The guards were supposed to stand beside the glass case at all times. On 20 March 1966, the second day of a stamp exhibition at Westminster Central Hall in London, they were not there. When they made their noon round they found the rear doors forced and the cabinet broken open. The Jules Rimet trophy, handed to World Cup winners since 1930, had vanished.
It was an odd theft. The stamp collection on show was valued at around £3 million, and the thief left it alone. He took the trophy, worth £3,000, and nothing else. Police had little to go on beyond a thin man seen loitering earlier in the day.
A ransom note and a middleman
Three days later a package reached Chelsea Football Club, according to PA Sport’s account. Inside were the top of the trophy and a typed note demanding £15,000. The Football Association also received a ransom note, HistoryExtra reported, and an undercover officer went out with fake money to meet the go-between, a petty thief named in the reports as Edward Bletchley or Betchley.
Detective Inspector Leonard Buggy showed the man a briefcase of dummy notes in Battersea Park, and the two drove off to collect the cup. The handover never happened. Betchley realised police were shadowing the car, jumped out and ran. He was caught minutes later, but he would not say where the trophy was. He insisted he was only a middleman, and he was later jailed for his part in the theft.
Pickles
Seven days after the theft, a collie called Pickles pulled his owner, David Corbett, towards a newspaper-wrapped package in a hedge near their south London home. It was the World Cup. Pickles became a minor celebrity. When England won the tournament in July, man and dog were both invited to the celebration meal, and the dog was allowed to eat from his owner’s plate. He died the following year. His collar is now on display at the National Football Museum.
Who took it?
The people behind the heist stayed a mystery for decades. In 2018 the Daily Mirror quoted Gary Cugullere, who said his uncle Sidney had stolen the cup with help from Gary’s father Reg. According to Gary, Sidney did it “for the thrill” and not for money. Reg was in the hall that day but did not see the cup taken, he said. Outside, Sidney opened his jacket and showed him the trophy. The brothers hid it in a coal shed belonging to Reg’s father-in-law, and Gary said they soon understood it could never be sold and would have to go back. Sidney died in 2005 without being caught. Reg died in 2012. The claims come from a relative and have not been tested in court.
Gone for good
The trophy was not stolen only once. After Brazil won a third World Cup in 1970, the Jules Rimet trophy was given to them to keep, and a new trophy was designed for future tournaments. In 1983 the original was stolen from the Brazilian Football Confederation building. It has not been seen since.
Sources
- Jules Rimet Trophy Theft: How Pickles Found The World Cup in 1966 | HistoryExtra
- World Cup trophy stolen by London gangsters before 1966 tournament – report – ESPN
