The football winner’s medal tragic Harry never lived to celebrate
A GOLD medal awarded to a Derbyshire-born footballer who died after falling ill following a match is expected to sell for thousands of pounds at auction.
Harry Thorpe received the medal in 1908 to commemorate Leicester Fosse’s promotion to Division One for the first time in their history.
Thorpe did not live to celebrate the success with his team-mates after going down with flu following a match against Glossop in March 1908. The full-back never recovered and died six months later, aged 28.
The medal is to go under the hammers at Hansons Auctioneers’ Football in Focus Auction on August 22, with an estimate of £3,000 to £5,000.
Alistair Lofley, sports valuer at Hansons, said: “This medal is extremely rare and an important part of Leicester City’s heritage.
“The club was founded in 1884 as Leicester Fosse because they played on a field by the Fosse Road.
“They moved to Filbert Street in 1891. In 1908, the club finished as Second Division runners-up and reached the First Division. Thorpe played a key role in that promotion season.
“It makes you wonder what the conditions must have been like and how cold it was when he played that match against Glossop in March 1908. He was a fit young man but antibiotics weren’t available back then to save his life.” Thorpe was born in 1880 in the village of Barrow Hill, near Chesterfield. He made his Football League debut in the 1900-01 season with Chesterfield and made 64 league appearances for the club.
He later moved to Woolwich Arsenal and played for Fulham in the Southern League before returning to the Football League in 1907 with Leicester Fosse. He took part in their giant-killing FA Cup victory over Blackburn Rovers on January 11, 1908.
Leicester’s directors’ minutes book reveals that all players wore black armbands when Fosse played Preston on September 19, 1908, three days after Harry’s death.
The owner of the medal, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “The medal was given to Harry’s brother, Reginald, after his passing in 1908. It was then handed down through the family.
“I’m proud to think someone connected to my family was a talented footballer. I’d like to think Leicester City or a Leicester fan will buy this medal to honour Harry Thorpe’s contribution to the club’s history.”