A brief history of soccer uniform swapping.
Look, we know the World Cup is almost over, but we just can’t let go—not when there’s a good story begging to be told. Ever wonder when the ritual of exchanging jerseys began?
The New York Times reports that it was in 1931, when England lost to France for the first time ever. It was so exciting to the French that they begged the English players to give them their jerseys as mementos. God knows why, but the English players complied.
The jersey swap made its way to the World Cup in 1954. But not all jerseys-swapping stories are quite so gentlemanly: The Brits triumphed over Argentina in the 1966 quarterfinals, but so great was the English manager’s hatred for the Argentines that he actually grabbed the jersey of one of his player’s just as he was about to hand it over to an opponent.
“It’s just a sign of respect,” former U.S. player Clint Mathis told the Times. “You’re out there trying to kick each other and kill each other, but when the game’s said and done, it’s back to being friends.”
But it’s not all about the sportsmanship; sometimes it’s also about cash money:
Nigel Spill, a sports memorabilia dealer in Los Angeles, said a game-worn jersey of a player like Messi, the reigning world player of the year, would be comparable to what a Derek Jeter jersey would fetch, easily into five figures.
Cheap at twice the price! We’ll take two.
—Seth Putnam