West Brom hero Joseph Smith's England caps sold at auction
Almost 100 years since he made his debut for England, two caps and a match worn shirt of a Baggies hero have gone up for sale.
Joseph Smith, who played for West Brom and Birmingham City throughout the 1920s, earned two England caps during his 500-game career, in 1919 and 1922.
Now, the caps and a match worn shirt from his debut against Ireland in a 1-1 draw, have gone under the hammer.
In a huge auction at Aston's Auctioneers in Dudley on Thursday, the football memorabilia was a staple piece in an auction filled with expensive and exciting items.
The England caps and shirt were eventually sold for £3,100 to a mysterious telephone buyer after a short bidding battle between a number of people in the room.
Valued at between £3,000 and £5,000 it came at the lower end of its estimate.
They were being sold by Smith's nephew, William Ball, who, at age 90, thought it was time to sell them on.
He said: "I came up in the summer to see one of Joe's medals being sold and I told the people here that I was related to him.
"I said I saw the Express & Star's article about it and I have some caps and a shirt, I might as well sell them on.
"I have no idea what to do with the money, I'm not in a rush to spend it, it's a lot of money.
"The items mean a lot to me, I've had them for 60 years but I won't be around much longer.
"I've had them since Joe died and there are no other family to keep them, he had no children and I have no family either, so it's worth selling.
"I knew Joe all my life, I lost my Dad in 1935 when I was six, so he was like a father to me.
"Joe had no children so he thought of me as a son.
"I'm very proud to have him in my family, a football star, it's huge.
"When I was a little kid he used to take me to the Albion to watch when he had finished playing.
"I obviously never saw him play but everyone told me how good he was.
"He played for England so he must have been alright.
"When he finished playing he went and worked in a factory, that would never happen today."
Smith's English First Division winner's medal was sold for £12,500 at the same auction house on Tower Street in June this year.
