ISLINGTON 100: The commemoration of Norris, Humble and Hall

By Tony Attwood, chairman, Arsenal History Society. I wrote in an earlier post that the Arsenal History Society, part of the Arsenal Independent Supporters Association, had proposed to Arsenal a series of events to commemorate the move from Plumstead of Highbury.  The move started in1912 when Henry Norris began the search for a new ground, …

The anniversary of the death of the man who created the modern Arsenal

Look around the Arsenal today and you will not find a single mention of Henry Norris.  No statue, no plaque, no picture. Mention Henry Norris to your average Arsenal fan and either he or she will not have heard of the man or that supporter will say something like “he was a crook wasn’t he?” …

ISLINGTON 100: Celebrating 100 years of Arsenal in north London

Arsenal History Society is part of the Arsenal Independent Supporters Association and together we put a proposal to Arsenal FC to work to commemorate the move to Islington – and the events of 1912 and 1913.  Although Arsenal FC were very positive indeed in terms of our suggestion for a statue of Herbert Chapman at …

We’re approaching one of the biggest anniversaries in Arsenal’s history

Launching Islington 100 by Tony Attwood Last season Arsenal celebrated 125 years since its first game.  So maybe that’s enough anniversaries for now.  Except that this coming season sees something much more important, by way of anniversary. What, you may ask, could be more important than the start of the club?   Well, I would argue …

When the Arsenal team was selected by a committee!

By Tony Attwood Woolwich Arsenal FC was created in 1893 and for the first four years of its existence (during which time it was in the Football League Division 2), it was managed by a Committee of the Directors – or indeed the whole board of directors (I’m not sure which).  The selection meetings must …

A revolution in the appraisal of Arsenal’s history

In the late 19th century Woolwich Arsenal was just about the most famous football team in the world.  Which is extraordinary when you think that the club never won either the FA Cup nor the Football League. It was famous because it was the adopted club of servicemen throughout the British Empire.   Whether they had …

Season Ticket Prices 1905/1906

Tony, In the season ticket article from  http://afchistory.wordpress.com/ you asked what the prices were in 1905. Well earlier in the pre-season on 30th June 1905 they were advertised in the Kentish Independent. Please see below. At this time the skilled Royal Arsenal artisans would have been paid up to approx £3 a week, and the unskilled labourer at the …

Season Tickets On Sale at Arsenal, (24th July 1905)

By Tony Attwood I missed this yesterday, but Yogi’s Warrior, who runs the excellent Arsenal on this Day site kindly pointed it out to me.   I am hoping he doesn’t mind if I take his kindness further and reprint the whole thing as it is a rather find instance of how widespread the interest in …

Herbert Chapman – just how great were his achievements

If you think you know your Arsenal history – it is time to think again.  Never before has one book so transformed what we know about a football club.  Woolwich Arsenal, the club that changed football. —————————————- Herbert Chapman – an overview of his achievements By Tony Attwood When Herbert Chapman became manager he took over …

Martin Keown, Twice signed, Two Doubles

—————— If you think you know your Arsenal history – it is time to think again.  Woolwich Arsenal, the club that changed football. ————– By Tony Attwood These days we often spend our time on Untold Arsenal telling players that if they leave Arsenal life will never be so good.  We’ve charted the career of player …

Liam Brady: who may (or may not) have signed pro forms on this day in 1973

By Tony Attwood I wanted to write a piece about Liam Brady turning professional on this day (23 July) in 1973.  The problem is that although some sources such as “The Gunners: Day to Day Life at Highbury” say (and I quote exactly) “signed his first professional contract for Arsenal” on this day,  while Wiki …

How Woolwich Arsenal changed football

By Tony Attwood Woolwich Arsenal never won the league, never got further in the FA Cup than the semi-finals, and didn’t provide the backbone of the England or Scotland national sides. So how can we claim that the club changed football? Woolwich Arsenal’s most obvious claim to fame is that they brought the Football League …

