By Tony Attwood
This article on Bill Seddon is one of a series looking at the players that Herbert Chapman bought year by year as he took Arsenal from relegation material to FA Cup winners and League Champions.
William Charles Seddon was born on 28 July 1901 was born in Clapton, and after playing junior football moved to Gillingham, and had an unsuccessful trial with Villa before coming to Arsenal in December 1924.
He was the captain of the reserves team, and won the London Combination title five times in the 1920s.
He made his first team debut in April 1926, but that was his only first team game that season. He played 17 times in the next season, but missed the cup final.
And so it continued until his breakthrough year of 1929/30 when he also played in the cup final and won his cup winners medal. The following season he won a league winner’s medal and was one of the players to win Arsenal’s first FA Cup and Arsenal’s first League title.
Bill left Arsenal in March 1932 going to Grimsby Town for £2,500 having played 76 games. After a couple of seasons at Grimsby he moved to Luton Town and retired from playing in 1934, but continued in football as a trainer with Notts County and Romford. He served his country in the war, and then returned to Romford as the groundsman.
In 1967 Arsenal played Romford in a testimonial for him to mark his retirement. He died aged 91 and as such was the last surviving player to appear in the game.
If he was signed in December of 1924 how does he count as Chapman’s signing?