By Tony Attwood
So far in this series I have covered the period leading up to Arsenal’s first trophy – the FA Cup in 1930, and then the three subsequent seasons: 1930/1 (league winners) 1931/2 (runnings up double), 1932/3 (league winners).
Listed below you will find all the players who played in the League (the games totals are League only, and don’t include FA Cup, friendlies and other games). Also I have added links to the articles on this site about the players. These articles have been written across the last seven years, and I’d be the first to admit that the quality is varied – it took me a while to get the hang of all this.
But even so I do hope you find this helpful as a guide to the players mentioned thus far in the series. I will try and compile a similar list after each of the remaining seasons in the series.
1929/30 The League Players
| Player | Position | Games | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alf Baker | Right back/Right half | 19 | |
| Cliff Bastin | Outside Left | 21 | 7 |
| Jimmy Brain | Inside right | 6 | |
| Jack Butler | Centre half | 2 | |
| Horace Cope | Left back | 1 | |
| David Halliday | Centre forward | 15 | 8 |
| Eddie Hapgood (and here) | Left back | 38 | |
| Alfred Edward Haynes | Half back | 13 | |
| Joe Hulme | Outside right | 37 | 14 |
| Albert Edward Humpish | Half back | 3 | |
| David Jack | Inside forward | 33 | 13 |
| Alex James | Inside left | 31 | 6 |
| Bob John | Half Back | 34 | |
| William S Johnstone | Inside forward | 7 | 3 |
| Charles Jones | Outside left | 31 | 1 |
| Jack Lambert | Centre forward | 20 | 18 |
| Dan Lewis | Goalkeeper | 30 | – |
| Tom Parker | Full back | 41 | 3 |
| Harold Peel | Inside left | 1 | |
| Charlie Preedy | Goalkeeper | 12 | – |
| Herbie Roberts | Centre half | 26 | |
| Bill Seddon | Half back | 24 | |
| Leonard Thompson | Inside left | 5 | 1 |
| Joey Williams | Winger | 12 | 3 |
1930/31 The League Players
| Player | Position | Games | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alf Baker | Right back/Right half | 1 | |
| Cliff Bastin | Outside Left | 45 | 29 |
| Jimmy Brain | Inside right | 17 | 4 |
| Horace Cope | Left back | 1 | |
| Eddie Hapgood (and here) | Left back | 41 | |
| William Harper | Goalkeeper | 22 | – |
| Alfred Edward Haynes | Half back | 2 | |
| Joe Hulme | Outside right | 35 | 16 |
| David Jack | Inside forward | 38 | 33 |
| Alex James | Inside left | 43 | 5 |
| Bob John | Half Back | 43 | 2 |
| William S Johnstone | Inside forward | 2 | 1 |
| Charles Jones | Outside left | 24 | 1 |
| Gerard Pieter Keyser | Goalkeeper | 12 | – |
| Jack Lambert | Centre forward | 36 | 39 |
| George Male | Full back | 3 | |
| Tom Parker | Full back | 44 | |
| Charlie Preedy | Goalkeeper | 11 | – |
| Herbie Roberts | Centre half | 43 | 1 |
| Bill Seddon | Half back | 21 | |
| Leonard Thompson | Inside left | 2 | |
| Joey Williams | Winger | 9 | 2 |
1931/32 The League Players
| Player | Position | Games | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cliff Bastin | Outside Left | 46 | 21 |
| Pat Beasley | Wing half | 3 | |
| Ernest Coleman | Inside forward | 6 | 1 |
| Les Compton | Centre half | 4 | |
| Horace Cope | Left back | 1 | |
| Eddie Hapgood (and here) | Left back | 47 | |
| William Harper | Goalkeeper | 2 | – |
| Alfred Edward Haynes | Half back | 7 | |
| Joe Hulme | Outside right | 46 | 18 |
| David Jack | Inside forward | 40 | 24 |
| Alex James | Inside left | 37 | 2 |
| Bob John | Half Back | 44 | 4 |
| Charles Jones | Outside left | 43 | |
| Jack Lambert | Centre forward | 41 | 26 |
| George Male | Full back | 10 | |
| Frank Moss | Goalkeeper | 33 | – |
| Tom Parker | Full back | 44 | |
