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Kicking up a fuss over Sir Stan's boots
WHEN Sir Stanley Matthews' 1953 FA Cup winning boots were sold at auction for £38,400, no one was more surprised than Blackpool FC PA announcer Tony Parr.
For he reckons he has had the a pair of the same boots tucked away in his wardrobe for the last four decades – and says he doesn't think they're from 1953.
Parr's father, Ken, formed a friendship with Matthews in the late 50s, and was given the boots by the great man himself.
They look very similar to the boots claimed to be the pair Matthews wore during the famous Wembley victory over Bolton Wanderers at Wembley – and sold at auction last week for that whopping price.
"When I saw the story in The Gazette about the boots being sold for almost 40,000, I was absolutely staggered," said Tony.
"They look just the same as the boots I've got, and I know the boots I have are from much later than '53.
"The sole of the boot, the wear of the studs, even the design on the front of the boot – they appear the same as the pair I've got. "I looked into it a little more and the provenance for them being the 1953 Cup Final boots seems very flimsy to me. I could have told the same story and who would dispute it."
The boots sold at auction, and claimed as the real thing, belonged to football fan Wilf Coomer – Matthews gave him the boots after the final, so the story goes.
They were bought at auction in Chester last week by an unnamed buyer from Stoke.
But Parr isn't the only one to have his doubts about the authenticity of the boots.
The National Football Museum in Preston claim they have Stan's FA Cup FInal boots.
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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