Auction of Cricket, Football & Sporting Memorabilia
Knights Auctioneers last auction of Cricket, Football & Sporting Memorabilia was held on Friday 10th, Saturday 11th & Sunday 12th April 2026.
The sale included over 1600 lots and we have included some highlights below.
To view the results from the auction click here.
Our next sale will be on Friday 7th, Saturday 8th & Sunday 9th August 2026.
Lot 903 Australia v South Africa. Triangular Test Tournament, Lord's 1912. Rare original and highly decorative commemorative scorecard printed in gold ink with decorative blue and gold floral borders. The scorecard with complete printed scores for the first innings of the match played 15th- 17th July 1912. Beautifully signed in ink by all sixteen members of the Australian touring party and the match umpires, Moss and Street. Australians' signatures are Whitty, Mayne, Gregory, Hazlitt, Kelleway, McLaren, Emery, Carkeek, Jennings, Smith, Matthews, Webster, Macartney etc. An exquisite scorecard. Hammer £700
Lot 1168 Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack 1896. 33rd edition. Original hardback. The very rare first issue of the original hardback with titles bright to front board. From a full run of the original hardback edition being sold in this auction. Hammer £9000
Lot 355 Kent C.C.C. circa 1899. A very rare lined page beautifully signed in black ink by twenty six Kent players. The page headed Kent and signed in two vertical rows. The signatures include A. Hearne, W.D. Wright, W. Hearne, F. Martin, F.H. Huish, J.W. Easby, S.H. Day, W.E.C. Hutchings, L.J. Le Fleming, G.J.V. Weighall, J.R. Mason, C.J. Burnup, H.M. Braybrooke, R.N.R. Blake, T.E. Pawley, Canon W. Rashleigh, H.M. Lawrence, S.W. Brown, H.C. Stewart 1892-1903, Du Boulay etc. A truly early page of Kent signatures. Hammer £340
Lot 794 John Denis Alphonsus O'Connor. New South Wales, South Australia & Australia 1904-1910. Tinted colour printed postcard of O'Connor, full length, in bowling pose wearing Australian cap at Lord's during the Australian tour of England in 1909. Nicely signed in black ink by O’Connor. Hammer £340
Lot 864 W.G. Grace. An unusual and very early original trade card depicting Grace on a shield shaped Union Flag emblem published by lithographer J. Baines of 68, Carlisle Road, Manningham, Bradford, the card being produced in 1883/84. The card has a head and shoulders image of Grace with title 'W.G. Grace' below and 'J. Bains, Lith, Manningham, Bradford, Yorks' below the title. Hammer £15000
Lot 207 Australia tour to England 1909. Large album page very nicely signed in black ink by thirteen members of the Australian touring party. Signatures are Laver, Noble, Hartigan, Carter, Armstrong, Whitty, Ransford, Cotter, Hopkins, McAlister, O'Connor, Trumper and Carkeek. Also signed by A.A. 'Dick' Lilley (Warwickshire & England 1891-1911). Hammer £460
Lot 447 'The Eleven'. Early and complete embroidered belt with oblong shaped brass belt buckle showing the eleven players, shown as batsmen, fielders, bowlers and wicket-keeper, with legend to lower border. The buckle measures almost 3.5"x2". The colourful belt embroidered in a variety of colours with red border to top and bottom, swirls and floral decoration. An early rare cricket belt and decorative buckle. Hammer £200
Lot 1143 Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack 1867. 4th edition. Original paper wrappers. Rare fourth year of issue. Hammer £4000
![Lot 258
All India tour of England 1911 (1st Indian tour). Rare album page very nicely signed in ink by eleven members of the Indian touring party. Signatures are Meherhomji, Bulsara, Syed Hasan [Hussain], Jayaram, Shivram, Baloo, Salam-ud-din, Warde](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6170539f9de5005591e466e3/f9add4e4-aa50-4106-a855-52eb20c8458e/92_0258.jpg)
Lot 258 All India tour of England 1911 (1st Indian tour). Rare album page very nicely signed in ink by eleven members of the Indian touring party. Signatures are Meherhomji, Bulsara, Syed Hasan [Hussain], Jayaram, Shivram, Baloo, Salam-ud-din, Warden, Mulla, Seshachari and Divecha (Manager). A rare and early page of Indian cricketers’ signatures. Hammer £900
