Pickles the DogNot long before the start of the '66 World Cup in England, the Jules Rimet World Cup trophy was on display at a rare stamp exhibit in Westminster Central Hall. The promotional value of having the trophy on British soil was exponentially raised on 20th March, when it was stolen.
Enter Pickles, the dog. When out for a walk one day with owner David Corbett, Pickles came upon something wrapped in newspaper, wedged in the bottom of a hedge in Beulah Hill, South London. Recalls Corbett:
"I thought it was a bomb. There was a lot of IRA action at the time. Even when I starting taking off the paper and saw it was a statue, nothing really stirred. Then I noticed it said Brazil, West Germany and so on and ran into my wife immediately. It wasn't very World Cuppy, though. Very small."
Pickles became an instant celebrity in the UK. Corbett received a reward of £6000, equivalent to £170,000 in 2008. Pickles was invited to the celebratory gala upon England's victory in the tournament, where he was permitted to lick all of the plates clean.
Pickles was signed by a talent agent (the footballers on England's winning national side weren't, mind you), who secured the dog a role in The Spy With the Cold Nose, and a number of television shows. Yet unfortunately for Pickles, mo' money, mo' problems.
Pickles met a grizzle demise while chasing a cat. His collar snagged and choked the poor canine hero to death. In 2006, Pickles was immortalized in the British television movie Pickles: The Dog Who Won The World Cup.
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