Here are the Anniversaries from 1 September – part of our regular daily look at Arsenal’s history.
Our most recent article on Arsenal’s history is November 1914: The Times journalist goes to a reserve match without realising it..
1 September 1888: The first recorded pre-season friendly, in which Arsenal first team (The Probables) played the reserves (The Improbables). A second match was arranged one week later, after which the matches against other clubs began.
1 September 1893: Kentish Mercury reported Jack Humble, the Woolwich Arsenal chairman, had presented the new Manor Ground to the press, along with an updated list of Division II fixtures.
1 September 1894: John Caldwell debut in the 5-2 defeat to Lincoln, after joining Arsenal from Hibs. He played in all 30 league games in his debut season, and in the club’s FA Cup match.
1 September 1897: First match for Fergus Hunt (who immediately became the top scorer, getting fifteen goals in each of the 1897-98 and 1898-99 seasons) and Roger Ord who went on to play 99 league games. Both players had been with Middlesbrough Ironopolis during their one and only season in the league.
1 September 1897: Andy Kennedy who gained two caps for Ireland, born. He was signed by Leslie Knighton for Arsenal in 1922 having played original for Glentoran.
1 September 1902: Roddy McEachrane first game. Preston 2 Arsenal 2. McEachrane played in 28 of the games in the season as Arsenal came third. The following season both Preston and Arsenal were promoted.
1 September 1904: First game for Archibald Gray and Charlie Satterthwaite in a pre-season friendly.
1 September 1906: Arsenal beat Manchester City away 1-4. It was the last victory on the opening day of the season until 1913, in the first match at Highbury.
1 September 1909: First match for Frank Heppinstall. Aston Villa 5 Arsenal 1. He had transferred from Swindon Town and went on to play 18 league games this season. See also here
1 September 1910: Arsenal open new season with a 1-2 home defeat to eventual champions Man U in front of a crowd of 15,000 It was Alf Common’s first game. See here for review of the team Willis Rippon scored in his first match
1 September 1914: FA agree that football for the 1914/15 season should continue despite Britain having declared war on 4 August 1914.
1 September 1914: Arsenal played their first league match (v Glossop) as The Arsenal, winning 3-0 in front of a crowd of 7,000. Crowds were very much down throughout the season because of the war. It was the first game for Frank Bradshaw Christopher Buckley and Harry King who two goal
1 September 1934: First home match for George Allison. Arsenal 8 Liverpool 1. Ted Drake and Ray Bowden each score hattricks in front of 54,062. Having won the league for the last two seasons expectations were very high despite Chapman’s death. It was Jack Crayston’s first game.
1 September 1953: Ted Platt sold to Portsmouth. Ted never made it as the first choice keeper, playing only when Swindin was injured until, in 1952, with Swindin out for much of the season, Ted Platt played in only the first three games, and after letting in five goals in that short sequence he was replaced by Jack Kelsey.
1 September 1970: Arsenal 0 Leeds 0. League match 7 of the first Double season. This was one of only three draws at home that season – every other home league match was won. But after six games played Arsenal were still just sixth.
1 September 1983: Jose Antonio Reyes born. Reyes joined Sevilla FC at the age of 10. and went on to play 86 games for Sevilla before moving to Arsenal.
1 September 2001: Greg Lincoln signed for Stevenage Borough. He was a Premier Youth League winner in 1998 but never played for the first team. He had trials with a number of clubs before moving to Stevenage, but he only got one game with them.
1 September 2003: Francis Jeffers loaned to Everton for season. After that he moved to Charlton and continued moving from club to club until reaching Accrington Stanley in 2013.
1 September 2008: Kieran Gibbs signed a new contract with Arsenal after a loan period with Norwich. By the start of the 2015/16 season he had played 111 league games for Arsenal. He was eventually sold in 2017.
1 September 2009: Uefa banned Eduardo for two games for “deceiving the referee” in Arsenal’s play-off match against Celtic after a furore by the media. This totally overturned the standard view that the referee’s view was final. He was subsequently found not guilty and pardoned. No one from the media apologised.
1 September 2014: Ignasi Miquel sold to Norwich for £1.5m. He played five times for Arsenal and seven times for Leicester on loan before his departure.
1 September 2014: Ryo Miyaichi loaned to Twente for the season. But after eight games in the first team he was moved across to the reserve team and played 14 times for them.
Elsewhere on this day, in 1830 the poem “Mary had a little lamb” was published. Also on this day in 1715 King Louis XIV died. On his deathbed he is said to have told his son to avoid wars and extravagance.
- Arsenal day by day – over 5000 anniversaries of the club
The current series from the Arsenal History Series being developed on this site is Henry Norris at the Arsenal, covering all aspects off the life and work of the man who rescued Arsenal from extinction, secured the club’s future by moving it to Highbury, and then brought in Herbert Chapman as manager.
The previously untold tale of how it was that Norris came to choose Highbury as the suitable location for Arsenal’s new ground.
The series is being worked on daily, and the articles thus far are here.
Among the many other series we have run are…
- Arsenal in the 30s
- Arsenal players in the 30s
- Arsenal in the summer
- The First League Season, including a review of each player who played in that season
- Arsenal day by day – over 5000 anniversaries of the club
- Arsenal in the 70s
There are details of many other series covered by this site on our home page.
