Estudiantes v Man U programme, 1968, sold for £10,000 at Mullock Jones.
The game was played between the South American and European champions to establish a world club ranking. The match was the 1st leg at the Boca Juniors stadium in Buenos Aires. United lost 2-1 on aggregate.
Man Utd is a valuable collecting market anyway but this 22-page programme offered at Mullock Jones (20.5% buyer’s premium) on April 24-25 had extra rarity appeal: they were available only to the club directors/officials. A few have survived.
Graham Budd sold a copy of this programme in September 2023, also for £10,000 hammer.
Cancelled game
Man Utd v Wolves programme for the cancelled game in 1958, sold for £9500 at Mullock Jones.
Another Man Utd programme offered at Mullock Jones is scarce because of tragic circumstances: the Munich air crash. It was for the game against Wolverhampton Wanderers set for February 8, 1958, at Old Trafford – two days after the disaster – which was then postponed.
Most of the match-day programmes were destroyed. However, a handful are thought to exist, probably either printer’s proofs or souvenirs kept by printing staff.
In “overall fair” condition, this copy sold for £9500 (estimate £5000-6000). Another example made £7500 at Hanson Ross in January, while Graham Budd sold one last year also for £9500.
The vendors of the Mullock Jones programmes on April 24-25 were two different private collectors. Both went to UK private buyers bidding online.
