.
26:21Absolutely fantastic.
26:22And it's so evocative of a brilliant time for Welsh rugby.
26:27It'd be really good to know what the players thought of these pieces
26:30because I'm not sure how I'd feel if I was a grog, in all honesty.
26:35It would be good to know.
26:37Shall we ask somebody?
26:38Er, yeah.
26:40Sir Gareth Edwards, how are you?
26:42Oh.
26:45Oh, hello.
26:46How are you?
26:49Come off it.
26:50Looks like you.
26:52Spitting.
26:53Spitting image, isn't it?
26:56So, do you remember your first grog?
26:59Yes, didn't look anything like that.
27:01In actual fact, it was very good looking.
27:05What he was good at, he captured the moment.
27:07Yeah.
27:07And that's what artists do, isn't it, really?
27:10You know, when I was looking there,
27:12I could see Gerald just putting that ball down.
27:16I would say, and forgive me, Sir Gareth,
27:20I think, on this occasion, Sir Gerald will make a little bit more
27:24than you, and I hope you don't mind.
27:28He can try.
27:29He can try.
27:31It's not quite as refined as Sir Gerald in this pose,
27:36and I think that's a really, really nice try-scoring pose.
27:40So, they're both brilliant,
27:41but I am going to give you estimates here.
27:45Gareth is getting demoted at £300 to £400.
27:50Sir Gerald, I think, would do rather well at £600 to £800 on this occasion.
27:58But there will be occasions when you do better, Sir Gareth, I can assure you.
28:02That'll do me.
28:10While football, rugby and cricket spread across the world,
28:14some Victorian sports did not take off.
28:17Walking competitions lasting days at a time,
28:20we've sadly left behind.
28:21And croquet was once a social phenomenon,
28:24one of the few games men and women could play together.
28:28In 1868, the All England Croquet Club was founded in Wimbledon
28:32to capitalise on the new craze.
28:36But it didn't take long for the hoops and mallets to make way
28:39for a brand-new sport sweeping the nation, lawn tennis.
28:46Hilary Kay went to see the archives of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club
28:50to find out more.
28:52Today, Wimbledon is the most-watched tennis event in the world,
28:56with over 500,000 people pouring through the gates each year
29:00and millions more watching from home.
29:02But how did this corner of West London come to be home
29:05to one of the world's favourite sports?
29:09Emma Traherne is the senior curator of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum
29:13and has dug out some of the club's earliest treasures to share with Hilary.
29:17We're surrounded by amazing things in the museum here at Wimbledon.
29:22Can you walk me through what we're looking at here on the table?
29:25Yes, we've got some very lovely items here.
29:27We've got 40,000 objects in the collection,
29:29so just a few of them here for you.
29:31There was a chap called Walter Wingfield
29:33who sort of launched lawn tennis, or sphöristike,
29:37was another word that he used to describe his new game in 1874.
29:43And this is one of his rule books here.
29:45OK.
29:46And you would buy your rule book,
29:47but you could also buy everything you needed to play lawn tennis,
29:51including the rackets, which he referred to as bats,
29:54your net, and it all came in a nice little box,
29:56a bit like a croquet set would come in.
29:59There were two different sizes,
30:00but most people bought the five guinea one,
30:02which was the smaller one,
30:03which was quite a lot of money in those days.
30:05I mean, it's interesting, isn't it?
30:06First of all, the title is in ancient Greek,
30:09and then to sell it for five guineas, which is about £750 today.
30:13It wasn't for everybody, this game.
30:15No, he was aiming at people who had time to play,
30:18and also croquet was a sport that was falling out of favour,
30:23and so he'd noticed all these big houses had their croquet lawns,
30:27were sort of lying idle.
30:28So that was his idea, was to design a game
30:31that men and women could play together,
30:33that was very important for him,
30:34on these less-used croquet pitches.
30:36So, what kind of man was Major Winfield?
30:41We do think that he was a bit of an inventor, generally.
