A look at the history of the Gunners through the treasures found in the Arsenal Museum: ThePlayer of the year award 1950
Joe Mercer Footballer of the Year Award from the Football Writers Association. Arsenal Museum. Credit : Arsenal Football Club / David Price.
“A good ball by Dixon, finding Smith, for Thomas, charging through the midfield! Thomas, it’s up for grabs now! Thomas! Right at the end!”
Michael Thomas’ Boots – The Arsenal Musuem. Credit : Arsenal Football Club / David Price.
“Merson to take it … Andy Linighan has won the cup for Arsenal”
So said Martin Tyler at the end of the Gunners’ fourth visit to Wembley in 1993.
The Arsenal Musuem. Credit : Arsenal Football Club / David Price.
I’m not sure what set me off on this one, I guess there was something that didn’t seem to add up. But here we are with another historical “fact” that has been corrected.
Arsenal’s 2017 FA Cup win was their seventh under Arsene Wenger which made him the most successful manager in FA Cup history. This is shown in tables plastered all over the internet and traditional media. I assume that most of these have sourced their information from that ultra-reliable source, Wikipedia.
Albert Craig the first Arsenal programme editor and writer – (by Rheinhold Thiel of London – Roger Mann Collection (1))
“Born of illiterate parents in a remote Yorkshire community, he became one of the most celebrated figures on the cricket and football grounds of London and the South”. (2)
George ‘Geordie’ Armstrong’s Cannon
On 5 February 1974 at Elland Road, Leeds, Arsenal’s George ‘Geordie’ Armstrong became the first player to play 500 competitive games for the Gunners. Before this match Armstrong was presented with a set of candelabras and champagne for his landmark achievement. The closest that any player had previously come to this number was Bob John who had amassed 470 appearances during the 1920s & 1930s.
On 9 November 1968 Arsenal chose to celebrate their 50th consecutive season at the top tier of the English game. This entailed a Division One match against Newcastle in the afternoon which ended goalless despite George Graham and John Radford being up front, and the club held a banquet for 400 guests at the Park Lane Hotel, Piccadilly that same night.
Those of you who are regulars on twitter will, no doubt, have seen photoshopped pictures of Arsene Wenger apparently signing Dennis Bergkamp. These usually surface on Dennis’ birthday or 20 June when he was signed, with a caption such as: “Arsene Wenger’s greatest signing.”
“The purists would still want the FA Cup final at 3pm on the last Saturday of the season,” – Greg Dyke
Is the 3 o’clock kick-off time a tradition? Was it just a recent invention or does it have deeper roots in the competition? Is it progressive to alter the time of the kick offs, or just an utter waste of energy and another example of the FA bowing before BBC, Sky and BT dictats?
On 9 May 1891 the members of Royal Arsenal Football Club caused a sensation on the London football scene when they voted to turn professional. The governing body for football in London were staunchly amateur, heavily influenced by the “old boys” network of public schools.
Royal Arsenal had been forced into this situation after losing a number of their players to the professional clubs in the Midlands and the North. Being the best club in London and the South had led to them becoming victims of their own success.