An auction of football memorabilia later this month includes the Sir Alf Ramsey collection, comprising caps, medals and memorabilia spanning the footballing career of the former England player and manager.

An Irish international shirt, programme and cap from a famous Irish victory over Germany in 1936 also features in the auction.

The Ramsey collection is expected to fetch £50,000 sterling (€81,000) at a Christie's auction, which takes place in London on September 27th, with estimates ranging from £250 to £5,000.

Born in 1920, Sir Alf began his career in 1944 at Southampton. He joined Tottenham Hotspur in 1946, where he was a key figure in Spurs's back-to-back Championship victories of 1950 and 1951. Medals from both these wins feature in the auction.

Sir Alf made some 300 appearances for Spurs, scoring 30 goals, and played 32 times for England, where he notched up three more goals.

He began to manage Ipswich Town in 1952. He led the club to the Third Division (South) title in 1957, the Division Two Championship in 1961 and the Division One crown in 1962. That success led to his appointment as England manager in April 1963.

Mr David Convery, football specialist at Christie's, told The Irish Times: "He was manager \of the England team for 113 matches and won 69 of those, losing just 17. It was a fantastic record for that period. And of course he won the World Cup finals in 1966 as well."

Sir Alf was knighted for his services to football in 1967 and was England manager until May 1974. He died on April 28th, 1999.

Twenty of Sir Alf's international caps are included, with estimates from £800 to £1,500. Five medals from his English domestic career as player and manager feature. A silver-gilt medal marking Spurs's victory in the Division One Championship 1950-51 is estimated at up to £5,000. That year, they beat Manchester United by two points.

Meanwhile, a medal for the Division Two Championship 1949-1950 is expected to fetch £1,200 to £1,800.

Some 24 silver-gilt football league medals from 1948 to 1974 are expected to go for £250 to £700 each. Medals from international matches against Ireland and Scotland are each estimated at £250 to £350.

One better-forgotten match from an Irish point of view took place on September 21st, 1966, with Sir Alf as manager of the English league side. "You got beaten 12-nil, which is a bit of a record," said Mr Convery.

A 1940 silver-gilt inter-league medal against the Irish football league, played at Liverpool on September 20th, 1948, saw the Irish beaten 5-1. We fared better at Dalymount Park in 1952 when Ireland was beaten 1-nil.

But Ireland victorious is also featured in the auction, with Irish player Hughie Connolly's international shirt, programme and cap of a famous Irish Free State victory over Germany in 1936. Played at Dalymount Park on October 17th, the Free State defeated Germany 5-2.

"You don't often see the shirt, programme and cap all together as one lot; it's quite unusual. The condition is very, very good. It's come from a member of Hughie Connolly's family, so there's a nice provenance as well." The lot carries an estimate of £1,000 to £1,500.

A pair of David Beckham's boots is estimated at £2,000 to £3,000. Christie's sold the first pair of Beckham's boots in March 2000. Estimated at £700 to £1,000, they sold for £13,100.

"The first pair on the market is always going to make a bit more than normal. But we've sold pairs since for about £1,800 to £2,000 a pair."

Beckham gave this pair to a young fan who was accidentally hit in the face by a ball he had kicked. After the game, Beckham called him over and handed his boots to him.

jmarms@irish-times.ie