| Raymond Parkin | Inside forward | 10 | 7 |
| Charlie Preedy | Goalkeeper | 13 | – |
| Herbie Roberts | Centre half | 41 | 1 |
| Bill Seddon | Half back | 5 | |
| Reginald Robert Stockill | Inside right | 3 | 1 |
| Leonard Thompson | Inside left | 1 | |
| Joey Williams | Winger | 1 |
1932/33 The League Players
| Player | Position | Games | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cliff Bastin | Outside Left | 43 | 33 |
| Thomas Black | Full back | 1 | |
| Ray Bowden | Inside right | 7 | 2 |
| Ernest Coleman | Inside forward | 27 | 24 |
| Les Compton | Centre half | 4 | |
| Horace Cope | Left back | 4 | |
| Eddie Hapgood (and here) | Left back | 38 | |
| Alfred Edward Haynes | Half back | 6 | |
| Frank Hill | Wing half | 27 | 1 |
| Joe Hulme | Outside right | 40 | 20 |
| David Jack | Inside forward | 35 | 18 |
| Alex James | Inside left | 41 | 3 |
| Bob John | Half Back | 37 | |
| Charles Jones | Outside left | 16 | |
| Jack Lambert | Centre forward | 12 | 14 |
| George Male | Full back | 36 | |
| Frank Moss | Goalkeeper | 42 | – |
| Tom Parker | Full back | 5 | |
| Raymond Parkin | Inside forward | 5 | |
| Charlie Preedy | Goalkeeper | 1 | – |
| Herbie Roberts | Centre half | 37 | |
| Norman William Sidey | Centre half | 3 | |
| Reginald Robert Stockill | Inside right | 4 | 3 |
I hope that summary adds a little more to the continuing series. Here are the articles so far.
Arsenal in the 30s
Latest: The Arsenal handbook 1930: after winning the first major trophy
1930s: the players, the crowds, the tactics
Joseph Szabo, his visit to Arsenal, and the way it changed SC Braga’s history.
- 1: Life in 1930 and winning the first major trophy.
- 2: The cup winners who dropped out and the players who came in
- 3: How Chapman put his triumphant 1931 team together.
- 4: September 1930; played 8 won 7 drawn 1.
- 5: October 1930: A stumble, Villa are close behind, Man U have 12 defeats in a row.
- 6: November 1930: Scoring 5 in three games in one month.
- 7: December 1930: 3 games in 3 days and 14 goals scored.
- 8: January 1931: the biggest league win ever at Highbury
- 9: February 1931: the goals just won’t stop coming.
- 10: March 1931: hope, defeat, hope
- 11: April 1931: Arsenal win the league for the very first time.
- 12: Arsenal in the summer of 1931, the records and the Scandinavian tour
- 13: Arsenal in shock – July and August 1931
- 14: September 1931; the champions recover from a poor start.
- 15: October 1931: Arsenal lose to Grimsby
- 16: November 1931: Chapman’s exasperation with goal keepers
- 17: December 1931: A scoring sensation but a dreadful month
- 18: January 1932: A return to form and a record score
- 19: February 1932: From a faltering start to nine wins in a row
- 20: March 1932: Huge crowds, an emergency signing, better results, another semi-final
- 21: April 1932: Film of Arsenal in the Cup Final, and attempts to win the league.
- 22: Arsenal in the summer of 1932. Arsenal runners up in league and cup, Man U’s average gate drops below Plymouth’s, Stanley Matthews first game, and the greatest run in Arsenal’s entire history is about to begin.
- 23: August 1932 – preparing for the ultimate greatness.
- 24: September 1932: Arsenal’s first steps into immortality
- 25: October 1932: The rise to the stars
- 26: November 1932: Records fall, greatness beckons.
- 27: December 1932: Greatness and supremacy
- 28: January 1933: Top of the league and defeated by Walsall.
- 29: February 1933: New shirts, awful weather, a record score
- 30: March 1933: Top of the league but a month to forget
- 31: April/May 1933: Champions for the second time
- 32: 1929/33: All the men who played in the League for Arsenal.
