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  "path": "/sport/football/world-cup-dog-stolen-trophy-england",
  "publishedAt": "2026-06-02T23:01:01.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "Southampton boss issues grovelling apology after Spygate saga in eight-minute video",
    "Sir Kenny Dalglish, 75, reveals he's been diagnosed with cancer as he provides update on treatment",
    "UK Athletics fined £350,000 after fatal training incident that claimed Paralympian's life",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\nWhen people think of England's 1966 World Cup triumph, images of Bobby Moore lifting the Jules Rimet Trophy at Wembley usually come to mind.\n\nYet one of the most important figures in the story was not a footballer, manager or even a human being.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nInstead, he was a dog. And his name was Pickles.\n\nThe black-and-white collie became an unlikely national hero after finding the stolen World Cup trophy just months before the tournament began, helping recover football's most famous prize before the tournament began.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\nThe extraordinary tale began on March 20, 1966.\n\nEngland was preparing to stage the World Cup for the first time and the Jules Rimet Trophy was on public display at the \"Sport with Stamps\" exhibition inside Westminster's Central Hall.\n\nDespite security being in place, thieves managed to steal the trophy from its display cabinet, triggering a nationwide search.\n\nThe disappearance then caused panic.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nWith less than four months until the tournament, the Football Association faced the possibility of hosting football's biggest event without the sport's most famous prize. Scotland Yard launched a major investigation and the story quickly made headlines around the world.\n\nA ransom demand soon followed.\n\nA man using the name \"Jackson\" contacted FA chairman Joe Mears and demanded £15,000 in exchange for the trophy's return.\n\nPolice organised a sting operation and arrested a former soldier. However, the trophy itself remained missing.\n\n### LATEST SPORTS NEWS:\n\n\n\n\n  * Southampton boss issues grovelling apology after Spygate saga in eight-minute video\n  * Sir Kenny Dalglish, 75, reveals he's been diagnosed with cancer as he provides update on treatment\n  * UK Athletics fined £350,000 after fatal training incident that claimed Paralympian's life\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThen, just seven days after the theft, came one of the most famous canine discoveries in sporting history.\n\nOn March 27, David Corbett was taking his four-year-old dog Pickles for a walk in Upper Norwood, south London.\n\nAs Pickles sniffed around near a parked car, he became interested in a package wrapped tightly in newspaper and string.\n\nCorbett examined the parcel and quickly realised it might be the missing World Cup trophy.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nCorbett took the package to a local police station, where officers initially struggled to believe his story.\n\nAfter further examination, however, it became clear that the Jules Rimet Trophy had indeed been recovered. The World Cup had been found, and Pickles was responsible.\n\nFor a brief period, Corbett himself fell under suspicion as detectives attempted to establish exactly how the trophy had been recovered.\n\nHe was eventually cleared of any involvement and suddenly found himself, along with Pickles, at the centre of a media frenzy.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe collie then proceeded to become an overnight celebrity.\n\nNewspapers across Britain featured photographs of Pickles. Television appearances followed and the dog's fame soon spread far beyond England.\n\nHe was awarded a silver medal by the National Canine Defence League and received widespread recognition for his role in recovering the trophy.\n\nHis celebrity status even led to a film role.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nLater in 1966, Pickles appeared in the comedy film \"The Spy with a Cold Nose\" alongside actor Eric Sykes. He also featured on television programmes and was named Dog of the Year.\n\nCorbett benefited too.\n\nThe rewards connected to the recovery totalled several thousand pounds, a substantial sum at the time. According to later accounts, he used part of the money to buy a house in Surrey.\n\nThe story received a perfect ending when England went on to win the World Cup.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nFollowing the famous 4-2 victory over West Germany after extra time at Wembley, Pickles' fame continued, with the dog appearing at public events and receiving widespread recognition.\n\nThe dog who had helped save the tournament became part of football folklore.\n\nSadly, however, Pickles' life was short.\n\nIn 1967, just a year after becoming a national celebrity, he tragically died in an accident near the family's Surrey home while chasing a cat.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nHis owner later buried him in the garden.\n\nToday, Pickles' collar is displayed at the National Football Museum in Manchester, ensuring his place in football history remains secure.\n\nEngland's 1966 World Cup victory remains the nation's greatest football achievement.\n\nBut had it not been for a curious collie sniffing around a newspaper parcel on a spring evening in south London, the tournament's most famous trophy might never have made it to Wembley at all.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter**",
  "title": "World Cup tales part 3: The dog that found the stolen trophy and became an English national hero"
}