Iconic original Anfield sign sells for £115,000 at auction
Bill Shankly coined the phrase “This is Anfield” to spook opposition players
A sign that was once displayed at Liverpool’s Anfield stadium has sold for £115,000 at an auction.
The rectangular red sign, which includes the club’s name and famous Liver Bird symbol, as well as the phrase “This is Anfield”, was sold to a UK-based buyer.
Sports memorabilia auctioneers Budds had estimated it would sell for £10,000 to £15,000 – almost eight times less than the price it ultimately fetched.
The sign was first installed in a players’ exit-entry tunnel at Anfield by former player and Liverpool manager Bill Shankly in 1972, according to the Reds’ website.
It was seen as a threat to visiting players, with the home team often touching it for good luck before a game.
Former forward Kenny Dalglish told the Daily Mail 10 years ago that he was “terrified” by the sign when he made his home debut as a Reds player in 1977.
The sign was replaced by a second one after 1979 and former Liverpool defender and manager Roy Evans gifted it to youth player Ronald Wilson, the club’s website said.
Wilson then took the sign with him when he opened the Rutland Hotel in Douglas on the Isle of Man.
The sign was hung in the bed and breakfast’s bar until 2000 and then passed down to the hotel’s current owners, Ian and Lynn, who first put it in storage, according to Liverpool’s website.
It was displayed in Ian’s office from the mid-2010s until he recently retired, with the family then choosing to sell it.
David Convery, head of Sporting Memorabilia at Budds, said the sign and sale “made for a very memorable auction”.
He added: “All sports memorabilia is imbued with some of the magic of the game and its players.
“But the Anfield sign and the superstition surrounding it added something that went beyond the exceptional.”
While the winning bid stood at £115,000, the final total reached £149,500 including commission and VAT.
Budds said it was “a record price” for any UK sports stadium interior sign.