Fear of theft prompts Smith to sell Liverpool medals

Legendary Liverpool defender Tommy Smith last night revealed that he has sold his medals because he was afraid they would be stolen.

The medals, along with other memorabilia from Smith’s 18- year career at the Anfield club, sold for a combined total of £137,272 at Bonhams saleroom in Chester, Cheshire, yesterday.

Speaking during the auction, the 66-year-old former defender explained he had decided to put them on sale after a string of burglaries at other former Liverpool players’ homes.

Smith, who was known during his playing career as the Anfield Iron, said: “They are not doing anything for me, they are in the loft and I am getting fed up of going in the loft and seeing if they were okay.

“I was getting a little bit weary because there were a couple of burglaries in Liverpool on the Speke side of the town and Liverpool players getting their medals and pieces taken away from them.

“In the end I just thought that I am old enough now to recognise that they are worth a few quid.”

After joining Liverpool as a schoolboy in May 1960, Smith went on to make his debut for the club on 8 May, 1963.

Between then and 1978 he put in 638 appearances for the Reds and scored 48 goals.

Renowned for his uncompromising defensive style and hard man image, Liverpool manager Bill Shankly once said of him: “Tommy Smith wasn’t born, he was quarried.”

Smith yesterday said he would particularly miss three of the medals from his glittering career. The first was the FA Cup winners’ medal from the 1965 final against Leeds, which saw Liverpool win 2-1 to achieve their first-ever victory in the world’s oldest club competition.

Punters at the auction certainly appeared to agree with him, as that medal was the biggest earner of the day and sold for an impressive £15,000.

Next on Smith’s list of favourites was the medal he won in 1973 at the UEFA Cup final, which saw him captain Liverpool to a 3-2 win over Germany’s Borussia Moenchengladbach.

Smith also said that he would find it hard being parted from his 1977 European Cup winners’ medal.

The first of Liverpool’s five European Cup triumphs, the 1977 final in Rome saw Liverpool beat Monchengladbach again, with a goal by Smith.

His 1973 UEFA Cup medal was snapped up for £8,750, while the 1977 European Cup memento went for £14,375.

All the figures include buyer’s premium.

Smith’s one full England cap and 20 shirts worn during big games also went under the hammer.