Spring Premium Live and Catalog Auction 2018 Closing May 5
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 5/6/2018
In a fitting turn of events, Uruguay, winners of the very first World Cup, was the team that was again victorious when the event was reinstituted after the Second World War. In the deciding match between Uruguay and the heavily favored host country Brazil, Uruguay broke a 1-1 tie with just 11 minutes left to play, astounding the 205,000 fans that filled the Estádio do Maracanã.
This pair of 1950 World Cup medals were awarded to defender Eusebio Tejera of the champion Uruguay team. Tejera played for Club Nacional de Football from 1945 to 1950 and then for his country’s national team in the 1950 and 1954 World Cups. The first piece is a 1 ¼ x 2 inch medal depicting the World Cup symbol with “IV CAMPEONATO MUNDIAL de FUTBOL 1950” in raised letters. The reverse has “HOMENAJE de la CAMARA de REPRESENTANTES REPUBLICA del URUGUAY” and “Eusebio R. Tejera” engraved into the piece. The medal shows light wear with the detail crisp and clean. The second piece is a gold medal featuring the world cup symbol with “FIFA” in raised letters. The reverse has “COUPE JULES RIMET (WORLD CUP) BRAZIL 1950” and “Eusebio Tejera” engraved into the piece. The medal retains its original suspension ring and is in very good condition with just light wear visible. Two hard to find pieces from the first post-war World Cup.