Scotland legend Gordon McQueen's match shirts and medals put up for auction by family
Scotland legend Gordon McQueen's medals and match worn shirts are set to fetch over £60,000 at auction next month.
The remarkable collection gathered by the football legend - who also played for St Mirren, Leeds United, Manchester United - is being sold by his family. McQueen died aged 70 last year as a result of vascular dementia, which has been heavily linked to heading the football for many years.
The collection includes prized mementos spanning his career and will go under the hammer at Graham Budd auctions on October 1. The memorabilia ranges from match programmes collected during his early days at St Mirren to League to FA Cup winners medals.
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The collection also includes jerseys swapped with opposition stars after famous European and international matches - including the 1978 World Cup in Argentina and a rare gong presented by the Scottish Football Association to recognise his landmark 25th cap. Among the highlights is McQueen's first major honour, his 9ct gold League Championship winner's plaque won with Leeds in season 1973/74, at the age of just 21, valued at £3000-5000.
McQueen's FA Cup winner's medal won playing for Manchester United after a replay against Brighton & Hove Albion in 1983, is expected to fetch £15,000-20,000. McQueen's European Cup Winners Cup runners-up medal, presented following Leeds' controversial defeat to AC Milan in 1973, could make £2000-3000.
Leeds lost the match after a series of controversial refereeing decisions and manager Don Revie banned his players from swapping jerseys, but not before McQueen swapped with Milan No.9 Alberto Bigon whose iconic red and black striped jersey is expected to fetch £3000-5000.
The European Cup runners up medal presented to McQueen following Leeds' defeat to Bayern Munich in 1975 is expected to fetch £4500-6500. McQueen was presented with the medal despite not playing in the final after he was sent off in the victory over Barcelona in the semi-final.
Other rare lots include the silver SFA medal inscribed "awarded for achieving 25 international appearances for Scotland, G. McQueen", with an estimate of £300-500, and another gong presented to players who formed Scotland's World Cup squad in 1978, valued at £100-150.
Jerseys offered by McQueen's family include match worn shirts he swapped with stars of clubs including Real Madrid, Anderlecht, FC Zurich and international rivals such as John Toshack of Wales as well as a rare airtex short-sleeved white Scotland shirt from season 1974-75.
David Convery, head of sporting memorabilia at Graham Budd Auctions, said: "Gordon McQueen was one of the legends of Scottish football, a colossus in defence who went from St Mirren to join the great Leeds United team of the early 1970s. Bought to replace Jackie Charlton, he was an instant hit with the Elland Road faithful before eventually going on to star for Manchester United, while also winning 30 caps for Scotland.
"He kept his medals, including his League Championship plaque with Leeds in 1973 and his FA Cup winners medal with Manchester United a decade later among others. Gordon was so generous he gave away a lot of the shirts he wore over the years, but he kept many of those he swapped with the centre forwards he'd battled with.
"In the European Cup Winners Cup final against AC Milan in 1973 he was the only Leeds player to swap jerseys -- with the Italians' number nine Alberto Bigon -- and we have it. Leeds and Manchester United are two of the biggest collected clubs in the world and Gordon McQueen won major honours for both. The collection has remained in his family but they now feel it's time to let these items be cherished by others. We're already seeing a lot of interest."
McQueen was born in Kilbirnie n Ayrshire in 1952 and played for his local side Largs Thistle before signing for St Mirren, where he would play 57 times before a £30,000 move to Don Revie's Leeds to replace the legendary Jack Charlton. He won his first Scotland cap in 1974 and went on to represent the nation 30 times over a decade, making two World Cup squads and scoring five goals.
He signed for Manchester United for £500,000 in 1978 and remained at the club for seven years, winning the FA Cup and Charity Shield in 1983 before ending his playing career in the Hong Kong League with Seiko and later coaching and appearing on TV as a Soccer Saturday football pundit. He died on 15 June 2023.
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