30:44He invented a type of bicycle called the butterfly bicycle,
30:48and then after launching Lawn Tennis, quite a few years later,
30:51he launched something which he described as Bicycle Gymkhana,
30:55as well, which was cycling in sort of unison to music,
30:59mainly military marches, and he published a book on this
31:02and was hoping it was going to be the next Lawn Tennis,
31:04but obviously we're not all doing Bicycle Gymkhana now.
31:07I want to see that as an Olympic sport.
31:09That would be wonderful, wouldn't it?
31:10So it became a craze, and then between 1874, when it was launched,
31:16then in 1877, bang, you had the first Wimbledon Championship.
31:21I mean, it's extraordinary progress, isn't it?
31:24Yes, so 200 people turned up, paid their shilly to get in,
31:27and 22 men, it was just men then playing the singles.
31:31Spencer Gore beat William Marshall in the final,
31:34and he actually did say that he didn't think that tennis was going to catch on.
31:39He found it quite a monotonous sport, but luckily he was wrong.
31:50Tennis equipment has changed a lot
31:52since Spencer Gore won the first tournament with a wooden racket.
31:56And in the basement stores at Wimbledon
31:58is a treasure trove of rackets used at the Championships.
32:03My goodness, Emma, look at this.
32:05And this is extraordinary. What a collection.
32:08This is our main racket store.
32:10We have over 1,000 in the collection.
32:12We've actually got an example here
32:13of the earliest metal rackets that the public could buy.
32:17This racket was made in Aberdeen around the 1890s.
32:22It's quite heavy. It's strung with natural gut,
32:25but some of the other early metal rackets from the sort of 1920s,
32:29they tried stringing them with metal.
32:31The vibrations were very horrible on people's hands.
32:34I would never have believed that there'd be one from the 1890s,
32:37made of metal.
32:38The metal racket that I'm more familiar with was the racket that Billie Jean King used.
32:44Yes, the Wilson T2000.
32:47We've got an example here, and we've got many others in the collection.
32:50So this was basically the first successful metal racket.
32:54It was around the 1970s that the synthetic fibres of stringing did come in.
32:59Before that point, it was natural gut.
33:02It was often colloquially called cat gut, but it wasn't cat.
33:05It tended to be sheep or cattle.
33:07I heard that Djokovic and Roger Federer still use basically gut strings for their matches.
33:14Yes, some of the top players do choose to have either a mixture
33:18or natural gut stringing, yes, to their rackets.
33:21They haven't done too badly with it.
33:25And one level deeper in the stores are hundreds of clothes worn by famous players,
33:30from the mini skirts of the 1960s to the earlier outfits,
33:34which were a bit more, well, full coverage.
33:38This looks very early.
33:40What sort of date do you put on that?
33:41So around 1890, this is very much at that period
33:45what you might step out onto a lawn tennis court wearing if you were a lady.
33:49There weren't any rules about what you could wear on the tennis court
33:52for a very, very long time.
33:54Actually, that really early period,
33:56a lady would have just worn her normal dress on the court,
33:58so it would have been very, very colourful,
33:59whatever day dress she was wearing.
34:01But fairly quickly, after a couple of years,
34:04ladies decided that white might be a good idea.
34:07Basically, white doesn't show sweat.
34:09Exactly.
34:10So something like this would have been perfect.
34:12Yes, 1890s, it's that kind of lighter fabric as well.
34:15You can see it's sort of like a linen blend,
34:17so very good for a summer garden party.
34:21Was there a point when this sort of unofficial rule of wearing white
34:25became official at Wimbledon?
34:28Yes, actually, it was in 1962 that Moia Bueno
34:31wore an outfit with a shocking pink lining,
34:33and it was at that point we decided we would bring in a rule.
34:36So in 1963, it was predominantly white,
34:39is what everyone had to wear.
34:41In 1995, we tightened it up a bit further
34:44and it's almost entirely white.
34:46So now, there is no question that if you see somebody
34:49playing in white on a green surface,
34:51it is 99.9% certain to be at Wimbledon.
34:54Yes, that's right.
35:04There was only one tournament when players didn't have to wear white
35:08at Wimbledon, the Olympics in 2012,
35:11the culmination of which saw Andy Murray win gold
35:13against Roger Federer in the men's singles final.