Lot 33 Thomas 'Tom' Emmett. Yorkshire & England 1866-1888. Rare four page folding letter with excellent cricket content from Emmett to the collector, Charles Pratt Green, dated 21st November 1891 with original envelope. Emmett is replying to a request for one of his bats to add to Green's collection. Emmett is sorry that he had recently given away 'the only old bat I had... And when I tell you that I gave it to some school boys in the East End of London I know you will excuse me'. He goes on to describe the interest of a master at Rugby School who 'fixes them a new bat every year which he buys from me’. Etc. Nicely signed 'T. Emmett'. An excellent signed letter from the great Yorkshire and England player. Hammer £500
Lot 564 Sussex C.C.C. 1904. Large album page beautifully signed in black ink by the eleven members of the Sussex team who played Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge 2nd- 4th June 1904. The signatures, collected by the Nottinghamshire groundsman, include Ranjitsinhji, Fry, Seymour, Cox, Killick, Leach, Relf, the rarer signature of Alfred Seal (Sussex 1904, 2 matches). Hammer £340
Lot 450 'Let Cricket Flourish'. Early and complete embroidered belt with square shaped brass belt buckle showing to centre a cricket scoring tent with stumps and crossed bats and ball, two cricketers to left and right, one holding a bat and one holding a ball with legend to lower border. The buckle measures almost 2.5"x2.25". The colourful belt embroidered on leather in a variety of colours with floral decoration. An early rare cricket belt and decorative buckle. Hammer £380
Lot 68 John Broadbridge. Marylebone Cricket Club 1840. Sussex v England. Rare and very early single page handwritten letter in ink from John Broadbridge at Lord's Ground, dated 30th July 1840, to 'Friend Wenman' (Edward Gower 'Ned' Wenman, Kent 1825-1854). Broadbridge writes 'I have engaged Cobbett, Bayley, & Hawkins, & I wish you consider that you are also engaged. They will be at Dover on Sunday next, & of course you will also. The arrangements I have made with Cobbett will no doubt meet your approbation. I believe Hillyer is engaged as Umpire. I shall not say any think [sic] about the match, you will see all the particulars in Bells Life. Trusting you will not disappoint me', nicely signed 'John Broadbridge'. A nice example of an early letter referring to notable cricketers of the period. Hammer £250
Lot 1144 Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack 1870. 7th edition. Original paper wrappers. Rare seventh year of issue. Hammer £3000
Lot 915 England v Australia 1948. Official scorecard for the second Test match played at Lord's on 24th-29th June 1948. The scorecard very nicely signed in ink by all seventeen members of the Australian touring party. Signatures are Don Bradman, Barnes, Hassett, Johnston, Johnson, Harvey, Hamence, Tallon, Ring, McCool, Miller, Lindwall, Loxton, Saggers, Toshack, Brown and Morris. The scorecard headed in ink to the top border 'Australian Test Team, Lord's 1948'. Rare to see a 1948 Ashes scorecard signed by all seventeen members of this wonderful Australian team. Hammer £440
Lot 136 'M.C.C. Australian Tour 1928-9'. Official 'Orient Line, R.M.S. Ormonde' souvenir brochure with decorative covers, M.C.C. colours to front. To inside pages a real mono photograph of the M.C.C. team laid down to the itinerary page, pen pictures and biographies of the M.C.C. team etc. Nicely signed in black ink to the front cover by fifteen members of the touring party. Signatures include White, Hendren, Sutcliffe, Freeman, Leyland, Geary, Larwood, Jardine, Tate, Chapman, Hobbs, Tyldesley, Hammond, Ames etc. A rare brochure for the return trip and unusual to see, the S.S. Otranto brochure for the outward trip being much more widely seen. Hammer unsold
Lot 154 Percy George Herbert Fender. Sussex, Surrey & England 1910-1935. 'P.G.H. Fender Scrapbook'. Excellent original album, compiled personally by Fender covering his early cricket career from 1908 to 1911, comprising a comprehensive selection including official scorecards, cuttings, letters, telegrams, membership cards, small original photographs etc., all extensively annotated in ink in Fender's own hand. A wonderfully compiled personal album detailing the early playing career of this iconic and popular cricketer. Hammer £440
