On Tuesday, 16-year-old Harry Wilson made his international debut for Wales in a World Cup qualifying match against Belgium. It was a big day for Wilson, but perhaps an even bigger day for his grandfather, who cashed in big time on a 15-year-old bet as soon as his grandson stepped onto the pitch.
Wilson's grandfather, Peter Edwards, placed a £50 bet with a local bookmaker when his grandson was 18 months old. At 2,500/1 odds, Edwards bet that his grandson would one day play soccer for Wales. He's now £125,000 richer, and plans to retire on his winnings.
Edwards described the experience of watching Wilson's debut to BBC News, and he sounds like a pretty awesome grandpa:
"I was shattered because I had to wait for 85, 86 minutes before he came on and I was panicking because they'd already substituted twice, so I thought he wasn't going to make it," he said.
"But when he came on I had another glass of wine. (I was) a proud granddad first for sure.
"I told my wife at half-time that my pulse was 106 - I didn't know whether that was good or bad."
Edwards had better be using some of that money to buy is grandson a kick ass Christmas present. Now, let's all be sure to keep our eyes out for athletically inclined babies from now on.
[BBC]