The Original Arsenal Clock – New Evidence

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The Clock Revisited

We all know the original clock was placed on the Laundry End in 1930 and after some shenanigans with the FA and Highbury redevelopment it was moved to the College End in 1935.

We wrote as much in a recent blog and article for the club magazine.

However, all may not be as we all had assumed as new detail has emerged which shows the clock most likely began its life on the West Terrace, within an information centre on the South-West corner of the ground before moving to the Laundry End a few years later.

At the start of the week Andy told me that the Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News had been placed on the British Library website. This was exciting news for historians as the publication “did what it said on the tin” – it being a weekly paper that began in the Victorian period to provide the interested populace a multitude of drawings and photos of current sporting and artistic news and events. As such it provides insight that words can not convey.

He then said look at this beauty from the Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News 1930:

The Original Clock in the information centre at Highbury - 20 September 1930

The Original Clock in the Information Centre at Highbury – 20 September 1930*

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Arsenal Deliberately Lose to Relegate Tottenham

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Except it’s a load of old cobblers

One of the stories about Arsenal that Tottenham fans like dredge up due to their seemingly perpetual inferiority complex is that the Middlesex club were relegated in 1928 because Arsenal deliberately lost games to ensure this happened.

Even worse is that it gets an airing in some histories written about Arsenal, even the club’s official history!

So, is it true? Of course not.

mythbusters

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On This Day 1931 – Arsenal “Won the League at Highbury”

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The “Arsenal: We Won the League…” series is centred on the Thirties domination of football by Arsenal, in which we will publish  the details around each game in which the Five titles were gained.

First up is the first win:

Arsenal League Champions 1930-31

In the 1930’s Arsenal won the League five times: 1930-31, 1932-33, 1933-34, 1934-35 and 1937-38.

Two of these triumphs were gained at home. This one, the first, was against Liverpool

1931-32 Team photo

Team photo taken just prior to the next season with League Championship Trophy – Arsenal Museum Archive

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Arsenal underground station renamed earlier than believed

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Celebrating the wrong day for nearly 60 years

If you’re an Arsenal fan that has been to a game any time in the last 80 odd years, the chances are you will have used or walked past Arsenal underground station. And if you’re an Arsenal fan with an interest in the club’s history you will, no doubt, know that it was originally called Gillespie Road and renamed to Arsenal (Highbury Hill) on 5 November 1932. It was an idea of Herbert Chapman, Arsenal’s legendary manager, to raise the profile of the club.

Arsenal_station_tiling

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Arsenal’s Complete FA Cup Final Record – updated with all 14 Wins

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Last year we thought it would be a good idea to put together a compendium of information relating to all of Arsenal’s FA Cup final appearances on one page so you don’t have to trawl all over the internet to find out the answers to all of those nagging questions.

We’ve updated the article and made some additions. We’ve added a brief match report for each game which we wrote for the Arsenal magazine last year, and most of the programmes for the games. We were hoping to have all of them ready in time for this blog but the later years take ages to scan as they are so big. We’ll add them as we scan them in. Be aware that these later programmes are huge, physically and electronically. With this in mind we’ve shown the file size for each one so you know what you are letting yourself in for. This article was originally posted in 2015 and has been updated to include all subsequent FA Cup final appearances.

Weekly Illustrated 25 April 1936.

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Classic Match Report: Arsenal v WBA – 7 October 1931

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Arsenal win consecutive Charity Shields

In the 1930s Arsenal appeared in seven Charity Shields, winning five of them outright. Due to the intervention of the War the Charity Shield of 1939 was not played, meaning Arsenal competed in all but two of the games during that decade highlighting the club’s pre WW2 dominance. This game was the second of the seven the Arsenal played overall.

Arsenal FC with their trophies April 1931 (Photo by S. R. Gaiger/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

Arsenal FC with their trophies April 1931 (Photo by S. R. Gaiger/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

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