AISA Arsenal History Society: preserving Arsenal's heritage
By Tony Attwood This is the start of a new series on the Woolwich Arsenal site. The weekly review of 100 years ago will continue, but we are also going to run a series from the very start of Arsenal in the league – 1893-4. At the end of the 1892/3 season there had been …
Read More “Woolwich Arsenal from the start. Entering the league in 1893”
Somehow you would expect Manchester United to be rivals of Manchester City (even if most Manchester IOU fans are based in Cornwall and Surrey.) You’d expect Liverpool and Everton fans to be rivals, since Liverpool split from Everton and tried to take over Everton’s fixture list when they did so. Besides both sets of supporters …
Read More “The reason Tottenham are our bitter rivals is not because the grounds are so close”
By Tony Attwood 100 years ago, three games played, two draws and a defeat. (A bit of a contrast with the season 100 years later). Two goals scored (both by Rippon) and three let in. Next up Aston Villa away. Villa won the league in 1909/10 and so were the reigning champions. Little did they …
Continuing my recent theme on programmes, by 1934 Arsenal’s programme had grown. It cost 2d (under 1p in today’s money) and had a cover that said “Official programme Season 1933-34” but didn’t say which match it related to. The back cover was a map of the London underground system. This last was because a major …
By Tony Attwood Paul Matz, of Arsenal Independent Supporters Association has kindly answered my request for a photocopy of the oldest Arsenal programme that could be found in his collection. It is Arsenal v Blackburn on Saturday November 13th, 1920 The programme is numbered Volume IX Number 16 and costs two pence (that is 2d, …
By Tony Attwood Saturday September 10th, 1910. One hundred years ago. The crowd was 14,000 and the goalless draw left Arsenal with two draws and a defeat from the first three games, having scored 2 goals and let in three. At least having already lost three key players in the first two games there were …
Read More “Woolwich Arsenal 0 Sheffield United 0. Sept 1910.”
Arsenal in the 70s By Ian Brookes I first stared to go regularly to Arsenal when I was around 6 or 7 years old. I don’t actually recall my very first game, it just seems to be that I have been watching Arsenal for so long and it’s what I do. Sadly the day it …
Read More “Arsenal in the 70s – my first footballing memories”
By Tony Attwood Now with update from Maryhill FC – see below Matthew Thomson is one of those Woolwich Arsenal players about whom it seems impossible to find very much at all. He joined the club from Maryhill, his home town, where he was born in 1887. Maryhill. Maryhill FC date back to 1884, when …
Read More “Does anyone remember Matthew Thomson? He played for Arsenal 100 years ago.”
The 1910/11 season started poorly with a home defeat to a very strong Manchester United side: 1-2. 15,000 in the crowd. The second game two days later was seemingly uninspiring, although I have not found direct reports on the game. Bury 1 Arsenal 1. 10,000 there to see it. Next up, Sheffield United at home …
By Tony Attwood The Arsenal History site has so far started to record three areas of Arsenal History… 1. What happened to Arsenal 100 years ago 2. Supporters’ memories of their first ever time seeing Arsenal live. 3. Special topics (in which we have covered such issues as the rivalry with Tottenham, Arsenal in wartime, …
Read More “Arsenal History Project records your funniest, and worst, moments as an away supporter”
By Tony Attwood It may seem unlikely now, but Bury played Arsenal in the first division 100 years ago – on September 3rd. There is some background information on the state of Bury FC at this time in relation to the match in November 1909. So rather than repeat that, we can look at what …
Read More “Bury v Arsenal in the first division? 100 years ago it was exactly that”
By Tony Attwood No transfer window, no internationals interrupting the week by week flow of the games, no European competitions, no “25” registered players, no safety certificates for the grounds, no alcohol restrictions, no pub licensing procedures, no smoking bans…. It makes you wonder sometimes what there was 100 years ago. For Woolwich Arsenal there …
My First Arsenal match live Daniel Clark I remember my first Arsenal match- to use an old phrase- as if it were yesterday though mainly due to the build up of the actual game itself. It was 7 years ago when I was at the tender age of 9 and it was my dad and …
Read More “The train is evacuated, the taxi takes us to the wrong ground… its my first game.”
