AISA Arsenal History Society: preserving Arsenal's heritage
9 November 1886: Chris Buckley born in Manchester, quoted in some sources as 1888. 22 May 1914: Christopher Buckley signed 1 September 1914 first game for Frank Bradshaw and Christopher Buckley (a 3-1 home win over Glossop) 5 January 1974: Christopher Buckley died. Also quoted in some places as 11 January. Christopher Sebastian Buckley was born in Urmstone, …
Read More “Chris Buckley: the Arsenal player who became Villa chairman”
Here are the key dates… 17 May 1901 Thomas Briercliffe signed from Stalybridge Rovers 2 September 1901: First appearance for Thomas Briercliffe in a home win against Burnley 15 April 1905: Last game for Thomas Briercliffe Tommy Briercliffe was born in Chorley, Lancashire in 1874, and played for St Luke’s Whealton, Clitheroe, Blackburn Rovers, Stalybridge …
Read More “Tommy Briercliffe: part of the team that won promotion”
This is the second part of the report on the George Davie case and how it was reported. Part one, which deals with Davie and his contract can be found here. The George Davie legal case of 1893 im which the player sued Royal Arsenal in order to get his salary paid during a lay …
Read More “Football consumes twice as much as the royal family. The view from 1893.”
By Tony Attwood If you think about the key changes to players’ contract law across the years you’ll think about George Eastham and how in 1963 he brought about the end of the long running “retain and transfer system” through going on strike until he pushed through his transfer to Arsenal, with the court finally …
It is a varied mix for 22 November at Arsenal including a change of name from our fourth name (The Arsenal) to the fifth (Arsenal) 22 November 1899: Alexander Main signed from Hibs 22 November 1913: Last senior game for Roddy McEachrane 22 November 1913: Last senior game for Joseph Fidler 22 November 1919: Programme for Arsenal versus …
Publication of articles here has been a little erratic of late as I have been resident in Australia – and thus without many of the reference books that I like to check with on writing a piece. However as I am leaving today for the 36 hour trip via ferry, train, plane, plane and car, …
Read More “From the first Tottenham game to bad Novembers in the league.”
Here are the Trevor Ross dates… 16 January 1957: Trevor Ross born, the son of William, who played for Bradford City. 15 June 1974: Trevor Ross signed as a professional for Arsenal, having joined as a schoolboy in May 1972 2 October 1974: Testimonial match v Reading gives O’Leary, Ross and Rostron first games 1 February …
Read More “Trevor Ross: tough player, nice guy (but don’t get on the wrong side of him).”
Edward Patrick Kelly was born 7 February 7 1951 in Glasgow. He played for Possilpark Depot (or Possilpark YMCA depending on who you listen to), and went straight to Arsenal as an apprentice in July 1966 where he found a growing group of Scottish players including Ian Ure, Frank McLintock and George Graham. He turned professional in February 1967. …
Read More “Eddie Kelly: from Europe and the Double to Torquay”
By Tony Attwood Paul Charles Merson was born in Harlesdon in the London Borough of Brent, on 20 March 1968 and played 289 league matches for Arsenal , plus 29 FA cup matches, and 38 League Cup matches, plus 22 European games in the various cups. It is strange to think that while I was …
4 May 2003 It was a day to remember. Arsenal needed to beat lowly Leeds to still have a chance of winning the league, and getting another Double. Victory would not have given Arsenal the title, but at the time of the match it would have kept our hopes alive. Likewise defeat for Leeds …
Read More “4 May 2003. The lesson of reading too much into a single game”
Approaching the Swansea by Arsenal game this is what we find… Swansea City Swansea have won just one of their last seven Premier League games, drawing three and losing three. But only Chelsea and Southampton have earned more points at home than Swansea’s 10 before this weekend’s game. Swansea only averaged 33% ball possession against …
By Tony Attwood Lycurgus Burrows was born in Ashton under Lyne, Northumberland, on 26 June 1875, and is first found playing for Melrose in Glasgow, and then in Sheffield, before playing for Woolwich Polytechnic while a student there. The cause of these moves were the family moving home, presumably in search of work, and it …
Read More “Lycurgus Burrows: played for Tottenham and Arsenal at the same time.”
