The story of Stoke City, Real Madrid and a bull that should have been castrated
Stoke City made a unique contribution to the Real Madrid trophy roo
On the Real Madrid stadium tour, there is a bull and a matador next to the fifteen European Cups or Champions League trophies that are shining.
To commemorate Stoke City’s centenary in 1963, Royal Doulton created this magnificent sculpture. One is safely stored by Stoke at the bet365 Stadium, while the other was given to Madrid during their historic exhibition match at the Victoria Ground.
A few years ago, when we commemorated the 150th anniversary of the club’s first game ever recorded—a 15-a-side 1-1 draw with EW May’s XV on October 17, 1868—Stoke actually let us in for a congratulatory look. Doulton proceeded to create 500 smaller copies in limited supply, but they were so fragile that only one out of three survived firings.
The renowned modeller Peggy Davies created it after being influenced by Spanish bullfight posters and her visits to farms in Staffordshire to research the anatomy of bulls.
When they were given a tour of the Burslem factory, superstars like Alfredo di Stefano found it amusing because there was more bull than was necessary because it hadn’t been castrated.
However, there wasn’t almost any bull at all.
In order to record the moment Madrid’s directors got their present, sentinel photographer Trevor Slater was called inside the boardroom. However, rumour has it that his box flash swung around and almost knocked the entire thing to the ground.
“I believe it has been overstated for a little more than 55 years,” Trevor remarked. However, there was a ping and a startled “Woooah” sound.
“My flash box, which was strapped to me, swung and captured the sculpture as I was attempting to get everyone closer for the picture. For a little period, my heart was in my mouth, but I don’t believe there was ever too much risk.
Trevor’s coworker Huston Spratt accompanied Tony Waddington when he picked up the Madrid team from Manchester Airport, via a game at Old Trafford.
“I couldn’t believe it when Di Stefano sat next to me and wanted to know all about Stoke-on-Trent,” Huston, who passed away in 2015, recounted to the Sentinel in 2012. He was utterly impressed and already understood everything there was to know about Wedgwood.
He spoke English quite well, and we had a great relationship. He was a very pleasant man who spoke quietly. We were the previous masters of the passing game on the pitch.
Securing Madrid as opponents for their historic match was a true triumph for Stoke, Waddington, and the board. They had just won the Spanish championship and had won five titles in the last eight years in Europe.
Although they received £10,000 for the trip, that was just half of the gate proceeds from the 44,914 people that attended. It was an unforgettable evening.
With seven games left, Stoke, who had been revived since Stanley Matthews’ return eighteen months earlier, was closing in on promotion to the first division after a ten-year hiatus. Felix Ruiz and Ferenc Puskas cancelled out goals from Dennis Viollet and Jimmy McIlroy, resulting in a 2-2 draw.
