They think they’ve found it, they have now! How a dog saved the World Cup
The World Cup has been entertaining people for decades as nations from across the world battle for the glorious golden trophy, but it all could have been so different if it weren’t for a black and white collie called Pickles.
On 20 March 1966, the Jules Rimet trophy was stolen from the case where it was on display at Westminster’s Central Hall just four months before the tournament was scheduled to begin. It was taken while the inattentive security guards assigned to protect the glorious prize were on a break.
While the panicking Football Association (FA) worked to produce a replica trophy to replace the original, Scotland Yard opened an investigation into the missing trophy.
After pretending to agree to a ransom note sent to the FA’s chairman, Joe Mears, undercover police were able to track down and arrest former soldier, Edward Betchley.
Exactly a week after the trophy was taken, Dave Corbett would hit the headlines as his dog, Pickles, found the missing World Cup while on a walk in South London.
Pickles found the trophy securely wrapped in newspaper and string. After opening the newspaper, Corbett immediately went to the local police station where he slammed the trophy on the sergeant’s desk and said, “I think I have found the World Cup.”
According to Corbett, he was at first told by the sergeant that it “doesn't look very World Cuppy.” However, it was eventually determined that he and his dog had really found the World Cup.
Pickles was then front-page news as the world fawned over the furry saviour of the beautiful game’s most prized possession.
Pickles and Corbett made appearances on Blue Peter and Magpie as well as the collie being awarded a medal by the National Canine Defence League and being named Dog of the Year. The pair were also invited to a celebratory dinner with the England national team after they won the World Cup.
Corbett eventually became a prosecution witness at the trial of Betchley which saw him jailed for two years for ‘demanding money with menaces with intent to steal.’
Corbett used the reward money he got from Pickles’ fame to buy a house in Surrey where the canine would sadly meet his untimely death in 1967.
However, this wouldn’t be the last time the World Cup went missing as Brazil had their 1970 World Cup trophy (which they were allowed to keep as the trophy was being replaced) stolen in 1983. Since then, the original World Cup trophy has never been found. Which begs the question… if Pickles was still around, would Brazil have found their trophy?