A football used in the only FA Cup Final to feature a hat-trick was sold at an Etwall auction 65 years later - for £5,000.
The old leather ball was used at the original Wembley Stadium during the famous 1953 clash between Blackpool and Bolton Wanderers, which later went down in history as the Matthews final.
Blackpool's Stan Mortensen scored a hat-trick, and team-mate Stanley Matthews' heroics helped inspire Blackpool to a remarkable 4-3 victory.
To this day Mortensen's goal-scoring feat remains the only hat-trick scored in an FA Cup Final.
On Thursday, February 22, the ball was auctioned at Hansons Auctioneers, in Heage Lane, Etwall and sold for £5,250.
The buyer did not wish to be named but confirmed he was a lifelong Blackpool fan - and that he would be happy to loan the football to museums for display.
Charles Hanson, owner of the auction house, said: "A bit of money for old leather! We had three phone bidders vying to buy this ball as well as bidders online and I was delighted to see it sell just above its top estimate of £3,000 to £5,000.
"It's been incredible to handle a football used in the famous Matthews FA Cup Final. The ball was given to Stan Mortensen at the end of the game, which was watched by 100,000 fans on May 2, 1953. Despite Bolton going 3-1 up, Blackpool came back to win 4-3."
A 57 year-old IT business analyst from Surrey, Chris Crook, had put the ball up for auction. He said: "I am delighted the ball has sold and particularly delighted to learn that it has been sold to a Blackpool fan who is happy to see it go on display."
Watch Mortensen score his famous hat-trick:
Mr Crook added: "I was told it was donated to an FA charity raffle, possibly the tribute dinner for Stan Mortensen, at Blackpool’s Savoy Hotel on November 30, 1989.
"The football was won by a waitress, who gave it to her brother who lived in Sutton, London. When his power failed at home one Christmas Day, he called his electrician, Tom Brown, to fix it.
"Tom knew about the football and joked about it being given as payment for coming out on Christmas Day. After fixing the electrics, Tom was given the football as a thank-you.
Hansons Auctioneers
"Tom was a great friend of my father-in-law, Harry Keith Simmons, and the ball was eventually passed down to me in 2007."
Mr Hanson added: "The brown leather, 18-panel football was in a modern style for the period and would only have been used for internationals and finals. Back then, most footballs were of the cheaper laced variety. We expected the football to create worldwide interest and it did."
