'Oldest surviving' Middlesbrough shirt from 1800s fetches £16k at auction

A rare Middlesbrough football shirt, believed to be the oldest in existence, has sold for £16,000 at auction.

The white woollen jersey with blue polka dot cuffs and button-up collar is estimated to date from between 1886 and 1890, when the team changed to a blue shirt.

The item, complete with embroidered badge inscribed "M.F.C ERIMUS", was manufactured by E. Banks of Middlesbrough more than a century ago.

It went under the hammer on Wednesday 8 March as part of Graham Budd's Sports Memorabilia Auction in London.

The auctioneer stated: "We would imagine that this is the oldest Middlesbrough shirt that survives and possibly the oldest example of a shirt from a league club still in one piece.

"We believe that it dates from between 1886 and 1890, when they changed to a blue shirt, before another change back to white up to 1899 which is when they finally turned professional permanently and adopted more or less the red that they are famed for today."

The shirt almost dates back to the North East club's origins in 1876, and is the Boro's fourth style of kit.

It is now thought to be one of the region's most expensive football jerseys.

However, the lot did not reach the dizzying heights of Diego Maradona's shirt, worn in the famous 'Hand of God' match, which recently sold for more than £7million.

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