35:17The 2012 London Games were the third time Britain had hosted the Olympics.
35:22And though Greece was home to the ancient games,
35:25the seed of the modern Olympics was planted here in Britain,
35:28in much Wenlock, a small Shropshire market town.
35:32In 1850, local surgeon William Pennybrookes
35:35wanted to promote the moral, physical and intellectual improvement of the town
35:39by hosting the Wenlock Olympian Games.
35:43These would go on to inspire the first modern Olympics in 1896.
35:4812 years later, in 1908,
35:51the Olympic Games were held in London for the first time.
35:55And at our show at Shuttleworth House,
35:57John Foster saw a gold medal from those games,
36:00won by Lieutenant Wyndham Halswell,
36:03under unique circumstances.
36:06My great-uncle joined the army.
36:09He ended up to be a very good runner in the army
36:12and got to the point of being the rest.
36:16Did the interim Olympics in Greece.
36:18Ran in London, I think it was his last race, probably.
36:21So you're kind of downplaying it a bit,
36:24because Wyndham Halswell really is a game-changer
36:28in the world of Olympics.
36:30Do you know that story?
36:32Vaguely.
36:32What he achieved was groundbreaking,
36:34because races weren't run in lanes at this point.
36:37It was just a free-for-all.
36:39And in other countries, like America,
36:42nudging was permitted.
36:44But in England, it wasn't.
36:46So as the race was going on,
36:49he was nudged by one or two Americans.
36:52They were then disqualified.
36:54And the race had to be rerun the next day.
36:57But the two Americans refused.
36:59So he actually had to run the race on his own the next day.
37:03It's quite...
37:04It's an unbelievable way to win a gold medal.
37:07So it must have been actually a real disappointment
37:10when you win an Olympic gold medal,
37:12but you win it because two people were disqualified,
37:15and then you end up running the race on your own.
37:18And I think that's actually what caused him
37:19to retire soon afterwards.
37:22Yeah.
37:22But the amazing thing is,
37:24when I say he was a game-changer,
37:25because he actually changed racing,
37:28because after that and the controversy that happened,
37:31that's why today races of this distance are run in lanes.
37:35Ah, that's the reason.
37:36So what did he do once he'd retired from running?
37:39Went back to being a soldier.
37:41And came this First World War, out he went,
37:44and sadly got killed in 1915.
37:47Wow.
37:48Going to the front.
37:49Going back to the medal, what's lovely,
37:52one is the condition.
37:52This is all original finish on here.
37:55And then you turn it over,
37:57and you can just see the detail in it.
38:00But then, around the collar,
38:03you've got the name there,
38:06Lieutenant Wyndham Haswell,
38:08winner, 400 metres.
38:10And so with something like this,
38:12you've got a value of £3,000 to £3,500,
38:17something in that region,
38:18for the gold value.
38:19When you add in the story,
38:22I would say an auction estimate,
38:25you're going to be at £20,000 to £30,000.
38:31That does surprise me, yeah.
38:33To have that in your family,
38:35it's just truly remarkable.
38:39It's a pleasure.
38:43As well as the Olympics,
38:45the precursor of the Paralympics
38:46began in Britain in 1948
38:48at the Stoke Mandeville Hospital.
38:51This trailblazing event
38:53would go on to inspire
38:54the first global Paralympic Games
38:56in 1960,
38:57held in Rome.
39:01Back at the Stonex Stadium,
39:02there's an incredible collection
39:04of Olympic and Paralympic memorabilia,
39:06including a section of the track
39:08from London 2012.
39:11Here, our expert Siobhan Tyrrell
39:13is with athlete Kaz Walton,
39:14who attended some of the earliest
39:16Paralympian Games,
39:18with items from an incredible career.
39:22Kaz Walton, OBE,
39:25I cannot get my head around
39:27how many sports you were involved in.
39:31It's almost too many to count, really,
39:33but swimming,
39:35table tennis,
39:37fencing,
39:38basketball.
39:39But the reasoning was
39:40because in the early days,
39:42there just wasn't enough money
39:45to fund teams
39:48where you had athletes
39:50doing individual events.
