Stealing the World Cup
The Jules Rimet, trophy of the FIFA World Cup, was stolen from a stamp exhibition in Westminster Central Hall on March 20th, 1966 - the year England was hosting (and went on to win) the tournament. The theft sparked a massive Police investigation and multiple offers of rewards for its recovery. Astonishingly, the trophy had not been heavily guarded or alarmed, so the thieves stole it with bolt cutters. In a twist straight out of Enid Blyton, the cup was eventually discovered not by the boys in blue - but by a pet dog called Pickles, who was then lauded as a national hero. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal the identities of the London gangsters who poached the Cup; explain what music hall star Tommy Trinder had to do with it; and discover how, in Brazil, the Cup was to go AWOL again… Further Reading: • ‘The Theft of the Jules Rimet Trophy - The Hidden History of the 1966 World Cup, By Martin Atherton (Meyer & Meyer, 2008): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Theft_of_the_Jules_Rimet_Trophy/m7SbwNM4Y0sC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=theft+of+the+world+cup+1966&pg=PA45&printsec=frontcover • ‘The World Cup is stolen’ (The Guardian, 1966): https://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/mar/21/world-cup-stolen-football-archive-1966 • ‘Pickles - The dog who saved the 1966 World Cup’ (The Sun, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQjZagahHKU Love the show? Support us! Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY… … Plus, get weekly bonus bits, and unlock over 100 bits of extra content. Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices