Pickles (dog)
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| Species | Dog |
|---|---|
| Breed | Mixed Breed Collie |
| Sex | Male |
| Died | 1967 |
| Known for | finding the missing Jules Rimet Trophy |
| Owner | David Corbett |
| Awards | National Canine Defence League (silver medal) |
Pickles (born 1962 or 1963; died 1967) was a black and white collie dog, known for his role in finding the stolen Jules Rimet Trophy in March 1966, four months before the 1966 FIFA World Cup was scheduled to kick-off in England.
The World Cup trophy was stolen on the afternoon of Sunday 20 March 1966. It had been on public display in a glass cabinet during the "Sport with Stamps" Stanley Gibbons Stampex rare stamp exhibition at Methodist Central Hall in Westminster. The thief evaded the round-the-clock security, and ignored rare stamps with a value of £3 million to steal the silver-gilt trophy, which was generally thought to be worth far less.
A telephone call from a man who called himself "Jackson" to Joe Mears, chairman of Chelsea F.C. and The Football Association, alerted him that a package would be left at Stamford Bridge the following day: it contained a £15,000 ransom demand, accompanied by the removable lining from the top of the trophy. The package was turned over to the police, who arranged to meet "Jackson". However, when they arrested the man who had mailed the package, whose real name was Edward Betchley, he claimed that he was a middleman, and the real culprit, a man he called "The Pole", was never identified. Betchley was eventually convicted for demanding money with menaces, and sentenced to two years imprisonment. If the thief was another person, he was never caught.
The rest of the trophy was found on Sunday 27 March, just seven days after it was stolen, wrapped in newspaper at the bottom of a suburban garden hedge in Beulah Hill, Upper Norwood, South London, by the four-year-old Pickles, while taking a walk with his owner, David Corbett, who worked as a Thames lighterman. Suspicion of involvement in the theft was attached briefly to David Corbett. When England won the trophy, as a reward, Pickles was invited to the celebration banquet and was allowed to lick his owner's bowl.
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Wikipedia