HE was the Steven Gerrard of his day.

Willie Watson, a talented left-sided midfielder, was one of the stars of the all-conquering Huddersfield Town side in the 1920s.

And now much of his soccer memorabilia is up for auction – and expected to raise many thousands of pounds.

The lots include the FA Cup winners’ medal he collected in 1922 and the shirt he wore in the Cup Final.

Watson was Huddersfield’s left half when the club won the FA Cup by beating Preston North End 1-0 at Stamford Bridge on April 29, 1922 – the last final before they were switched to Wembley.

It was Town’s only FA Cup win in their 103-year history.

According to Terry Frost, in his book, Huddersfield Town: A Complete Record, 1910-1990, Watson was “a one club man who, with David Steele and Tommy Wilson, formed one of the best half-back lines in Huddersfield Town’s history”.

Between 1912 and 1927 Watson made 292 Football League appearances and 30 FA Cup appearances for Huddersfield as the club became the first to win the league title three years in a row.

Watson was 68 when he died in April 1962.

His son, also called Willie, was also a Town player, although he was better known for the 211 games he played for Sunderland. He was capped four times by England.

He was also a talented cricketer, playing for Yorkshire and making 23 Test appearances for England as a left-handed batsman.

The 15-carat gold 1922 FA Cup winners’ medal is set to fetch up to £8,000 at an auction.

The medal – inscribed Huddersfield Town Winners English Cup Willie Watson – is coming up for sale at Bonhams at Chester on Wednesday, October 5, when it is expected to sell for between £5,000 and £8,000.

The Huddersfield Town shirt, with old-fashioned lace collar, that Watson wore in the match is also likely to sell for between £5,000 and £8,000 at the same auction.

Watson’s nine carat gold 1920 FA Cup runners’ up medal from another FA Cup Final, when Town lost 1-0 to Aston Villa in 1920, is valued at between £3,000 and £5,000,while his nine carat gold 1936-1937 Yorkshire Midweek League winners’ medal – which he also won with Huddersfield Town – is set to fetch between £300 and £500.

Watson was presented with the 1922 FA Cup winners’ medal by the Duke of York, who later became King George VI, father of the present Queen.

The 1922 cup final was unusual in another way because it was the first and only FA Cup final in which a goalkeeper – Preston North End’s James Mitchell – wore spectacles.

Of the 22 players who lined up for that 1922 FA Cup final, 19 were English, while the other three – Huddersfield goalkeeper Sandy Mutch and Preston’s Tom Hamilton and Joe McCall – were Scots.