A special piece of Bolton Wanderers’ history is to go on display at the home of the Whites.
The winner’s medal from the 1923 FA Cup Final belonging to legendary former player David Jack has kindly been loaned to the club by his family.
It will now form the focal point of an exhibition focused on Jack and the ‘White Horse Final’ housed in the main reception at the Toughsheet Community Stadium.
The Bolton Wanderers Supporters’ Trust worked closely with members of Jack’s family to bring the medal home from Australia, where it was collected from his grandson Chris in Sydney by Trust Board member Alan Houghton.
On behalf of the Jack family, Chris said: “It feels like the FA Cup winner's medal has finally come home to be on display at the club that meant so much to him (David). This medal, a tangible link to our grandfather’s football past, has travelled a long journey, having been taken to Australia with the immigrant Jack family and now returned to Bolton and the Wanderers club, where it can be shared with both old and new football fans.
“We believe that this medal should serve as a symbol of the collective achievement of a great club, not just as a medal won by a single man who scored an important goal on that famous day in 1923. Displaying this medal will hopefully act as a point of education and inspiration for future generations of footballers and fans of the Bolton Wanderers Football Club.
“We thank everyone involved in bringing this medal back to the club, especially Ian Bridge and Alan Houghton from the Bolton Wanderers Supporters’ Trust, as well as Neil Hart and Phil Mason at the club. Without them, this small medal would never have made its way back to Bolton.”
Jack’s medal – and a tankard presented to his Wanderers’ team-mate and three-time FA Cup winner Dick Pym – will be available to view from 4pm before Wanderers’ friendlies against Fiorentina tomorrow (Friday) night and Stoke City on Tuesday, 30th July and ahead of all home games in August and September.
The memento – from the first match played at the original Wembley Stadium – will then go on display in the National Football Museum in Manchester.
Neil Hart, Wanderers’ Chief Executive Officer, said: “We are delighted to have such a unique and valued part of Bolton Wanderers’ proud history back here and available to be viewed by supporters.
“I’d like to thank all the members of the Jack family who have kindly loaned the medal and made this possible and the Supporters’ Trust for their efforts in enabling us to display it as part of the fascinating exhibition the Trust has put together.
“This is another positive example of how the club and Trust continues to work in close collaboration and I hope supporters will take the opportunity to come and see the display and enjoy experiencing an important part of our past.”
The medal won by Jack marks the first of the four FA Cup successes enjoyed by Wanderers.
It also has special resonance in that it was won by the first man to score a goal at Wembley as Wanderers went on to beat West Ham United 2-0 in a final which also became famous for the police horse called ‘Billie’ that helped clear the pitch of some of the fans in a crowd officially given as 126,047 but which is believed to have been nearer double that.
Bolton-born Jack also helped the Whites win the Cup again in 1926 before joining Arsenal in 1928 for £10,647 as the world’s most expensive player and first five-figure signing.
The inside forward had scored 161 goals in 324 appearances for Wanderers and went on to score another 124 goals for the Gunners, becoming the first player to score 100 top-flight goals with two different clubs.
He also became the first player to win the FA Cup for two teams after helping Arsenal to victory in 1930, alongside the three League titles he won in his time at Highbury before retiring in 1934.
An England international – scoring three times in nine appearances – Jack was one of the greats of his era and thanks to the loan of arguably his most famous medal will now be even more closely woven into Wanderers’ history.
Alan Houghton said: “It means so much to have this medal at the club and it was a tremendous honour to go and get it. For the Trust to be involved and make it happen was brilliant.
“Chris said the family was very happy the medal was coming back to Bolton and thanked the club and me for going across to get it. He’s thrilled. He thinks the medal has come home and his grandfather is getting the recognition he deserves.”
Dick Pym spent a decade with Wanderers and also remains one of the club’s iconic players.
A goalkeeper capped three times by England, Pym played in each of Wanderers’ FA Cup winning teams of 1923, 1926 and 1929.
Pym played 336 games for the Whites before returning to the South-West where he was born and started his career with Exeter City.
The silver tankard presented to Pym by the Professional Footballers’ Association was bought at auction by London Whites’ member Mike Gething and kindly loaned to the club to be included as part of the 1923 display.