National Football Museum Manchester UK

Soccer err Football is all the rage these days and the US has a big outing in the "knockout" stage on Tuesday. Today team Phungo is getting into the spirit by publishing a few photos from a visit we made to the UK National Football Museum located in Manchester.

Click any Photo to enlarge

I don't really follow soccer, and I am not sure if the athletic shoe is the architectural design iinspiration, but to me this looks more like a basketball shoe than a soccer cleat. The museum reminded me of the Rock n Roll HoF in Cleveland with larger lower levels for fixed/permanent exhibits while the smaller upper levels are more apt for rotating exhibits.

The Museum is called the National Football Museum, but it has plenty of international flair. While the history of the game from the British perspective is at the center of the museum's vision, There are several exhibits and items that deal with the World Cup and other international competitions.

The museum is free to visit and has plenty of interactive and pop culture items, thus there is an appeal to novice fans as myself.  

 1959 Style Football Cards

One of the first notable items I saw were Soccer Cards in the style of 1959 Topps. From what I understand it was common practice for the Football cards of the Fall/Winter of a year to use the design of the previous summers Topps Series - I think these cards are from the 1959-1960 season.


Chix Bubble Gum Cards from 1951 and a program from the 2011 Women's World Cup.

Churchman Cigarettes Cards (1930) and  WD & HO Willis Cigarette Card Album (1935-36)

\Original FA Cup 

Actually the original cup was apparently stolen in the 19th century. This matching cup was created to replace the original. This 2nd Original cup was in use from 1896-1910. 

Stanley Matthews Exhibit

Stanley Matthews was one of a handful of players honored with their own exhibit box. In the 1959 cards near the top of this post his card is the leftmost of the center trio.

George Best European Footballer of the Year Trophy (1968) 

Willie Cunningham Knee Ligament

One of the more gruesome exhibits was this one of Willie Cunningham's Knee Ligament. The related text notes that the recover time for Cunning was six months. Today a player that goes through the same surgery would be back on the field in four weeks.

Wallace and Gromit 

 As I mentioned above there were a number of pop culture items in the museum. Team Phungo was delighted to see a Wallace and Gromit item that was from a production we were previously unaware. The Soccermatic is an invention from the Wallace & Gromit Cracking Contraptions Collection. I have been a fan of W&G for a long time. It is great for fans of stop motion animation and clever writing. 

Raquel Welch showing off her Soccer Skills in 1972



Sources
The FA
National Football Museum
Imdb