AISA Arsenal History Society: preserving Arsenal's heritage
by Andy Kelly with Mark Andrews and Tony Attwood Sometimes when you’re digging through old newspapers you come across something that stops you dead in your tracks. This happened to Mark Andrews and myself as we were doing research for the Arsenal History Society just over a year ago. We looked at each other and …
Read More “5 April 1929 – The Day Herbert Chapman Resigned From Arsenal”
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”
by Andy Kelly (@Gooner_AK) The issue of appointing a manager to run Arsenal’s team had been a bone of contention for a number of years. The earliest mention of appointing a full-time manager was in 1892 when the club was still known as Royal Arsenal and run by a committee. A sub-committee of five was …
Read More “30 March 1897 – Arsenal’s First Manager Takes Office”
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.”
by Andy Kelly (@Gooner_AK) 1905, that’s when. On 26 September 2010 Arsenal’s history changed. That was the day that Tony Attwood published this article about Bobby Buist, an Arsenal player from the 1890s. I added a comment including a link to a match report of a game that Buist was reported to have played in. …
Read More “The History of Arsenal – Where Did It All Go Wrong?”
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”
Mark Andrews @Royal Arsenal MRA Caesar Jenkyns – First Arsenal player to appear in an international match. 21 Mar 1896: Caesar Jenkyns became the first player at the club to play international football, when he appeared for Wales v Scotland. The flamboyantly named Caesar Augustus Llewellyn Jenkyns was born in Builth Wells, Wales in 1867. …
Read More “21 March 1896: Arsenal’s “Victorian Souness” plays for Wales”
by Andy Kelly (@Gooner_AK) A little over 6 months after moving into their new stadium at Highbury the Arsenal directors took the unilateral decision to shut the ground due to a subsidence problem. It’s unclear whether this was a defect caused by the builder or lack of supervision by Archibald Leitch, the architect. Leitch had …
Read More “20 March 1914 – Highbury closed due to subsidence”
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”
by Andy Kelly (@Gooner_AK) Woolwich Arsenal had been incorporated as limited company in May 1893. The club had had financial problems during the Boer War due to falling crowds but was helped through this lean period with loans from directors such as George Lawrance and George Leavey. A couple of unusual fund-raising events in the …
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.”
by Andy Kelly (@Gooner_AK) Herbert Chapman is credited with trying to introduce floodlit football to England. Arsenal played a couple of floodlit games behind closed doors during the early 1930s but the football authorities were not favourable to it. Floodlit football was finally given the go ahead in the 1950s and it has been assumed that …
Read More “16 March: Arsenal’s first floodlit game – but what year?”
by Andy Kelly (@Gooner_AK) 100 years ago Woolwich Arsenal were coming to the end of the club’s annus horriblis. Prior to this date the Reds’ league record read: Played Won Drawn Lost For Against Points 29 2 9 18 18 55 13 They were bottom of the First Division table, seven points from safety. The …
Read More “15 March 1913: Woolwich Arsenal’s last win in Plumstead”
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”
by Andy Kelly On Monday 12 March 1900, about 600 people with a free afternoon paid to watch Woolwich Arsenal play Loughborough. The reason it was played on a Monday afternoon was that the game had originally been played on the previous Boxing Day but had to be abandoned after 75 minutes due to fog …
By Tony Attwood Peter Nicholas was one of Terry Neil’s most effective signings, seemingly turning a team that couldn’t buy a win into a team that couldn’t be beaten – and all this for £500,000. He had started out with Crystal Palace as a youth player, and was part of their second division title winning …
