A RARE memento of Blackburn Rovers’ very first Football League title triumph nearly 100 years ago is set to go under the hammer.

The 1911-1912 championship medal which was presented to Rovers’ goalkeeper, Alfred Robinson, could reach £1,000 when it goes up for sale at Bonhams in Chester on June 17.

The medal features on one side the words: “The Football League” and on the other: “Champions Div 1 1911-1912 Blackburn Rovers A.Robinson.”

Robinson, who was famous for his daring and agility, was also part of the Rovers team that won the league again in 1914.

Auctioneers said it was rare for such a medal to appear at auction.

It is 15 carat gold while modern professional football medals are made from nine carat gold.

In his book, Blackburn Rovers: The Official Encyclopaedia, Rovers’ historian Mike Jackman wrote of Robinson: “Despite his youth, Robinson had held down the goalkeeping position at Gainsborough Trinity on a regular basis prior to joining Blackburn.

“He left second division Gainsborough to become understudy to Jimmy Ashcroft at Ewood, but did so well on a close season tour of Austria and Hungary that he began the 1911-1912 season as the club’s first choice custodian.”

Although he was only five feet nine inches tall in his football socks, Manchester-born Alfred Robinson was a talented goalkeeper.

One reporter descibed him at the time as “a clever, daring and active keeper, who is not afraid to dive for the ball at an opponent’s feet.”

The First World War interrupted his football career. He returned to Blackburn but injuries and the arrival of Ronnie Sewell meant that his first team appearances were restricted. In January 1923, he joined Darwen.

Rovers, with Robinson in goal, won the 1912 Football League title by winning 20 of their 38 league games, finishing ahead of closest rivals Everton.