- 33: Arsenal in the summer 1933: Champions and water shortages
- 34: August/September 1933 – the start of the new season.
- 35: October 1933 – a return to progress
- 36: November 1933 – displacing Tottenham.
- 37: December 1933: Chapman’s last month; Arsenal triumphant
- 38: January 1934: The death of Chapman
- 39: February 1934. Chapman is gone, but the club moves on.
- 40: March 1934. Chapman’s two teams fight for the title
- 41: April 1934. Joe Shaw wins the league for Chapman
- 42: 1933/34 League players, and how the goals declined but the crowds went up.
- 43: Arsenal in the summer 1934: Allison takes over from Shaw and Chapman.
- 44: August/Sep 1934: Allison starts with a bang
- 45: October 1934 – Arsenal finally blow away the north London curse
- 46: November 1934: vying for the top of the league, and the Battle of Highbury
- 47: Arsenal in December 1934: two steps forward, two steps back.
- 48: January 1935: Suddenly Arsenal’s form turns upside down
- 49: February 1935. Despite one slip, Arsenal remain top.
- 50: March 1935: Beating Tottenham by a record score
- 51: April/May 1935: Winning the league for the third time in succession.
- 52: Arsenal in the Summer 1935 after three championships in a row
- 53: September 1935: After three successive championships things get sticky
- 54: October 1935: Ok but not good enough
- 55: November 1935; Drake starts scoring again.
- 56: December 1935: beating the record, and record confusions. Ted Drake before and after the magnificent seven.
- 57: January 1936: the league won’t be won, but what about the FA Cup…
- 58: February 1936: an early example of rotational selection
- 59: March 1936: Wembley again but player rotation starts affecting the crowds
- 60: April/May 1936; Arsenal win the Cup. A match report and season’s end
- 61: Arsenal in the Summer of 1936
- 62: Arsenal players 1934/5 and 1935/36: the fundamental problem with the team
- 63: August / Sept 1936: 20 different players used in the first seven league games
- 64: October 1936: Arsenal in free fall
- 65: November 1936: Arsenal reborn, TV starts, the king demands, the palace burns down.
- 66: December 1936: Top of the league as the king steps down.
- 67: January 1937: Arsenal unbeaten as the goalkeepers change (again).
- 68: February 1937: Seven in the cup, and all to play for in the league
- 69: March 1937: Arsenal top but Man City close in
- 70: April / May 1937: Arsenal slip back and Man City triumph – for the moment
- 71: Arsenal players 1936/7, Arsenal crowds in the 30s, and comparisons with earlier years
- 72: Arsenal in the summer: the overseas tour of 1937
- 73: Arsenal in August and September 1937: a brilliant start and a TV first.
- 74: Arsenal in October 1937: Allison decides it is time for a total change.
- 75: Arsenal in Nov 1937; a tactical signing changes the game
- 76: Arsenal in December 1937; a settled team and a revival
- 77: Arsenal in January 1938: two steps backwards but a new genius emerges.
- 78: Arsenal in February 1938: a true resurgence takes us top of the league.
- 79: March 1938: Arsenal at the top and a fifth title looks possible
- 80: April/May 1938: from no titles to five in one decade – and the most amazing title of them all.
- 81: Arsenal in the summer: the Nazi salute, Bastin as the symbol, Whittaker for England, the world record signing.
- 82: August/September 1938. The start of the end.
- 83: Arsenal in October 1938: the champions stagnating in mid-table
- 84: November 1938: facing relegation?
- 85: December 1938: the manager makes changes and a new hero is found
- 86: Arsenal in January 1939: some signs of recovery.
- 87: February 1939: Arsenal struggle to make a continuing impact.
- 88: March 1939: goalscoring and away form are the key problems
- 89: April / May 1939: Arsenal clamber back to 5th, and achieve film stardom
- 90: Arsenal in the summer 1939
- 91: The players and the crowds: Arsenal 1938/9 – and the players who returned
- 92: Arsenal in the 30s: Arsenal at the start of the 2nd world war (autumn 1939)
