AISA Arsenal History Society: preserving Arsenal's heritage
By Tony Attwood The Guardian has come up with an interesting analysis of how each team that has had a season in the top division in England and Wales compares with all the others. They have taken the number of points won (which means that teams who have competed since we went over to 3 …
Read More “Arsenal’s progress in the first division from the very start”
By Tony Attwood Henry White is probably not a name you will know in terms of Arsenal. He was born on 17 April 1892 in Watford, and played first as an amateur with Brentford before the war. But in the first season after the first world war (our first back in the first division) he …
By Tony Attwood George Hedley Swindin was both an Arsenal player and an Arsenal manager, playing almost 300 games for Arsenal, but proving to be a very poor manager, from whose tenure the club took years to recover. He was born 4 December 1914, near Doncaster, and played as an amateur for Yorkshire clubs before …
Read More “George Swindin – one of Arsenal’s great keepers.”
John Barnwell was born on 24 December 1938 and played 151 games for Arsenal between 1957 and 1964. Thus he had the misfortune to be with Arsenal during The Darkness, playing under Jack Crayston, George Swindin and Billy Wright and was precluded from any chance of winning a trophy. After playing as an amateur for …
Read More “John Barnwell, Arsenal league debut 13 April 1957”
Frank Robert Hill was born on 21 May 1906 – 26 August 1993) played 81 times for Arsenal and in so doing won three championship medias (1932/3, 1933/4 and 1934/5. He also won the Charity Shield in 1934 and three caps for Scotland. Later in his career he won a Division 2 runner’s up medal …
Read More “Frank “Tiger” Hill; a forgotten hero of the Chapman era”
By Tony Attwood 10 April 1948: Arsenal win the First Division Championship by drawing with Huddersfield 1-1. After the game (and remember this was the era of two points for a win, not three) Arsenal had a lead over Manchester United of seven points, with United only having three games to play. It was all …
Read More “10 April 1948: Arsenal win the League in Whittaker’s first season”
By Tony Attwood There was nothing special about this particular match 92 years ago, but I list it on the Anniversaries file, for personal reasons. Earlier this season (2012/13) I watched a game between Corby Town and Bradford PA in the Conference North. Many years ago, probably around 1960 I watched Bournemouth and Boscombe Athletic …
Read More “9th April 1921: Arsenal 2 Bradford 1 – there but for the grace…”
By Tony Attwood Three last game anniversaries happened on 8 April – or at least three that we have managed to trace. 8 April 1922: Last senior game for Angus McKinnon 8 April 1939: Last senior game for Alex Wilson 8 April 1986: Last senior game for Paul Mariner The Alex Wilson article will have …
By Tony Attwood At the end of the 1979/80 season Arsenal’s schedule became increasingly crowded as the club sought to play five games in 12 days between March 28 and April 9. March 28 Everton Away 1-0 April 2 Norwich Away 1-2 April 5 Southampton Home 1-1 April 7 Tottenham H Away April 9 Juventus …
Read More “The game against Tottenham Arsenal didn’t want to play”
By Tony Attwood If you know about your Arsenal history you will know of Mel Charles, and of course his even more famous brother John. What you may not know that after he got too old to play professional football he was ‘virtually penniless’. He was reduced to working as a door to door …
Read More “6 April 1959: First Arsenal game for Mel Charles, (in Southern Floodlight Challenge Cup)”
By Andy Kelly, Mark Andrews and Tony Attwood When, in 1913, the League’s management committee turned down the demand for a vote on Arsenal’s move from Plumstead to Highbury, proposed by Tottenham Hotspur, Tottenham’s response was to appeal directly to the League as a whole. However although entry into the Football League might be a …
By Tony Attwood Ask the majority of supporters of Arsenal who know a little bit about our history, and they will tell you that one of the many reforms that Herbert Chapman made at the club was the changing of the name of “The Arsenal” to “Arsenal”. He did it, according to legend, in order …
Read More “Who changed the club’s name to “Arsenal”? (And who invented “The Gunners”?)”
