The first ever London derby in the football’s top division.

This is our daily review of Arsenal anniversaries taken from the Arsenal day by day  files prepared by the AISA Arsenal History Society.

Our headline is taken from this day in 1907


Special feature:

Highbury: from start to end with previously unseen pictures of the end of the stadium.

Below are the Anniversaries from  November 9.

9 November 1888: Chris Buckley born in Manchester – although the date is quoted in some sources as 1886.  He played with Victoria Park, Manchester Ship Canal FC, Manchester City reserves, Xaverian Brothers College, WBA and Brighton and Hove Albion before starting his league career with Aston Villa with whom he won the first division title in 1910.  He later became Aston Villa vice-chair.

9 November 1889: Arsenal beat West Kent 10-1 in Kent Senior Cup – the competition Arsenal had been expelled from in the previous season for refusing to play extra time after the opposition had arrived late for a match.

9 November 1896: In one of the early games between the two, Arsenal beat Tottenham 2-1 in the United League – a midweek league played using first team players among clubs in the south of the country.

9 November 1907: The first ever London derby in the first division ended Chelsea 2 Woolwich Arsenal 1, in front of 65,000 – the largest crowd Woolwich Arsenal had appeared in front of.

9 November 1925: William Harper joined from Hibs for £4000 – a world record fee for a keeper.  He only stayed for a couple of seasons before going to the USA, but then did return for a second stint as Chapman continued his endless quest to find the perfect keeper.

9 November 1935: Arsenal drew 1-1 with Derby in front of 54,027 with Drake scoring the goal.  Having scored 115 the season before it was becoming clear that Arsenal were not going to get anywhere near that total this season.

9 November 1938: Les Jones scored his only goal for Wales in his 11th and last appearance for the principality.

9 November 1946: First match for Wally Barnes – Preston 2 Arsenal 0.   It was the last game in a series of eight games in which Arsenal won just one match.   It was also the last match for David Nelson and the first for Cyril Grant

9 November 1965: Jimmy Carter born in Hammersmith.  He spent two years at Palace, two at QPR, with no senior games.  But then Millwall bought him for £15k and in four years he played over 100 games and was part of the team that gained their first ever promotion in 1988.

9 November 1970: Arsenal’s only home defeat all season: 0-2 to Crystal Palace in League Cup round 4 replay after a 0-0 away draw on 28 October.

9 November 1981: Stewart Robson signed pro forms for Arsenal.  He went on to play 150 league games for Arsenal scoring 16 goals.  He also played 126 games for West Ham and Coventry, and managed Southend for three matches, winning one and losing two of his games.

9 November 1997: In a game against Manchester Utd Anelka scored the first goal, as Arsenal won 3-2 after only one victory in five.   Game 14 of the 2nd Double Season.    The second double: part 1, part 2, part 3.    The win over Man U was one of only two wins in eight.

9 November 2002: Arsenal beat Newcastle 1-0 to move one point behind Newcastle after two defeats in October.  The Guardian said of Patrick Vieira: a “demonstration of tackling, control, awareness and movement that was exceptional even by his standards.”

9 November 2004: Only 27,791 turn up at Highbury for League Cup match v Everton.

9 November 2014: Swansea 2 Arsenal 1.  Ten players (five from each side) were yellow carded during the game which Swansea won 2-1.  The Arsenal cards went to Ramsey, Mertesacker, Chambers, Alexis and Gibbs.  Alexis scored the Arsenal goal.

 


 

Elsewhere on this day: 

In 1953 Dylan Thomas, one of the most powerful, imaginative, inventive, influential and ground breaking poets of the 20th century died on this day in 1953.

Do not go gentle into that good night, rage, rage, against the dying of the light.

 


 

Yesterday’s anniversaries:

“Another stumbling performance.” How the press saw the Unbeaten Season


 

The latest post from our series on Henry Norris at the Arsenal

October 1917: Arsenal slip into sharp decline; Norris gains a new appointment

A full index of the various series of articles on this site appears on the home page.

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