By Tony Attwood
One bit of news before the quiz, the February file of anniversaries has been fully updated and revised with over 100 changes and updates. Work is starting on a complete revision of March now. If you spot anything amiss with the February file please do write to TonyAttwoodofLondon@gmail.com.
As before, answers to the quiz will follow shortly.
First a few warm ups that are not in the anniversary files…
Warm up 1: How many times have Arsenal won the FA Cup?
Warm up 2: Who has won the Cup more times than Arsenal?
Warm up 3: Which two teams have been in the most Cup Finals?
Now the quiz
1. Who, in 1982, became Arsenal’s youngest ever FA Cup player? Much later he fell very much out of favour with some fans.
2. In 1993 we were drawn against a non-league team that we had been drawn against 22 years earlier. Each time we went on to win the Cup. What team was that?
3. Arsenal 0 Port Vale 0 would today draw the ire of all the anti-Wengerians who would demand the manager’s removal. Fortunately in 1998 things were different. So what happened?
4. On 29 July 2011 BBC Sport described an Arsenal result as one of the biggest cup upsets of all time, (although it has never obtained the historic significance of the defeat to Walsall under Herbert Chapman.) What was the result?
5. One season the FA Cup was played on a home/away basis in every round. When? And why? And what happened to Arsenal?
6. These days we get occasional FA Cup games between Arsenal and Tottenham, but it actually took a surprisingly long time before the sides actually met in the FA Cup for the first time. When was the first ever FA Cup match between Arsenal and Tottenham?
7. The defeat of Arsenal to Walsall in the FA shook the footballing world and is still remembered over 82 years later. But why was that defeat so much more noticeable than any other bit of giant killing?
8. Four managers have won the FA cup five or six times. Two of them have been associated with Arsenal. Can you name any of them, and if so the Arsenal connection in two of the four cases.
9. What, when and against whom was the highest FA Cup crowd for an Arsenal match at Highbury? Lots of bonus points if you can give a credible answer as to why this game got such a large crowd, as apart from “chance” and “it was a nice day” and “there were lots of big crowds in those days,” I really don’t know.
10. When did Arsenal first win the cup, who was the manager, and who did we play against?
Answers in a day or two.
