Trio of rare Albion medals from 1920s fetch £900 at auction
Three rare West Bromwich Albion medals dating back to the 1920s have fetched £900 at an auction.
The medals belonged to former Albion player Stan Amos and were awarded for competing in the West Bromwich Charity Cup, a long defunct tournament that pitted the club against rivals' Wolves, Villa and Birmingham City.
The lot had been expected to fetch between £500 and £800 by Wolverhampton-based auctioneers Cuttlestones. It included a 9ct gold medal, inscribed with the words: 1924 Winners WBA FC S Amos.
Also included was a team photograph, plus two other medals similarly inscribed in hallmarked silver.
Richard Forrester, salesroom manager at Cuttlestones, said the medals had attracted a lot of interest from sporting memorabilia fans.
"West Brom are one of the oldest teams in football and there were a few Baggies fans who were interested in the medals," he said.
The club had one of the most successful periods in its history around this period, winning the league title in 1920. Mr Forrester added: "The medals came from a time when West Brom was one of the top teams.
"We believe Stan Amos was a fringe player who had a brief spell in the team before moving to Gillingham."
Amos was born in Cradley Heath in 1907 and started out at Cradley Heath St Luke's - a once famous local side that had a tradition of supplying high quality players to football league clubs.
John Homer, chairman of West Bromwich Albion fan club and keen club historian, said the gold medal was awarded for winning the final, which was played on Christmas Eve 1924.
He said: "It was in a final of the charity cup between West Bromwich A and a West Bromwich Amateurs team. Back in those days there was the first team, the reserves, an A team, and also a team of amateurs.
"The A team won 9-0 and Stan scored four of those. He was an inside forward but never played for the first team and I'm not sure he ever played for the reserves either."
Mr Homer said he believed the silver medals were from the Birmingham League, which the West Bromwich A team won that year.
The medals were put up for sale by the footballer's niece, Jeanette Ash, from Great Haywood, Staffordshire, who said she wanted to see them go to a good home.
It has not been revealed who bought the medals.
