Club Historian John Hutchinson's Links with The Past series continues with a look at a gift presented to the Club 63 years ago by West German Champions Borussia Dortmund.
In 1957, in order to help pay for the Club’s newly installed floodlights, Leicester City’s Directors decided to hold three prestige floodlit friendlies during the 1957/58 season. The opponents were to be West German Champions Borussia Dortmund, the Yugoslavian team Beogradski and the Brazilian side Canto do Rio.
The first of these three games was on 23 October, 1957, when the first ever match under floodlights took place at Filbert Street. The opponents were Borussia Dortmund, who had recently been narrowly defeated by Manchester United in the European Cup, only a few months before the Munich disaster in February 1958.
Leicester City, back in the old First Division as runaway Second Division Champions, won this inaugural game under the lights 1-0 with a goal from Willie Gardiner.
As a concession to the floodlights, Leicester City played in a white strip with a dark blue edging. The Leicester Mercury thought that this made them appear to be a physically big team. Borussia Dortmund wore fluorescent yellow jerseys. A white ball was used.
Ten months later, Leicester played a return fixture in Dortmund. After the return game, the German club presented Leicester City with this miner’s lamp. The inscription engraved on the lamp’s base reads: 'Borussia Dortmund-Leicester City FC 10 8 58'.
For the next 44 years, the lamp hung in the old wood-panelled Board Room at Filbert Street. It is now on display in the reception area of King Power Stadium.
