A RARE Hearts gold medal from the earliest days of a Scottish football club will be in an auction of sporting medals and trophies later this month.
The medal from Heart of Midlothian Football Club could sell for £7,000 according to experts.
Tom Robertson’s Scottish Football League Championship Gold Medal from 1896/97 will feature in McTear’s Sporting and Trophies Auction on 21st May.
The medal, which is being sold by a relative of the late player, was won at a time when the Edinburgh side was doing well in Scottish football.
On the final day of the 1896/97 season, Hearts would clinch the title, winning 5-0 against Clyde, with Tom Robertson scoring four goals.
Born in 1876, Tom Robertson played for a number of junior clubs before signing for Hearts in 1896 under coach James Chapman.
The winger’s first piece of silverware for the Club came with the league championship in the 1896/97 season, which they won by two points over city rivals Hibs.
Commenting on the auction, James Bruce from McTear’s, said: “This is a fabulous piece of Scottish football history.
“Tom Robertson was a true Hearts legend and a key player in the triumphant league winning side of 1896/97.
“It is very unusual to see memorabilia of any kind from the 19th century come to auction, so to have a league winners medal is a rare treat indeed.
“There is already interest building in the lot and we expect this to continue right up to the auction.”
Tom Robertson’s position as one of football’s great players was cemented when he moved to Liverpool in 1898 and helped the club secure their first league title in 1900/01.
Robertson would go on to represent Manchester United and Dundee in later years.He passed away on 13 August 1941, aged 64.
Tom Robertson’s 9ct gold 1896/97 Scottish Football League Championship medal will feature in The Sporting Medals and Trophies Auction at McTear’s in Glasgow on 21st May.