Woolwich Arsenal launched their first division campaign 100 years ago, on September 1, 1910, with a match against Manchester United. And the team that was put out was quite remarkable. Here it is E Bateup A Gray …
Read More “The team to face Man U. Where they came from, where they went”
100 years ago… Woolwich Arsenal resume league football – 1 September 1910 By Tony Attwood In the 19th century league football started on the first saturday in September. Not exactly the start of autumn but away from the “summer month” of August, which was given over to cricket. In fact cricket had the four months …
Read More “Arsenal prepare for the new season – 100 years ago!”
By Andy Barnett, Kent Both sides of the family were staunch Arsenal fans, eminating from the original Woolwich Arsenal days, so I was born a gooner. My first ever game was at Highbury on a freezing Saturday afternoon in October 1972. We played Man City, in what turned out to be a very dull 0 …
Read More “Man City; it’s freezing; 0-0; I loved every second”
MY FIRST TIME by Lucas On April 1st 1972 Arsenal were due to play Nottingham Forest at home. Forest had been a poor side for a few years, but this season they were particularly dire and bound for relegation. Now although Arsenal had been experiencing an up and down post-double season this was a real …
Read More “Arsenal v Forest 1972: my first time of seeing Arsenal live”
By Bernie Briffa, Essex It was August 23rd 1975 and an excited 10 year old hadn’t slept a wink the previous night. Why? Because this day, after many months of pleading was to be my first trip to watch my beloved Gunners live. My uncle who was visiting from Malta was to be my chaperone. …
Read More “We lose to Stoke, but we avoid relegation – my first season with Arsenal”
By Jack Staniforth I guess it must have been sometime in 1947 that I first visited Highbury although what the occasion was I can`t remember, sixty three years is a long time. My first memory however is still very vivid in my mind, April 3rd 1948 versus Sunderland (I think). The reason I remember the …
By Gfor60 At just under 5 years old, my first game came thanks to my grand-parents, family and aunts and uncles who had organized a knees up in Southend. Up to this point, my knowledge of football was confined to my gran’s “Up the Lillywhites…best football team in London.” (Interesting how Spuds don’t change?) But …
Read More ““That’s yer Christmas present, yer little Arsenal ****.””
Are you superstitious? by Frederick James McGregor I went to my first game at Highbury in 1998 vs West Ham, it was on a Boxing Day and Ian Wright had transferred to West Ham 6 months earlier. I was devastated, he was my favourite player. I was only 12 years old at that time and …
This site is currently inviting all Arsenal supporters to write in with details of their first time of seeing the Arsenal play. If you would like to write for this series, there are details at the foot of this article. By Walter Broeckx, Belgium. It was February 1979 when we came to London with our …
Read More “The refuse collectors were on strike, there was punk music in the air”
The Arsenal History web site (which is where you are) sponsored by AISA, is currently inviting all Arsenal supporters to write in with details of their first time of seeing the Arsenal play. If you would like to write for this series, there are details at the foot of this article. ———————- Aged 16, I …
The Arsenal History web site (which is where you are) sponsored by AISA, is currently inviting all Arsenal supporters to write in with details of their first time of seeing the Arsenal play. If you would like to write for this series, there are details at the foot of this article. ———————– The first time …
Read More “I’m cold, I’m six years old, and the warmth of a flask of stewed tea is long gone”
The Arsenal History web site (which is where you are) sponsored by AISA, is currently inviting all Arsenal supporters to write in with details of their first time of seeing the Arsenal play. If you would like to write for this series, there are details at the foot of this article. ———————– My First and …
