In 1898, the Corinthians broke their own code and agreed to compete for silverware for the first time. They did so in a showpiece game played between the best amateur and the best professional team in the country. The winner took the mountainous Sheriff of London Shield, an oak leviathan too big for any captain to lift in celebration.

But since the club were forced to sell the Shield in 1996, its whereabouts have been unknown to Corinthians and football historians alike. We set out to track it down, speaking to a Andy Gray, who competed in the last Sheriff of London Shield game in 1983; Brian Wakefield and David Harrison, two Corinthian-Casuals committee members who oversaw the sale of the Shield; and Massimo Ferragamo, the present day owner of the trophy.

—

Written, produced and presented by Jarek Zaba and Dominic Bliss.

Editing: Jarek Zaba;
Audio engineering: Brent Davies;
Title music: John Forrest;
Artwork: Matt Alabaster;
Website: Chris Kelly.

Additional archive audio in this episode courtesy of Gillian Townsend.