39:52So you either did
39:53two, three,
39:55or even four events
39:56at a Games,
39:58or you weren't selected,
39:59and it was as simple as that.
40:00I'd eat and breathe
40:01Paralympics, really.
40:03And we can see that
40:04with the medals
40:05that we've got here.
40:06Of all the gold medals
40:07that I won
40:08at Paralympic Games,
40:10they were all important.
40:12But I guess the first
40:14and the last one
40:15that I won
40:16just stand out
40:17a little bit for me.
40:18So of the first two
40:20from Tokyo in 1964,
40:23and the last one
40:24from Seoul in 1988.
40:27And you've got
40:28a Japanese doll here.
40:30What's that all about?
40:31The first Paralympic Games
40:33is recognised as Rome
40:34in 1960,
40:36and they were still exploring
40:38what they thought
40:39we could take part in,
40:41how much our bodies
40:42would be able to endure,
40:44sadly.
40:46So the first ever track events
40:48were actually held
40:49in 1964,
40:51and they were only 60 metres.
40:53I won the first ever
40:57women's track event
40:59and got presented
41:00with the doll,
41:02who's absolutely beautiful.
41:03That was a privilege.
41:05And I remember watching
41:06the 2012 London Paralympics.
41:09It was when, really,
41:11Paralympics sort of
41:12burst onto the scene,
41:14and it looked as plush
41:16and as well-presented
41:17as the Olympics.
41:19It was an absolutely
41:20huge step change
41:21for Paralympic sport.
41:23We've never had
41:24those sort of crowds.
41:24Phenomenal, isn't it?
41:26Absolutely.
41:27It makes me emotional
41:27just talking about it.
41:30And the coverage
41:31that we got too,
41:33that was a first.
41:34And the criticism
41:35that we got
41:37when we didn't do well
41:38in the sport,
41:39which annoyed me
41:40to start with,
41:41and then I thought,
41:42actually,
41:44that's equality.
41:45Absolutely.
41:52Competing at the highest level
41:54can be a solitary business
41:56with years spent training,
41:58often alone.
41:59So to share that journey
42:01with someone
42:01can make all the difference.
42:04We were contacted
42:06by an Olympian couple,
42:07swimmer Anita Porter,
42:09then Lonsborough,
42:10and cyclist Hugh Porter.
42:11In 1964,
42:13they both travelled
42:14to the Tokyo Games
42:15to compete.
42:16On the plane over,
42:17they met
42:18and fell for each other.
42:20At this stage,
42:21Anita was already
42:22an Olympic champion,
42:23having won gold
42:24in the 200-metre breaststroke
42:26in 1960,
42:27while Hugh
42:28was more of an up-and-comer.
42:30We caught up with them
42:31at Wolverhampton Mayor's Parlour,
42:33which now stores
42:34all of Hugh's medals,
42:36to hear the story
42:37of that journey
42:37that changed their lives.
42:40Most of the people
42:41were sleeping on a plane
42:42or trying to sleep.
42:43We were all sitting
42:44in your different sports
42:46and the swimmers
42:47were at the back
42:47and I was the only one
42:49on the team
42:49that couldn't sleep.
42:51I saw on the right
42:52were the modern
42:53pentathlon boys
42:54who I'd met
42:55four years earlier.
42:56So I stayed
42:57talking to them
42:58and then the cyclists
43:00started introducing themselves
43:02and joining the conversation
43:04and that's how I met Hugh
43:06and I was about to go back
43:08to my seat
43:09and they invited me
43:11to join him for breakfast.
43:12I played a nice there,
43:14didn't I?
43:14He's me sitting there
43:15with this aquatic megastar
43:17that has just about
43:18won everything
43:19and got more gold
43:20than Fort Knox
43:20and I'm sort of pouring out
43:23my disappointment
43:24of the year
43:24after the previous year
43:25and she,
43:27lovely Yorkshire lass,
43:28he's finding all the right words
43:29to encourage me
43:30and say, you know,
43:31getting it right
43:32and all that
43:32and we just sort of
43:34got on well,
43:34didn't we?
43:35Yes.
