Mystery over football medal found at school

A former Manchester United footballer was today reunited with his championship medal – which was discovered in a cupboard at a Shropshire primary school more than 25 years after he last saw it.

Defender Steve James was presented with the Second Division Champions medal by pupils at Buildwas Primary School, near Telford, after it was uncovered during a clear-out.

And neither the ex-footballer, who won the medal in the 1974/75 season, or staff know how it ended up in the school’s cupboard.

It was through the efforts of school governer Nigel Bowen that he tracked down Mr James. Mr James said: “Nigel did a lot of work tracing me.

Then I had a phone call from a lad I knew years ago saying there had been some trophies found at a school. Nigel then phoned me up and said they had got this medal.”

He said the medal had been at his parents home when he last saw it. The grandfather said: “I got to the point where I thought I would never see it again. It is a total and utter mystery how the medal ended up at the school.” Mr James said he was ‘very very pleased’ to see it again.He said the medal, if sold on eBay, could potentially make £1,000 to £1,500 but to him it was ‘priceless’.

Mr Bowen said when the school had realised the sentimental value of the medal they decided they could not sell it.