Next to the 15 European Cups or Champions League trophies gleaming on the stadium tour at Real Madrid sits a bull and matador.
It is a priceless sculpture produced by Royal Doulton to mark Stoke City's centenary in 1963. One was presented to Madrid when they visited the Victoria Ground for an iconic exhibition match, the other is kept securely by Stoke at the bet365 Stadium.
Stoke actually let us in for an admiring glance a few years ago as we marked the 150th anniversary of the club’s first recorded game – a 15-a-side 1-1 draw with EW May’s XV on October 17, 1868. Doulton went on to make a limited edition of 500 miniature versions that were so delicate that only one in three survived firings.
It was designed by legendary modeller Peggy Davies who had been inspired by posters of Spanish bullfight and trips to study the anatomy of bulls at farms around Staffordshire.
That amused superstars including Alfredo di Stefano when they were given a tour of the Burslem factory because there was more bull than there should have been – it had not been castrated.
Real Madrid football players after the presentation of a matador and bull in Royal Doulton pottery that was presented to their club president Santiago Bernabeu in 1963. Mr Frank Kerry (left) the export manager for the firm that made the sculpture shows the finer points of the figure to Stoke City director Albert Henshall.
There was, however, almost no bull at all.
Sentinel photographer Trevor Slater was summoned into the boardroom to capture the moment Madrid’s directors received their gift, only for his box flash to swing around and, legend has it, nearly knock the whole thing onto the floor.
“I think it’s been exaggerated a little over 55 years!” said Trevor. “But, yes, there was a ping and a sudden gasp of, ‘Woooah’.
“I was trying to gather everyone closer for the photo and my flash box, which was on a strap, had swung and caught the sculpture. So my heart was in my mouth for a moment but I don’t think there was ever too much danger.”
Stanley Matthews and Alfredo De Stefano shake hands before Stoke City draw 2-2 with Real Madrid in 1963.
Stanley Matthews and Alfredo De Stefano shake hands before Stoke City draw 2-2 with Real Madrid in 1963. (Image: Mirrorpix)
Tony Waddington had taken Trevor’s colleague Huston Spratt with him to collect the Madrid squad from Manchester Airport, via a match at Old Trafford.
Huston, who died in 2015, had recalled to the Sentinel in 2012: “I couldn’t believe it when Di Stefano sat next to me and wanted to know all about Stoke-on-Trent. He already knew all about Wedgwood and he was absolutely impressed.
“His English was excellent and we got on very well. He was softly spoken and a very nice man. On the pitch we was the past master of the passing game.”
It was a real coup for Stoke, Waddington and the board to secure Madrid as opponents for their landmark game. They had been crowned European champions five times in the previous eight years and had just run away with the Spanish title.
They were given £10,000 for the trip but that was only half the gate receipts from a 44,914 crowd and it was a night to remember.
Stanley Matthews in action for Stoke City against Real Madrid at the Victoria Ground in April 1963. The game finished in a 2-2 draw.
Stanley Matthews in action for Stoke City against Real Madrid at the Victoria Ground in April 1963. The game finished in a 2-2 draw. (Image: Mirrorpix)
Stoke – revitalised following the return of Stanley Matthews 18 months previously - still had seven games remaining as they closed in on promotion to the top flight following a decade’s absence. They drew 2-2 with goals from Dennis Viollet and Jimmy McIlroy cancelled out by Felix Ruiz and Ferenc Puskas.
“Puskas, though a somewhat portly figure these days, was outstanding,” wrote the Sentinel’s Norman Gosling. “That immaculate left foot of his pulled the ball this way and that as if it was on a piece of string and he pinpointed his passes and shot like a gun… though he began by ballooning one ball high into the terraces at the Stoke end.”
Stoke sent away their guests as friends, complete with gifts of Spode china coffee sets and Doulton character jugs.
Real Madrid president Santiago Bernabeu sent a telegram from Spain on their return thanking Stoke for their hospitality and hinting they would like a re-match. Fifty-seven years on, someone should see if the invitation is still open.
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