43:37Sadly for both of them,
43:381964 would not be their year.
43:41Hugh caught a cold
43:42which cost him a podium place
43:44and Anita struggled
43:45in what would be
43:46her last Olympic Games.
43:49I'd lost my fighting spirit
43:50and unfortunately
43:52I just faded down
43:54and finished seventh
43:55but I'd still broke
43:56my British record, so...
43:58Were you seventh?
43:58I thought you were fifth.
44:00Seventh.
44:00Seventh?
44:01Oh.
44:01An unusual position for you, darling.
44:03Yes.
44:04Yes.
44:07Hugh would then go on
44:08to win four world championships
44:10in the 5,000 metre
44:11individual pursuit.
44:13Their impressive medal hall
44:14finally crowned
44:15with matching MBEs.
44:17I suppose I was playing
44:18a bit of catch-up really
44:19because when I met
44:20this superstar,
44:22she had all these trophies
44:23and everything.
44:24Yes, I got mine
44:25ten years before, Hughie.
44:27Thank you for that.
44:28But I'm still younger than him.
44:33It's very, very important
44:34when you're competing
44:35at the ultimate level
44:36in sport,
44:37your partner's got to understand
44:39the demands
44:40and what's required.
44:41I remember one Christmas...
44:44Um...
44:44No, don't tell him that.
44:47Hughie obviously
44:48wanted to train
44:50and was it snow or rain?
44:51It was Christmas Day, I think,
44:52and he kept pouring with rain, didn't he?
44:54And so I got the turkey
44:55in the oven
44:56and then it stopped raining
44:57so he said,
44:58I must go out.
44:59So out came the turkey.
45:01Then it stopped again
45:02so the poor turkey
45:04mentioned he'd get cooked.
45:07It's been fabulous.
45:08You've had some super times,
45:09haven't you?
45:09We have.
45:10Had a lot of laughs.
45:11Yes, we have.
45:20Every Olympic Games
45:21leaves behind a legacy.
45:23Stadiums,
45:24velodromes
45:25and hopefully
45:25a generation of new athletes.
45:28Oh, come on.
45:30Get it out, man.
45:35And in 1984,
45:36one athlete's dedication
45:38would go on
45:38to inspire thousands.
45:42When Tessa Sanderson
45:44broke the Olympic record
45:45for the javelin
45:46in Los Angeles,
45:47she became the first
45:48black woman from Britain
45:49to win gold
45:50in a track and field event.
45:53Back at Craven Cottage,
45:55I was able to sit down
45:56with her
45:56to go through
45:57some of her cherished items
45:58and she came dressed
46:00for the occasion.
46:02Tessa,
46:03take us back
46:03to that moment
46:04in 1984
46:05when you walked
46:06up onto that podium
46:07to get your gold medal.
46:09What was it like?
46:10It was the greatest
46:12sporting moment
46:13of my life.
46:14The feeling
46:15was like having
46:16a house lifted
46:17off your head.
46:18I was not
46:19the person
46:20that was featured
46:21to win in the Games
46:22because, of course,
46:23there was this big rivalry
46:24between, you know,
46:25my British colleague
46:26and myself.
46:26I was ranked
46:27before going out
46:28to the Games.
46:29Yeah,
46:29Fatima Whitbread.
46:30The moment
46:31that javelin
46:32left my hand
46:33in the first round,
46:34first throw,
46:35I knew it felt good
46:37and I just thought
46:38when it landed,
46:39I thought,
46:39get that you lot now.
46:42It was a great feeling.
46:43When you came back
46:46after standing
46:47on that podium,
46:48what was that like?
46:49You know,
46:49my heart was racing
46:50because, you know,
46:51you finally feel,
46:52I've done it.
46:53I've actually won
46:54the biggest crown
46:55in sporting history
46:56and then from that,
46:58I went back
46:58to Wentzfield
46:59in Wolverhampton
47:00where I'd lived
47:01for a little while
47:01and my family was there
47:02and they had a bus
47:03that took me up
47:04to the Castle Pub
47:05where my dad
47:05used to sort of drink.
