The Story of Soccer 2 (Signed) (Original)

Artist: Ralph Bruce
Medium: Watercolour on Board
Size: 13" x 16" (330mm x 400mm)
Date: 1970
Signature: Signed by artist in bottom border (not shown)
Code: BruceFootball2LL

This is the Signed unique original Watercolour painting by Ralph Bruce.

Series of pictures showing memorable events in Football, from the top: 1934 Cup Final, Manchester City vs Portsmouth - Frank Swift giving a memorable performance before fainting at the full time whistle; Portsmouth goalie Jock Gilfillan appeared in three Cup Finals (1927 Scottish Cup Final, 1929 & 1934 Cup Final) but didn't gain a winners medal in any of them;

the West Ham team of 1930 were travelling to play Derby but their bus broke down, they managed to hitch a lift in a horse drawn removals van and made it to the stadium in time; Mark Hooper of Sheffield Wednesday had exceptionally small feet. One day he arrived to play an away match and found he had forgotten his football boots - eventually a pair that fitted him were found, belonging to the referee's schoolboy son; 1931, Ricardo Zamora, the captain of Spain, wore a large, floppy cap as a lucky mascot - humiliated at a 7-1 defeat at the hands of England, he snatched off his cap and dashed it into the mud, whilst weeping bitterly;

Tottenham Hotspur stopped using the number 13 on a locker after their star winger sustained a series of injuries that almost ruined his career - once the number was painted over the injuries stopped; Frank Barson heading a goal 35 yards for Aston Villa.

This is the original artwork from Look and Learn no. 427, 21st March 1970, "The Story of Soccer".

• Artist Biography
  Ralph Bruce
  Ralph Bruce was a talented illustrator who worked for Look and Learn in the 1960s. Until the mid-1960s he was a regular artist for The Children's Newspaper and was probably brought to the educational paper by former Children's Newspaper editor, John Davies, who took over the editorship of Look and Learn in 1965.
  
  His artwork covered a huge range of subjects. His historical illustrations ranged from ancient Greece and Roman Britain, to the eras of Shakespeare, Caxton and modern journalism. He was particularly adept at portraits and drew everyone from Dickens to the Beatles for Look and Learn as well as contributing covers for various series, including Famous Couples and When They Were Young in the late 1960s. Some of his best work was contributed to the long-running series The Story of Opera, penned by Robin May.
  
  Prior to working for Look and Learn, Bruce had illustrated book covers for Digit Books in the late 1950s, titles including The Deep Six by Martin Dibner, I Came Back by Krysyna Zywulska, White August by John Boland, Air Patrol Biscay by Richard T. Bickers, Horns of the Dragon by Felix Trigg, Battle of the Bulge by William M. Stokoe, The God of Channel 1 by Donald Stacy, Nor Iron Bars a Cage by W. H. Aston, all in 1957.