I was fortunate recently to acquire a small collection of memorabilia, being the personal collection of Seamus O'Connell, the noted amateur footballer who starred for Chelsea and notably helped the club win their first ever Football League Championship in the season 1954 - 55.
The collection included medals, programmes, original press photos etc together with a few other football related items Seamus or his family picked up along the way. I am now putting these items up for sale with this example being:
The Star item of the collection!!!! The 1954 - 55 Football League Championship medal awarded to Seamus O'Connell as Chelsea won the Football League Championship for the first time in their history; this was also the club's first major trophy success!
The medal is in 9ct gold with the front embossed:
"THE FOOTBALL LEAGUE. CHAMPIONS DIVISION 1"
The obverse is engraved:
"SEASON 1954 - 55. S. O'CONNELL"
The medal comes in a quality blue presentation case but this is not original to the medal. Also included is a photo reprint depicting Seamus O'Connell together with a printout of the Wikipedia page relating to the player.
9ct Gold Medal: Weight: 15.9gm. Diameter: 28 mm. Hall Mark: Birmingham 1955. Maker's Mark: Vaughton & Sons.
Chelsea FC: The club was founded in 1905 yet it took until the 1954 - 55 season for them to win their first ever League Championship and it would be another 50 years until they won their second Championship in 2004 - 05. As of today they have won the League Championship 6 times, the last one in 2016 - 17.
1954 - 55 Football League Season: Chelsea were not widely expected to compete for the title this season yet ended up Champions with 52 points, 4 more than their nearest rivals, Wolverhampton Wanderers.
At the time, to qualify for a Football League Championship medal, a player needed to play at least 10 League games during the season. In the 1954 - 55 season there were just 16 Chelsea players who met this criteria so there were only 16 League Championship medals struck and awarded to Chelsea players making these medals very scarce & collectable. Listed below are the names of the 16 Chelsea players who received a 1954 - 55 League Championship medal:
Eric Parsons 42 games
Derek Saunders 42 games
Roy Bentley 41 games
John McNichol 40 games
Ken Armstrong 39 games
Stan Willemse 36 games
John Harris 31 games
Les Stubbs 27 games
Bill Robertson 26 games
Frank Blunstone 23 games
Stan Wicks 21 games
Ron Greenwood 21 games
Peter Sillett 21 games
Jim Lewis 17 games
Charlie Thomson 16 games
Seamus O'Connell 10 games (the medal for sale).
Seamus O'Connell only just qualified for an official League Championship medal but he was a catalyst which helped Chelsea to the title. After scoring a hat trick on his debut he went on to score 7 League goals in his 10 League games and was the club's 4th top goalscorer after Roy Bentley, John McNichol & Eric Parsons.
Seamus O'Connell (11th January 1930 to 24th February 2013): Described as the country's finest amateur centre forward, Seamus won 4 England International caps as well as helping Bishop Auckland win the FA Amateur Cup in 1955 and Crook Town to win the same trophy in 1959.
However he will be most remembered for his short career with Chelsea with his signing being one of the catalysts which propelled the club to their first ever Football League Championship in 1954 - 55. They had not been expected to compete for the title that season and it would be another 50 years before Chelsea were to win their second Championship.
Seamus is one of only two Chelsea players to score a hat-trick on his debut which he did in a truly remarkable game. In front of a crowd of 56,000 at Old Trafford, Seamus scored three goals yet still lost the game to Manchester United 6 - 5! During the remainder of that 1954 - 55 Season Seamus went on to score 7 goals in 10 appearances, helping Chelsea to the title with Wolverhampton Wanderers in second place, four points adrift.
In total O'Connell played 16 times for Chelsea, scoring 11 goals but this was the time of the maximum wage of £12 per week with Chelsea players receiving a £50 bonus for being crowned League Champions. Seamus left the club the following season to return to his father's profitable cattle business in Carlisle. I believe Seamus O'Connell to be the only amateur player to win a Football League Championship medal with Chelsea. How different things would have been today!
Summary: As can be seen from the photos this is an historic medal in the long history of Chelsea FC, their first League Championship medal and the only League Championship medal won during the club's first 100 years in existence! Good luck!