47:06My dad was one
47:07of our biggest fans
47:08and the feeling
47:09was just so euphoric.
47:11You just never forget.
47:13Look,
47:13you brought along
47:14some items.
47:15You're wearing
47:15your 1984 tracksuit.
47:18Looking great in it.
47:19Bit short in the legs.
47:20Now, come on.
47:21Still fit.
47:21You are rocking it, Tessa.
47:23We've got your medal.
47:24When I came back,
47:25all the kids out there
47:27who wanted to see it
47:28and things like that
47:29and the schools
47:29that were writing in it
47:30and saying,
47:31can we see your medal?
47:32I thought,
47:32let me do that
47:33because when I was young,
47:35I'd love an iconic person
47:37to have come in
47:37and seen me at the school
47:38so I remember once
47:40I went to Leeds
47:41to do a PA
47:42and I brought it up there
47:43and the kids came
47:44rushing at me like this
47:46and I stood there
47:47and I was going,
47:48oh yeah, hello kids
47:49but they grabbed the medal.
47:51I was just there,
47:52nothing to them,
47:53dropped the medal
47:54and dented it
47:55and I think it's the only medal
47:56that's got a little dent.
47:58Look there.
47:58Oh no.
47:59On the side.
48:00But,
48:01and their face was like,
48:02it doesn't matter.
48:04here's the gold medal
48:05you can touch my medal
48:06absolutely fine.
48:08I get more fun
48:09seeing it being worn
48:10and being looked at
48:11and touched.
48:12And then,
48:13what about these spoons?
48:14What's the story with these?
48:15I love this.
48:16This was the first
48:17Eight Nations games.
48:19They're so special
48:19because it's got all
48:21them flags on
48:22I've never seen that
48:23and when I have my kids,
48:24my adopted twins now
48:25I thought I'd give them
48:26a little feed
48:27out of it
48:28and then polish it
48:30and put it back.
48:31But,
48:31it's pretty special
48:33because I think
48:33there's only been
48:34two Eight Nations games
48:36nine in 78
48:37and then there was one
48:37in 82
48:38and I love it.
48:39I love them.
48:40You mentioned
48:41Fatima Whitbread.
48:42I remember watching
48:42both of you
48:43you know,
48:44on television
48:45your sporting prowess.
48:47What was that rivalry like?
48:49The rivalry
48:50was one of the best things
48:51I think
48:52that happened for me
48:53in track and field
48:54because
48:54it kept me on my toes
48:56and hopefully kept her
48:57on her toes
48:58and I think
48:59it was really good
48:59to have that
49:00all the time.
49:02I kept on thinking
49:03well,
49:03I want to beat you
49:04whenever I do.
49:06And as
49:07the first black woman
49:08to win a gold medal
49:09in track and field
49:10Yeah.
49:11I mean,
49:12did you feel the weight
49:13of that at the time?
49:14Was that significant
49:15for you?
49:16I didn't feel that
49:17until afterwards.
49:18It's been 41 years
49:19this year
49:20since I've won
49:21and so nobody
49:22male or female
49:23has ever won
49:24Olympics
49:25thrown gold medal
49:26for Great Britain.
49:26But as a black woman
49:28going out there
49:30and coming back
49:31with this
49:32later on
49:33I did feel
49:34I'm carrying a lot
49:35of this on my shoulder
49:36yes,
49:37because I want to inspire
49:39a lot more black girls
49:40to come forward.
49:41It's not about
49:42you know,
49:42the racism
49:43or racism
49:44that we're having.
49:45It's about creating
49:46this pathway.
49:47If I can do it
49:48you can have a go too.
49:51You know,
49:51let's not doubt ourselves.
49:52Here's confidence.
49:53Here's a little way forward.
49:55Take it,
49:55grab it,
49:56use it,
49:56even if it's not sport.
49:58Use it
49:58in the way
49:59that I've done.
50:06We remain
50:07at Craven Cottage
50:08for our final story,
50:09another of pioneering
50:11sportswomen.
50:13At the turn
50:14of the 20th century
50:15women's football
50:16was enormously popular
50:18with tens of thousands
50:19of people
50:19attending matches.
