A early Scottish Cup winner’s medal presented to the captain of a now-defunct club nearly 130 years ago has fetched £3,200 at auction.
The 15 carat gold medal was presented to George Murdoch of St Bernard’s FC on 20 April 1895 after the Edinburgh club recorded its only Scottish Cup triumph.
St Bernard’s defeated former “world champions” Renton 2-1 in the final, in front of a 12,000 crowd at Ibrox in Glasgow.
The gold medal depicts the famous cup with thistles on either side, and is inscribed “Scottish Cup 1895, won by St Bernards” on the front and “G. Murdoch Capt” on the reverse.
Passed down through generations of his family, the medal went under the hammer at Graham Budd Auctions’ Scottish Sporting Memorabilia sale in Glasgow.
David Convery, head of sporting memorabilia at Graham Budd Auctions, said: “A Scottish Cup Winner’s medal from the 1895 final, played between two great clubs, both now defunct, would be a jewel in the crown of any collection.
“To have the medal presented to the captain of the winning team is very rare indeed, and a great piece of football history.”
St Bernard’s Football Club was established in 1878, taking its name from a famous well on the Water of Leith nearby.
The club played at several different grounds in Edinburgh before finding a long term home at the Royal Gymnasium Ground in the city’s Canonmills where the RBS development is about to be built next to George V Park.
The club was dissolved in 1943, its greatest achievement being its Scottish Cup success in 1895.
George Murdoch capt St Bernard’s Scottish Cup 1895 medal
