You cannot be serious! Smashed John McEnroe racket set to be sold at auction
A tennis racket smashed by John McEnroe during one of his famous fits of rage is going under the hammer in an auction of sports memorabilia next month.
The wooden-framed Dunlop Maxfly Fort mangled by McEnroe dates back to his heyday in the early 1980s, when the combustible American won multiple Wimbledon and US Open championships.
It is being auctioned off by UK-based specialist sports memorabilia seller Budds, which expects it to fetch between £2,000 and £3,000.
An England cap awarded to Paul Gascoigne and an original “This Is Anfield” sign previously displayed – and traditionally touched by players for good luck – in the tunnel of Liverpool’s stadium are also among the lots up for sale.
Other items in the two-day live auction, running 8-9 September, include a 1928 Olympic medal, a tennis racket used by Rafael Nadal, and shirts worn by former footballers Dave Beasant and Micky Thomas in heroic FA Cup performances from the last century.
The entire haul is expected to generate sales of more than half a million pounds. The identity of the current owners of the items is private.
“We pride ourselves in bringing the best sporting memorabilia to market for collectors who love every aspect of the games they follow, but this particular sale is without doubt an Olympics-league memorabilia sale,” said David Convery of Budds.
Investors and collectors drive boom in sports memorabilia
It comes with interest in sports memorabilia at an all-time high as collectors and investors in alternative assets vie for iconic pieces belonging to the likes of Diego Maradona and Pele.
Gascoigne’s England cap is a red velvet “legacy cap” embroidered with the number 1006 to mark the fact that he was the 1006th player to represent the national team.
The Football Association introduced legacy numbers for England’s 1,000th match in 2019 and last year began issuing them retrospectively to former stars such as 1990s icon Gazza.
The “This Is Anfield” sign was first installed during the tenure of legendary Liverpool manager Bill Shankly, who wanted to instill pride in his players and fear in opponents.
It became synonymous with the most successful period in the club’s history, which saw Liverpool become England’s dominant team of the 1970s and 1980s as well as repeat European champions.
Beasant’s shirt is the one he wore when becoming the first goalkeeper to save a penalty in the FA Cup final as Wimbledon stunned Liverpool at Wembley in 1988.
The Thomas jersey is from Wrexham’s celebrated 1992 FA Cup third-round win over champions Arsenal, in which he scored a memorable free-kick.