Programme from Manchester United's first game after Munich Air Disaster up for sale at Yorkshire auction

Few people recognise the name Harry Hampton but he was the star of the 1905 FA Cup final.

His two goals in front of 101,000 people at the Crystal Palace ground won the cup for Aston Villa over Newcastle United and set him on course for an England career, cut short by the First World War.

He suffered from a mustard gas attack in the Somme and was never quite the same player again. He lived out his days in obscurity running a catering business in Rhyl.

But memories of Happy Harry – as he was known – still exist for those who know where to look. An auction of football memorabilia will sell a rare team card from the 1905 final in Sheffield on Thursday.

Together with treasure troves of programmes, tickets, photographs, paintings and jerseys it will be offered for sale. Auctioneer Rob Lea said it was appropriate the sale was being held in Sheffield, a hotbed of soccer since the early days of the game.

He said: “What is amazing is how little of these items go for. We have lots of stuff from the 1950s and 1960s going for a few pounds. Some really interesting things.

“Tickets go for good money because they were usually thrown away. People tended to keep programmes but team sheets – single pieces of paper – tended to be lost.

“For people who love football, you could spend literally hours looking at the stuff. It brings back memories for people. It takes them back in time.”

There are some poignant items for sale too. A programme from the first match Manchester United played after the Munich air disaster will be offered.

It was far from just another football match. The encounter between Manchester United and Sheffield Wednesday on February 19 1958 came less than a fortnight after the crash which killed 23 people including the heart of the United team.

Yorkshire-born players Mark Jones, 24, Tommy Taylor, 26, and David Pegg, 22, were among eight United stars to die. Yet just 13 days later United played Sheffield Wednesday in a poignant FA Cup match,

The United line-up in the programme was left blank because no-one knew until the last minute who would be fit to play but they ran out 3-0 winners.

“It is quite a landmark piece of history,” said Mr Lea, who has worked in auctions in 1979. “It’s surprising what you can pick up.”

“Things come and go in this business, but stickers seem to be increasing in value,” added Rob Lea.

“We have lots of Leeds United items from the 1960s and 1970s and they tend to go well. People who were kids back then are older people now and they like to reminisce.”

The lots include random boxes of programmes for as little as £20, a Paul Robinson pair of gloves and goalkeeper shirt for £60 to £90 and a signed Jimmy Greaves colour print for £30 to £40, plus golf, cricket, horse racing and motoring racing memorabilia.

The sale takes place on Thursday (September 2) at 11.30am at Sheffield Auction Gallery in Heeley, Sheffield.