By Tony Attwood Edwin Raymond Bowden was born on 13 September 1909 in Looe in Cornwall and played for his local team as an inside forward. Throughout his life he was known as Ray. On leaving school he started out as a solicitor’s clerk but his goal scoring with Looe (in one match he scored ten) …
Read More “Ray Bowden: the final member of the brilliant forward line of the 1930s.”
Saturday 28 February 1959 Arsenal v Manchester United – the programme The programme is shown as being Volume XL number 20 (ah those were the days when they actually kept count) and as always it started with the Voice of Arsenal. And this is how it went. (I would add that in those days they …
Read More “Injury problems as great as those ever faced by an Arsenal manager”
By Tony Attwood It is reported that sometime in the 1982-83 season, Ajax got a penalty, Johan Cruyff strode up to take it, but instead of taking it as a shot passed the ball to Jasper Olsen who scored past the bemused keeper. On 22 October 2005 Pires and Henry tried the same thing. But …
Read More “The day Henry and Pires tried a fancy penalty – and screwed it up”
By Tony Attwood We have recorded on this site the way in which Herbert Chapman set up a series of friendly matches with Racing Club de Paris, and then with Rangers of Glasgow. Of far less glamour and lasting just for three consecutive years there was another recurring friendly series: Northampton Town v Arsenal. I …
Read More “Arsenal v Northampton: the forgotten Chapman friendlies”
By Tony Attwood On 28 April 1934 Arsenal went into their penultimate match as firm favourites to win their second trophy in a row, but still needing a point to secure the championship. P W D L F A G Av Pts 1 Arsenal 40 24 8 8 71 45 1.58 56 2 Huddersfield Town …
Read More “Chapman had gone but we still won the 2nd of the 3 consecutive league championships”
I’ve already written a piece about Arsenal’s road to the cup final in 1950. It was a journey, just like that of 2014, in which Arsenal never left London – something that the press then, as in 2014, noted. But in 1950 there was no rampant anti-Arsenal agenda in the press, and the coverage of …
By Tony Attwood It’s Arsenal against Hull on 18 October so I thought I would take a wander back through the events that we have recorded in the Anniversary Archives for events linking these two clubs. Perhaps the most memorable event of recent years had nothing to do with the actual 90 minutes but came …
Read More “Arsenal and Hull: the fun and games through history”
Leslie Jenkin Jones wa born on 1 July 1911 in Aberdare in Aberdare and started playing with Aberdare Athletic. This is the same club that the subject of my last article Reg Cumner played for (the club also known at times as Aberaman Athletic). The two players had paths that crossed several times. Les worked for his father …
When I write about 19th and early 20th century players I expect to have difficulties in finding much out about them. Sometimes even the name can be a problem, such as John George Coleman (known as Tim). Sometimes we know nothing beyond the dates he played for Arsenal. Reginald Horace Cumner however causes all sorts of …
Read More “Reginald Horace Cumner: the player historians trip over”
By Tony Attwood Dr Leigh ‘Dick’ Roose was born 27 November 1877 and died in action on 7 October 1916 He joined Woolwich Arsenal as a goalkeeper from Aston Villa in September 1911 – it was his final season in football. His transfer was as much a publicity stunt as anything else, for Dick …
Read More “Leigh Roose; war hero, dare-devil Arsenal goalkeeper”
By Tony Attwood It is easy to forget both how hard it is to keep a team that has not been used to playing at the top, at the top, and how easy it is to slip into the relegation mire. Such is the way of football memory. Arsene Wenger is berated by a small …
Read More “How relegation loomed just four years after the Double”
By Tony Attwood In the season 1904/5 Arsenal won promotion from the second division, and did so in some style. There were eight straight wins at the start of the season including, quite amazingly, two 8-0 wins. In fact Arsenal scored 35 in those eight games,and let in three. It was a great moment in …
By Tony Attwood Richard Ian Wright was born in Ipswich on 5 November 1977 and gained a league winners’ medal with Arsenal as a goalkeeper in a season when we had three keepers get a medal. Here’s his list of clubs… Years Team League Games 1995–2001 Ipswich Town 240 2001–2002 Arsenal 12 2002–2007 Everton 60 …
