Soccer Personality to Remember: Pickles, the Dog Who Won the World Cup 

The first FIFA World Cup trophy, known as the “Jules Rimet Trophy”, was taken to England for exhibition, four months before the 1966 World Cup hosted by England.

While the Trophy was on display in a glass cabinet during the “Sport with Stamps” Stanley Gibbons Stampex rare stamp exhibition at Methodist Central Hall in Westminster, a thief beat the security arrangement made for that occasion and stole the trophy on Sunday 20 March 1966.

Fortunately for FIFA and the soccer-loving world, the trophy was found on Sunday 27 March, just seven days after it was stolen.

Guess who found it.

Surprise, surprise, it was Pickles, a four-year-old male Mixed Breed Collie.

Pickles found the Trophy wrapped in the newspaper lying by the front wheel of a parked car in Beulah Hill, Upper Norwood, South London, while he was taking a walk with his owner, David Corbett.

Some people viciously suspected and accused David Corbett, the owner of Pickles, of stealing the said trophy, but that suspicion never held water.

Instead of suffering for a crime that he did not commit, David Corbett was invited to the celebration banquet as a reward when England won the trophy.

AWARD AND RECOGNITIONS FOR THE OWNER OF PICKLES

Corbett, according to reliable reports, also collected nearly £5,000 as a monetary reward, which was equivalent to £95,000 in 2020.  He used the money to buy a house in Lingfield, Surrey, in 1967.

Would you have ever imagined that an ordinary dog would bring his owner such a marvellous fortune?

You’d better go and get a dog of your own, now. 😊

AWARD AND RECOGNITIONS FOR PICKLES

Pickles, on his own part, was awarded the silver medal of the National Canine Defence League.

Later in that year, 1966, Pickles, went ahead to star with Eric Sykes and June Whitfield in the 1966 film The Spy with a Cold Nose.

He was also said to have appeared on several television programmes, including Blue Peter and Magpie.

Pickles was named “Dog of the Year”, and awarded a year of free food by the pet food manufacturer, Spillers.

In a fictional story written by Michael Chaplin, Pickles was referred to as “The Dog Who Won The World Cup.”

That was how famous Pickles was.

“What an honour for Pickles,” you would say.

What human beings could not do, Pickles did it with ease.

Congratulations to both Pickles and his owner, David Corbett.

THE DEATH OF PICKLES

Pickles died an untimely death in 1967 when he was strangled by his choke chain lead that caught on a tree branch while he was chasing a cat near his new home in Surrey.

He was buried in his owner’s back garden, and his collar is said to be on display in the National Football Museum in Manchester, for people, especially soccer lovers, all over the world, to go and see.

Rest in peace, Pickles, for saving the soccer-loving world a huge embarrassment.

Soccer Personality to Remember: Pickles, the Dog Who Won the World Cup. THE END.

By Moses T. O’Dyle

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