This is our daily review of Arsenal anniversaries taken from the Arsenal day by day files prepared by the AISA Arsenal History Society.
Today’s headline story comes in part from 1913 just a few months after Arsenal moved out of the Manor Ground in Plumstead to Highbury, it was reported engulfed in a fire. And the second part of the headline comes from 98 years later in a comment from Stan Kroenke.
Below are the Anniversaries from 30 September.
30 September 1893: Arsenal let in six for the first time, in a defeat at Newcastle. It was particularly disappointing after two fine wins in which the club scored seven and let in one.
30 September 1912: Arsenal played Chelsea in a one-off match for the London Professional Footballers’ Association Charity Fund. The professional London clubs played one such game each year from 1908 to 1913 and the gate receipts, after deduction of expenses, were distributed to various institutions throughout London.
30 September 1913: The Woolwich Gazette reported that the whole North stand Grandstand was gutted by fire which started at the refreshment bar, at the junction with the western end of the stand. It was apparently witnessed by more people than had seen the team play for much of the previous season!
30 September 1933: Jimmy Dunne signed for Arsenal and immediately played in a 6-0 win over Middlesbrough. He was Chapman’s last big name signing and went on to score nine goals in 21 games that season.
30 September 1946: Arsenal’s Dr Kevin O’Flanagan and his brother played for Ireland v England. He played for Ireland at both football and rugby, was also a sprint champion, scored for Ireland in a 1938 world cup qualifier against Norway and played both for Northern Ireland and for the Irish Free State.
30 September 1964: Archibald Devine, who played in the last game in Plumstead, died. He had 14 transfers; 11 clubs, 1 cap, 1 cup winner’s medal. After his football career he worked as a miner and a docker.
30 September 1966: George Graham signed from Chelsea, Tommy Baldwin sold to Chelsea who also received £50,000 from Arsenal. George had played 72 league games for Chelsea scoring 35 goals and won the League Cup, in 1965.
30 September 1996: Arsène Wenger appointed as Arsenal manager (although some sources quote 28th and others 29th).
30 September 1995: Chelsea 1 Arsenal 0. This was the first defeat for Bruce Rioch as Arsenal manager in the eighth league game. The club recovered however and won the next two without conceding.
30 September 1997: Arsenal 1 PAOK 1. Arsenal exited the Uefa cup in the first round losing 2-1 on aggregate. However in the long term the defeat was forgotten as Arsenal went on to the semi-final of the League Cup, and to win the FA Cup and League Double for the second time.
30 September 1998: Arsenal beat Panathinaikos in front of second highest Arsenal home crowd ever as part of the experiment of playing Champions League games at Wembley. Arsenal won 2-1.
30 September 1998: Laurie Brown died aged just 61. He is remembered for signing for Tottenham from Arsenal and then playing for Tottenham against Arsenal the next day. After leaving Tottenham he worked with several clubs as a player manager, and then manager in non-league football.
30 September 2005: Graham Stack cleared of rape after long running case. He transferred to Reading, but continued a long series of loans before holding down a regular goalkeeping position with Hibs and then Barnet
30 September 2006: On his 10th anniversary Arsène Wenger led Arsenal to a 2-1 victory over Charlton and a third consecutive victory and one of five wins in a row. Van Persie got both goals
30 September 2011: Almunia loaned to West Ham. In 2012 he moved to Watford, for whom he played 76 games before retiring on medical advice, after a rare heart condition was picked up during a medical with Serie A side Cagliari Calcio.
30 September 2011: Arsenal chairman Stan Kroenke reported as saying “Arsène Wenger is one of the greats – he will be in charge for as long as he wants.”
Yesterday’s anniversaries were:
Our most recent article on Arsenal’s history…
Arsenal: March – May 1916. The team in decline, entry to football taxed for the first time.
Elsewhere on this day, in 1938 Neville Chamberlain proved himself to be one of many British Prime Ministers (in a long line that continues until today) who have not got the slightest idea what is going on when he returned from a conference in Munich and told cheering crowds at the airport “I believe it is peace for our time”. Boris Johnson could have put it no better. TA.
- Arsenal day by day – over 5000 anniversaries of the club
The current series from the Arsenal History Series being developed on this site is Henry Norris at the Arsenal, covering all aspects off the life and work of the man who rescued Arsenal from extinction, secured the club’s future by moving it to Highbury, and then brought in Herbert Chapman as manager.
The previously untold tale of how it was that Norris came to choose Highbury as the suitable location for Arsenal’s new ground.
The series is being worked on daily, and the articles thus far are here.
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- Arsenal in the 30s
- Arsenal players in the 30s
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- The First League Season, including a review of each player who played in that season
- Arsenal day by day – over 5000 anniversaries of the club
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There are details of many other series covered by this site on our home page.