By Tony Attwood Each day in the Anniversary section of this site we remember an Arsenal event. Today, April 2nd, we recall Joe Hulme making his England début v Scotland in Glasgow. England won 2-1. This was an era of fewer international matches than today, and each was significant to the club and the players. …
Read More “The Arsenal player who managed Tottenham and helped secure their first title”
By Tony Attwood At the 2013 AISA Arsenal History Society social event at the House of Commons we had Sammy Nelson as a guest speaker, and I have to say I was impressed. I’ve not heard him speak before and he was entertaining and lucid, and it was a pleasure to see him again. Anything …
Read More “Sammy Nelson: born April 1; joined Arsenal April 1st”
We’ve got three semi-finals and notable days for Frank McLintock and David Seaman today – quite a notable selection. Because our Anniversary files are still growing, not all of our stories have links at the moment – but over time we’ll cover the lot. However there is an article on David Seaman’s time with the …
Read More “31st March: 3 semi finals plus Frank McLintock and David Seaman”
On February 5th 1931 Arsenal beat Leicester City away 7-2. Lambert got a hat-trick. That win took the club back to the top of the First Division, where they had been for much of the season, and a position at which they stayed for the remainder of 1930/31, thus winning their first ever league title. …
Read More “March 28 1931: Arsenal head for their first league title”
Apologies – this article first appeared with the wrong date up. March 27th was not the date of the League Cup Final, but was the date when Steve Morrow was transferred to QPR in 1997 ——————————————- 1992/3 was Arsenal’s Cup Double Year. The first ever team in England to win the FA Cup and …
Here’s a strange thing. Alan Smith won two first division titles, the FA Cup, the League Cup, and the Cup Winners Cup. He won the Golden Boot twice, and was named in the PFA First Division Team of the Year. So how many England caps did he get? Answer one – and even that wasn’t …
Read More “26 March 1987: Alan Smith signs from Leicester for £750,000.”
Edward Joseph Drake was born 16 August 1912 and died 30 May 1995. We already have many mentions of him on this site, including our invention of Ted Drake Day in December, to commemorate his achievement of scoring seven goals in one first division game. This article aims to cover some of the other issues …
Read More “Ted Drake scores in his first Arsenal game: 24 March 1934”
By Tony Attwood Arsène Wenger speaks five languages – which, as the old joke goes, is five more than Sir Alex Ferguson. But Arsène Wenger does not speak Romford – for he confessed in one early interview that he couldn’t understand a word Ray Parlour said. Ray was born 7 March 1973 in Barking. I …
by Tony Attwood . On 22 March 1950 Arsenal played Chelsea at White Hart Lane, in an FA Cup semi-final replay. Arsenal won 1-0 with a goal scored in extra time. It was, according to reports, not a perfect game of skilful football – indeed it seems that Arsenal were indulging in a long ball …
Read More “Leslie and Dennis Compton: Brothers at the Arsenal”
Billy McCullough (born 27 July 1935 – full name William James McCullough) was born in Carrickfergus in Northern Ireland. He played initially for Portadown a club in the Province with a long history and tradition. The club was formed in 1887, and for much of its history, it was a regular run of the mill …
Read More “Billy McCullough, who played his last Arsenal game on 19 March 1966”
Roger Ord was the Woolwich Arsenal goalkeeper from 1897 to 1900. He was born in Northumberland in 1871 (I don’t have a date of his death) and played for Hebburn Argyle, Middlesbrough Ironopolis, Hebburn A (for a second time) and then Woolwich Arsenal. After leaving Plumstead he went to Luton Town in September 1900 …
Read More “Roger Ord – Arsenal keeper who made his last appearance 17 March 1900.”
Mark Andrews @royalarsenalMRA 14 March 1908: Torpedo Boys set fire to Nottingham Forest Grandstand with fireworks The Torpedo Factory role in the early years of the club was uncovered during my research for “The Crowd at Woolwich Arsenal FC”. They were a fundamental part of the giant club excursions to away games where many times 2,000-3,000 Arsenal fans travelled …
Read More “14 March 1908 Torpedo Boys set fire to stand after letting off fireworks”
By Tony Attwood Andrew Neil joined Arsenal from Brighton & Hove Albion for £3,000 on March 13 1924. He was born in Kilmarnock on 18 November 1892 and died in 1941 – sadly I don’t have the date or knowledge of why he died so young. He played for Kilmarnock, Galston, Stevenston United, and Brighton …
Read More “Andrew Neil: joined and left Arsenal on 13 March”