50:21But in 1921
50:22the Football Association
50:24declared that
50:24football is quite
50:26unsuitable for females
50:27and ban women
50:29from playing.
50:32The one drawback
50:34to this otherwise
50:35idyllic picture
50:36of young maidens
50:36at play
50:37is that strictly speaking
50:38they're outlawed
50:40by the parent body,
50:41the Football Association.
50:42The ban remained in place
50:44for decades
50:45and even when it was lifted
50:46generations of women
50:48were shut out.
50:49The men who coach
50:50these girls
50:50risk suspension
50:51from their own clubs
50:52if the FA hears about
50:54them dallying
50:55with ladies' football teams.
50:57In 1971,
50:59against the wishes
51:00of the FA,
51:01a group of players
51:01travelled to Mexico
51:02to take part
51:03in an unsanctioned
51:04Women's World Cup.
51:08Our expert
51:09Siobhan Tyrrell
51:09met with three women
51:11to hear the story
51:11of this tournament
51:12which showed how popular
51:14the sport could be again.
51:16You ladies have brought
51:17some football memorabilia
51:19in today.
51:19Can you explain
51:20who you are
51:21and then what
51:22this event was?
51:24I'm Leah Caleb
51:25and I was a player
51:26fortunate to go to
51:27Mexico in 1971
51:29to play in the
51:30Women's World Cup.
51:30Hi, I'm Gillian Sale
51:33and I also played
51:34in that World Cup
51:35at the age of 14.
51:37My name's Jean Williams
51:39and I'm a historian
51:40of sport
51:41and I've written a lot
51:42about this particular event.
51:44There was a ban
51:45on women's football
51:46in England
51:47from 1921
51:48until 1970
51:50and very shortly
51:51after that ban
51:52is overturned
51:54we have players
51:55going out to
51:56a Women's World Cup
51:57in Mexico.
51:58And this event
51:59was actually
52:01not accepted
52:02by the Football Association
52:04was it?
52:05No, so the
52:07FA overturned
52:08the ban in 1970
52:09but they didn't want
52:10to take control
52:11of women's football.
52:12So it was an
52:13amateur organisation
52:14called the
52:15Women's Football Association
52:16that ran women's football
52:17at the time.
52:18So you're there
52:19in Mexico
52:20you're young teenagers
52:22what did it feel like
52:23what reception
52:24did you get
52:25when you turned up
52:26at Mexico City?
52:27It was out of this world
52:29really
52:29after playing
52:30in front of
52:31a few people
52:31at home
52:32on park pitches
52:33and to fly
52:35into Mexico City
52:36and we didn't realise
52:37exactly what
52:38the enormity
52:39of it would be.
52:40We played
52:41in front of
52:4290,000
52:4395,000
52:44and it was
52:45photographers
52:46TV
52:46and the crowds
52:49were just amazing
52:50we felt like
52:51celebrities.
52:52It must have been
52:53mind-blowing.
52:54You brought some items
52:55here.
52:55Leah, tell us
52:56what the bag is.
52:57So we have the bag
52:58this was given
52:59to all the players
53:00and here we have
53:01the programme
53:02of the actual tournament.
53:05The mascot
53:06on the front
53:06is Sochitil
53:07and I was 13
53:09and I had dark hair
53:11like Sochitil
53:11and they used to
53:12call me Sochitil
53:13which was rather sweet
53:15and this is actually
53:17Jill's.
53:18Yeah, that photograph
53:18was taken at the
53:19training ground
53:20in Mexico
53:21so obviously
53:22I was 14 then
53:23and the medal
53:24is what we were
53:25presented with.
53:26Who were you
53:27playing against?
53:27What were your matches?
53:29Argentina and Mexico
53:30and we played
53:31against France as well.
53:33And Leah,
53:34what's this?
53:35So that is a shirt
53:36that I wore
53:37in the Aztec Stadium.
53:39It was very basic.
53:40It was going to be
53:41hot over in Mexico.
53:43Our other shirts
53:44we wore in England
53:44would have been
53:45far too heavy.
53:46They were bought
53:47hand-stitched
53:48numbers on.
