VALUABLE Hoops memorabilia including a number plate once owned by Jimmy Johnstone is due to go under the hammer at an auction in Glasgow.

The haul of footballing history also includes a nine carat gold Scottish League Championship medal which was awarded to Celtic defender William Cringan in 1919. It has been given an estimate by McTear’s Auctioneers of £1,000 to £2,000. A car number plate J777 NKY, which was once owned by legendary Celtic player Jimmy ‘Jinky’ Johnstone, could also fetch up to £2,000.

James Bruce, from McTear’s, said: “Old Firm memorabilia from the early days of both Celtic and Rangers very rarely comes to auction so it is quite a coincidence that the auction of the Celtic medal comes hard on the heels of a 1914 League Championship medal won by Rangers player George Ormond. That particular medal made a very good price and we expect Willie Cringan’s medal to do the same.”

William Cringan was a Scottish international footballer who played for Sunderland, Ayr United, Celtic, Third Lanark and Motherwell. The player’s senior debut for Celtic came in a 2-0 victory over Rangers on May 12, 1917. He would later go on to captain the team until his departure in 1923.

Jimmy Johnstone, nicknamed ‘Jinky’, played as a winger for Celtic and scored 129 goals in 515 appearances. Johnstone was voted Celtic’s best ever player by the club’s fans in 2002.

The Celtic medal and number plate, which are being sold by anonymous vendors, will feature in McTear’s sale on Friday, October 12.