Lot 991 Australian tour to North America 1896. Rare and early original mono photograph of the quartet of South Australian members of the touring party, Joe Darling, George Giffen, Clem Hill and Ernest Jones. The players standing and seated on the pavilion steps wearing cricket attire and tour blazers for the tour match v Gentlemen of Philadelphia at Germantown Cricket Club Ground, Manheim, Philadephia, 18th- 21st September 1896. The photograph by H. Parker Rolfe of Philadelphia. A beautiful image. Hammer £700
Lot 272 'Indian Team's tour of England for Prudential World Cup 1983'. Large official autograph sheet with printed title and players' names, nicely and fully signed in ink by all fifteen listed members of the touring party. Signatures are Kapil Dev (Captain), Amarnath, Azad, Binny, Gavaskar, Kirmani, Madan Lal, Sandeep Patil, Sandhu, Srikkanth, Shastri, Sharma, Vengsarkar, Valson and Mansingh (Manager). Hammer £1800
Lot 875 H.H. Stephenson's tour of Australia 1861/62. 'International Cricket Match. New South Wales v All England, played at the Domain, Sydney on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, January 29th, 30th and 31st, and February 1st 1862. The All England Eleven introduced into the Colonies by Messrs Spiers & Pond'. Very early original silk scorecard for the match played in 1862 between New South Wales (22 players) and the All England XI. Printed by the Caxton Printing Office of George Street, Sydney. An extremely rare scorecard from this seminal cricket match on the first tour of Australia. Hammer unsold
Lot 1169 Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack 1897. 34th edition. Original hardback. The rare second issue of the original hardback, which was first introduced in 1896. Hammer £10000
Lot 155 West Indies tour of England 1906. Paper page, laid down to card, with handwritten title to the top of the page 'West Indies Cricket Team 1906' and nicely signed by thirteen members of the touring party in ink, each player has indicated the island in the West Indies who he represented. Signatures are H.B.G. Austin (Cpt), Challenor, Constantine, Bancroft, Cumberbatch, Goodman, Harrigin, Layne, Learmond, Morrison, Ollivierre, Parker, Cameron and Smith. A very rare set of signatures from this early tour to England, the second by a West Indies team, the first being in 1900. From an extensive collection of West Indian autographed material being sold in this auction. Hammer £240
Lot 1575 Manchester City v Grimsby Town. Season 1937/38. League Division 1. Original official programme for the League match played at Maine Road on the 27th November 1937. Vol. 32 no. 16. Manchester City won 3-1. Hammer £75
Lot 172 West Indies tour of Australia 1960/61. Trans-Australia Airlines four page folding itinerary for the tour with titles to front cover, tour fixtures to the two inside pages and the touring party is listed to back cover along with T.A.A. Office addresses and phone numbers. Signed in ink across the inside fixtures pages by all sixteen playing members of the party. Signatures include Worrell (Cpt), Alexander, Dewdney, Gibbs, Hall, Hendriks, Hunte, Kanhai, Lashley, Nurse, Ramadhin, Smith, Sobers etc, The itinerary was given and sent to the vendor by the West Indian Captain Frank Worrell, A full set of signatures from this tour are rarely seen. Hammer £480
Lot 663a Peter John Parnell Burge. Queensland & Australia 1952-1968. 'Australian tour of New Zealand 1967'. Australian dark myrtle green wool test blazer worn by Peter Burge during the Australian tour of New Zealand in February and March 1967. The blazer beautifully embroidered with the Australia emblem to breast pocket and below 'N.Z. Tour 1967' in gold thread, with gold trimming to blazer pocket and sleeves. A rarely seen blazer for this tour. Hammer £420
Lot 1025 India tour to England 1967. Official mono photograph of the Indian touring party seated and standing in rows wearing tour blazers. The photograph measures 10"x8", laid to photographer's mount with printed title and players' names to mount borders. Fully and nicely signed in ink to the mount by all sixteen playing members of the touring party, plus the Treasurer, Chinnaswamy. Players' signatures include Nawab of Pataudi (Captain), Bedi, Prasanna, Kunderan, Hanumant Singh, Engineer, Chandrasekhar, Venkataraghavan, Wadekar, Surti etc. Hammer £700