53:49So you finished
53:50playing football
53:51you got on the plane
53:52you flew into
53:54Heathrow
53:55and I'm guessing
53:57there were a whole
53:57load of
53:59celebratory
53:59journalists there.
54:01No.
54:02No.
54:03There was absolutely
54:05no interest
54:06in us coming back.
54:08The conversation
54:09just wasn't there
54:10and we actually
54:11received bands
54:12the players
54:14three months
54:15for us
54:16that were 16
54:16and under
54:17and six months
54:18for those over.
54:19Did your football
54:20career carry on
54:21after the ban
54:22either of you?
54:23Both of us.
54:24I carried on
54:25playing until
54:26I was 32.
54:27Some of the
54:28players didn't.
54:28We fortunately
54:29played together
54:30but we didn't
54:32speak of
54:32the World Cup.
54:34Even our teammates
54:35didn't even know
54:36we'd been to Mexico.
54:37I think we felt
54:38we'd done something
54:38wrong because
54:39when we came back
54:40we were banned.
54:41And Jean
54:42I know that you
54:43have been
54:44instrumental
54:45in highlighting
54:46these generations
54:48of female players
54:50you know.
54:50You took these
54:51ladies here
54:52to see
54:53the Lionesses
54:54to explain
54:56the history.
54:57What did you
54:58tell them?
54:58We met with the
55:01Lionesses
55:01at Rockcliffe Hall
55:02in the February
55:03before the
55:04Women's Euros
55:05in 2022
55:06and I basically
55:08said to the
55:08current Lionesses
55:09don't wait 50 years
55:10to tell your story
55:12because we know
55:13that these players
55:14have been shamed
55:14into being quiet.
55:16It was really
55:17great the way
55:18that the players
55:18embraced it
55:19I have to say.
55:20It's nice
55:21that the players
55:22don't think
55:22that there's
55:23any demarcation
55:24between official
55:25and unofficial
55:26it's a complete
55:28nonsense.
55:29The current
55:29crop of players
55:30are standing
55:30on the shoulders
55:31of giants
55:32and they
55:32absolutely
55:33recognise that
55:34and I think
55:35it's a really
55:36exciting time
55:36for women's sport.
55:38Really there's
55:39an absolute
55:40desire for
55:40collecting
55:41this area
55:42it's only going
55:43to go up
55:43and up
55:43in value
55:44so it's a
55:45really difficult
55:46thing for me
55:46to value
55:47so I always
55:48revert to
55:49what would I
55:50pay for it?
55:51So collectively
55:52you're probably
55:53looking at about
55:5410,000
55:56I'd say
55:57plus plus plus
55:58it's just going
55:59to keep going
55:59up and up
56:00and up
56:00but it's been
56:02an absolute
56:03pleasure
56:04to meet you
56:05ladies
56:05keep telling
56:06your stories
56:07we want to
56:08hear it
56:08thank you
56:09thank you
56:10yeah
56:26thank you
56:27interest in
56:28women's sport
56:29has ballooned
56:30in the year
56:31after the
56:31lionesses
56:32euros win
56:32in 2022
56:33almost
56:34one and a half
56:35thousand
56:35new women's
56:36football teams
56:37were founded
56:39and over
56:4080,000
56:40packed into
56:41Wembley Stadium
56:42to see the
56:42Red Roses lift
56:43the Rugby World
56:44Cup in 2025
56:47the history of sports
56:49in Britain
56:49is one of small
56:51beginnings
56:51leading to global
56:53games
56:54from ancient pastimes
56:56slowly morphing
56:57into the sports
56:58we know today
56:58the invention of one
57:01Victorian eccentric
57:02spreading across the world
57:06it feels like we're
57:07living through a new
57:08sporting boom here
57:09in Britain
57:09this time
57:10particularly in
57:11women's sports
57:12and who knows
57:13maybe decades
57:14from now
57:15we'll be back
57:15here in this very
57:16spot
57:17celebrating
57:17this very moment
57:19for now
57:20from the Antiques
57:21Troto
57:21in this special
57:22sporting programme
57:23bye bye
57:41you
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