Happy birthday Mr Wenger
Our Arsenal anniversaries for 22 October are below. Our headline comes of course from 1949.
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Below are the Arsenal (and for historical context, occasionally one or two non-Arsenal) anniversaries for today taken from the complete files of over 6000 Arsenal anniversaries which appear on the Arsenal History Society website. An index to the monthly Anniversary files can be found in the right column of this site under “Pages” on the right of the screen.
The index to the current historical series on this site can be found at Henry Norris at the Arsenal. An index of all our main series can be found on the home page.
The anniversary files: our headline today comes from 1978. Seven new anniversaries added since this day last year.
22 October 1902: Elijah Watkins effectively Arsenal’s first chairman, writing in Football Chat, suggested that a cat knocked over an ink bottle and it made part of Arsenal’s minute book dealing with the early years of the club illegible, and so he tore the pages out.
22 October 1910: Millwall’s new ground at New Cross was opened by Lord Kinnaird, a friend of Henry Norris with whom he later went into business.. It was said that the ground was the most up to date in London, for although Chelsea’s sprawling terraces could cater for massive crowds, Millwall had focused on having bigger stands and more seats. And they had moved across the river to find the right location a neat idea!
22 October 1920: Dr Jimmy Paterson joined as an amateur. He had won the league with Rangers, been awarded the Military Cross. Yet n his memoirs Knighton portrayed this situation as him being reduced to playing “the brother in law of the club doctor” while he was refused permission by the chairman of signing “real” players.
22 October 1921: Huddersfield Town 2 Arsenal 0. This was the third of four successive defeats for Arsenal. Despite two wins in early November, Arsenal were wedded to the foot of the League.
22 October 1932: Male returned to the team as Arsenal beat Liverpool 3-2 away. The 9th game in an unbeaten sequence, and the club were still just warming up. The next two games were won 8-2 and 7-1 as Arsenal moved to the top of the league.
22 October 1938: Reg Cumner international debut – his first of three caps. He certainly would have had more full caps had it not been for the war. He was one of a handful of players who came through the Margate nursery and went on to play for their country.
22 October 1938: Despite the internationals on the same day (see above) the league programme continued and Ernie Collett played his first game for Arsenal since April to fill in one of the gaps, as did Gordon Bremner. A depleted Arsenal team beat Preston 1-0.
22 October 1947: Cliff Holton joined as an amateur from Oxford City initially as a fullback but by the time he made the first team in 1950 it was as a centre forward. His first game was on Boxing Day 1950, and he was in the team for our second post-war Cup Final in 1952.
22 October 1949: Arsène Wenger born. He became Arsenal’s first permanent non-British manager, the longest serving manager, the manager who won the most major trophies, and the man who delivered the Unbeaten Season. For our birthday quiz see here.
22 October 1949: After a reserve team match in Cardiff the South Wales Football Echo and Express reported that Arsenal players had been seen smoking after the match. In November Arsenal announced it was taking legal action against the paper, which immediately withdrew its accusations and apologised.
22 October 1952: Arsenal beat Hibs 7-1 in a friendly. It was the first ever Arsenal match under floodlights which was televised – floodlighting still being a novelty. Roper scored five and Lishman the other two.
22 October 1963: Alan Skirton scored Arsenal’s first goal in European competition as Arsenal lost 3-2 to Staevnet 2. John Barnwell got the other goal.
22 October 1977: Bristol City 0 Arsenal 2, with 25,497 at Ashton Gate. After the home side had been called the “Butchers of Bristol” following a dreadful display in the Anglo Scottish cup against Hibernian, the referee decided to make himself man of the match.but then got confused and booked Nelson, Young, and Brady, although he did also find time to book Gow of City as well.
22 October 1991: Arsenal drew 1-1 in Portugal with Benfica, but Benfica won the second leg to knock Arsenal out of Europe in the pilot year for the Champions League (which started next season). Arsenal were the first English team allowed back into Europe after the Liverpool fans rioted at Heysel, and to go out at the first hurdle showed how far behind Europe we had slipped.
22 October 1997: Ian Selley transferred to Fulham for £500,000 (also quoted as 17 October in some sources). He had played 42 times for Arsenal, and after a period also with Wimbledon, and loans to Southend he moved into non-league football.
22 October 2001: Bertie Mee died. He managed Arsenal for 539 games – a number beaten only by Arsène Wenger. But his win percentage was below that of Wenger, Chapman, Allison, Whittaker, Graham, Howe and Neil. He won three major trophies – the same as Chapman – but fewer than Graham (6), and Wenger (10).
22 October 2002: Having lost to Everton on 19 October, Arsenal now lost to Auxerre, and then lost at home to Blackburn on 26 October making three defeats in senior competitions in a row – the worst run in 19 years.
22 October 2005: After only four wins in the first eight league games Arsenal started a run of four wins in five with the 1-0 defeat of Man City. Pires and Henry tried a trick penalty but fail to put in a shot; however Pires scored to secure the points.
22 October 2006: Arsenal made it six wins in a row with a 4-0 away defeat of Reading. Henry (2), Hleb and Van Persie got the goals.
22 October 2014: Anderlecht 1 Arsenal 2 in the Champions League on Arsène Wenger’s 65th birthday. Arsenal played Emiliano Martinez in goal having Szczęsny suspended and David Ospina injured.