Lot 1343 Kent County Cricket Club Annual 1883-1884. Hardback 'blue book'. Original decorative boards. Gilt titles and to all page edges with gilt Kent emblem to centre. Printed by Cross & Jackman, 'The Canterbury Press' 1884. Rare seventh issue of the 'blue book’. Hammer £360
Lot 1189 Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack 1917. 54th edition. Original hardback. Hammer £1600
Lot 412 'The Cricketers of Vanity Fair'. Excellent collection of twenty seven original colour chromolithographs of cricketers, as listed by John Arlott in 'The Cricketer', August 1953 and J.W. Goldman's additional list published in 'The Cricketer' in September 1953. The cricketers are Grace, Spofforth, Lord Harris, Bonnor, A.Lyttelton, Philipson, Lord Hawke, Fry, Baldwin, Lord Chelmsford, Ranjitsinhji, Jessop, Jephson, Abel, Jackson, Paliaret, Warner, Bosanquet, Lord Dalmeny, Hayward, Tyldesley, Wells, Spencer Ponsonby and the rarer E.W. Dillon plus J.R. Mason (Supplement to the World) by Spy and the two principal artists being Carlo Pellegrini 'Ape' and Leslie Ward ‘Spy’ etc. A good selection of cricketing Vanity Fair lithographs and associated ephemera. Hammer £960
Lot 809 Australia tour to England 1909. 'The Australian Team 1909'. Early mono postcard of the Australian touring party seated and standing in rows wearing tour blazers and caps. Printed title and players' names to lower edge. Nicely signed in ink to verso by twelve members of the team. Signatures are Noble (Captain), Trumper, Hopkins, Carkeek, Armstrong, Cotter, Bardsley, Hartigan, Whitty, Ransford, McAlister and Carter. Published by T. Bolland of Hanwell & Southall. Hammer £700
Lot 476 Maurice William Tate. Sussex & England 1912-1937. E.P.B.M. silver plated tea set, comprising of a teapot, sugar bowl and milk jug. Engraved to the teapot is the following inscription 'Johnnie Walker Trophy. Presented to M.W. Tate, Adelaide 1925'. The sugar bowl and milk jug have Tate's initial's engraved to their sides. The tea set made by James Dixon & Sons of Sheffield, with makers marks to bases of all three items. Hammer £200
Lot 330 Arthur Fielder. Kent & England 1900-1914. M.C.C. tour of Australia 1903/04. Large black autograph book with gilt page edges belonging to Fielder, on his first overseas tour with the England team, and used by him to obtain signatures of passengers, players and teams during the tour. He obtained the signatures of many of the ship’s passengers including Florence Darnley, wife of Ivo Bligh (Captain of England in the 1882/83 tour of Australia), South Australia, Victoria, Queensland, Newcastle and the Australian team who played in the first Test at Sydney in December 1903. Signatures include Noble, Duff, Victor Trumper, Hill, Armstrong, Hopkins, Howell, Gregory, Laver, Kelly, Saunders etc. An early and unique autograph book compiled by an initially enthusiastic collector of the team's autographs on his first tour. Hammer £2600
Lot 392 David Denton. Yorkshire & England 1894-1920. Denton's Benefit 1907. Page of 'The Leeds Cricket, Football & Athletic Club' official letterhead, dated 1907 with handwritten title 'Benefit', beautifully signed in black ink by the members of the Yorkshire and Lancashire teams for Denton's Benefit match played at Headingley, 5th- 7th August 1907. Signatures include Lord Hawke, F.S. Jackson, E. Smith, D. Hunter, W.H. Wilkinson, D. Denton, G.H. Hirst, A.C. MacLaren, R.H. Spooner, A.H. Hornby, H.D. Stanning, J.T. Tyldesley, H. Dean, L.W. Cook, F. Harry, W. Worsley etc. Twenty six signatures in total. Hammer £650
Lot 658 George Benjamin Street, Sussex & England 1909-1923. A pair of hand-decorated ostrich eggs, one decorated with the M.C.C. emblem of St. George and the dragon and the other with the South African emblem of the Springbok. The eggs were presented to George Street on the M.C.C. tour of South Africa in 1922/23. A pair of rare, unusual and beautifully painted tour souvenirs. Previously sold by Knights Auctioneers in July 1997. Hammer £250
Lot 1121 Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack 1916. 53rd edition. Original paper wrappers. Rare war-time edition. Hammer £380