Disaster struck 60 years ago when the World Cup trophy was stolen four months before the international tournament began.
England was the host for the 1966 FIFA World Cup, and prior to the start of the tournament, the English Football Association approved the display of the World Cup trophy at London’s Westminster Central Hall in a “Sport with Stamps” exhibition, according to Sports Illustrated.
On March 19, 1966, the trophy went on display in the exhibit in a locked display case and was guarded by “four uniformed guards, two in plain clothes and one is permanently located beside the showcase,” per the FIFA Museum.
The next day, the trophy was stolen between guard checks at 11 a.m. and 12:10 p.m.
Three days later, Football Association chairman Joe Mears received a ransom note demanding 15,000 pounds. The note included “the removable bowl from the top of the trophy” as proof, according to the FIFA Museum.
Detective Inspector Len Buggy went undercover, posing as Mears’ assistant, to meet the thief and exchange the money, which was actually a newspaper-filled briefcase, for the trophy.
Edward Betchley fled the scene but was caught and arrested, though investigators learned Betchley was just the middle man.
How Pickles the dog saved the World Cup
A week after its theft, a dog named Pickles found the trophy while heading out on a walk with his owner, David Corbett, in their Upper Norwood neighborhood.
While on their walk, Pickles started sniffing a newspaper-wrapped package sitting in the bushes near Corbett’s neighbor’s car. Corbett originally feared his dog had found a bomb, but his curiosity got the better of him.
“I tore a bit off the bottom and there was a plain disc,” Corbett reportedly told FIFA, per Sports Illustrated. “Then I tore around and there was Brazil, Germany, Uruguay. I ran back in and said to my wife: ‘I think I’ve found the World Cup!’”
Corbett returned the trophy to police. In doing so, he became their prime suspect, but he was cleared of suspicion.
Four months later in July, England won its first and only World Cup title and celebrated with the trophy Pickles found.
Pickles became a hero. He was gifted free dog food for life from Spillers and starred in the film “The Spy With a Cold Nose,” according to The Guardian. Unfortunately, Pickles died the following year.
Who stole the World Cup trophy?
In 2018, the Daily Mirror reported that the trophy had been stolen by a gangster, named Sidney Cugullere, according to his nephew Gary Cugullere.
Sidney Cugullere had died 13 years prior to the allegations and was never caught.
The World Cup trophy was stolen again in December 1983 in Brazil and was never recovered, according to The Athletic.