Rare winner’s medal in football from the Tokyo 1964 Summer Olympics. Silver, 63 mm, 102 gm, by Toshikaka Koshiba (based on the classic design of Giuseppe Cassioli); manufactured by the Japanese Mint. The front is inscribed, "XVII Olympiad Tokyo 1964, Football," and features a 'Seated Victory' with the Colosseum in the background; the reverse depicts a victorious athlete being carried by several jubilant athletes. The medal is attached to its original ribbon in white and five Olympic colors. Housed in its black lacquer box, which features the emblem of the Games on the lid and two dots indicating second place; the interior lining exhibits rubbing from the ribbon's rosette, and the closure peg is missing.
The well-balanced Czechoslovakian national football team earned second-place honors at the Tokyo 1964 Summer Olympics, losing in the championship match to their Hungarian rivals. The team's leading scorers were Ivan Mráz (five goals) and Josef Vojta (four goals). Keeper František Schmucker gave up just five goals throughout the tournament, including a devastating own-goal in the gold medal match—leading to a 2-1 result and the runner-up place on the podium. This 1964 Tokyo silver represents the first Olympic medal for the Czech soccer squad, which would finally rise to the top with a first-place finish in 1980.