Graham’s players: Anders Limpar – and an insight into the sale of Rocastle

If you think you know your Arsenal history – it is time to think again.   Woolwich Arsenal, the club that changed football. ———————– By Tony Attwood Anders Erik Limpar (born 24 September 1965) In many ways Anders Limpar started a revolution.  By no means our first non-British Isles player, but he joined a team in …

Bob McNab: happy birthday to one of Mee’s key men

By Tony Attwood Bob McNab was born on 20 July 1943 in Yorkshire.  Happy 69th Birthday Bob. After playing 68 times between 1963 and 1966 for Huddersfield, he was signed by Bertie Mee in October 1966 – two months into Mee’s reign.  He replaced David Court at right back on October 15th in the away …

When the Tottenham keeper hit an Arsenal supporter during a game

By Tony Attwood I was writing recently about the time when a ref stopped an Arsenal / Tottenham game at Plumstead because of bad language from the crowd. The full story of that, and the incidents I relate here are given in Woolwich Arsenal, the club that changed football which is published this weekend. After …

Bernard Joy – captain of the GB Olympics football team 1936

By Tony Attwood Bernard Joy (who died on 18 July 1984) played 86 games for Arsenal between 1935 and 1947 under the management of George Allison.  He is also responsible for publishing a letter which has for years acted as one of only two sources of information about Arsenal’s first ever game. The letter is …

When the Arsenal / Tottenham Hotspur game was stopped by the ref due to bad language

By Tony Attwood Today, there isn’t that much of a problem at Arsenal’s home games.  I remember some issues with Everton supporters a couple of years back (they blame us, we blame them, and I was four blocks along from where the incident took place, so I don’t really know) but not too much else. …

Joe Baker and Bob Wilson – two anniversaries on one day

Today, 16 July we have the anniversaries of two players who played a significant part in the history of Arsenal – Joe Baker and Bob Wilson. You can read more about them here 16 July 1962 Joe Baker joins Arsenal 16 July 1963 Bob Wilson signs Arsenal History Society has an anniversary list which we …

What was it like in the crowd 100 years ago at Woolwich Arsenal?

By Tony Attwood At this moment when we are having our attention drawn towards players and their on field behaviour, and with some journalists now linking that to the chants that can be heard from the stands, it is interesting to spend just a moment thinking about how it was in the past. What is …

Celebrating 120 years of the Anti-Arsenal Arsenal

It may seem that the Anti-Arsenal Arsenal (the AAA) is a recent phenomenon,  Indeed that is how the AAA like to portray themselves with their “I have been an Arsenal supporter for 50 years and I have never seen a team this bad” stuff (forgetting perhaps in 1974 we spent a period bottom of the …

Arsenal does better than ever before… and everyone complains

By Tony Attwood Does that headline sound familiar?  The club reaches heights that no one has seen before, and then everyone moans and calls for the manager to be sacked. Sounds a bit like the 21st century at Arsenal, with an endless stream of top four finishes met with comments from the Anti-Arsenal Arsenal that …

Walley Barnes: football as a series of accidental events

———————————-   ——————– Publication on July 20th: Woolwich Arsenal, the club that changed football. The book that re-writes the Arsenal story. ———————————   By Tony Attwood There is this image that I have that when a player seeks a new move there are negotiations, chats with agents, thoughts, discussions with possible new clubs, debates.  And …

It is Frank Stapleton’s birthday (born 10 July 1956)

By Tony Attwood Frank Stapleton’s career at Arsenal spans the reigns of Bertie Mee (1966-76) and Terry Neill (1976-83). He joined us in 1972 as an apprentice (having tried his hand first with Man U) and played his first game in 1975 against Leicester in a 1-1 home draw.  This was Bertie Mee’s last season …

9th July 1976: Terry Neill becomes Arsenal’s manager

The Arsenal Anniversary File is an ever growing record of the important dates in the club.  We only started it a few months ago and already it has well over 100 important dates listed, with more being added each week. Today, 9th July, is the 36th anniversary of Terry Neill signing as a manager.   Terry’s …