Arsenal Anniversaries: 13 October – Arsenal fans called “Gunners” for the first time

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Please join our association: it’s free!

If you enjoy our daily review of Arsenal’s history please do show your appreciation by becoming an associate member of AISA – Arsenal Independent Supporters’ Association.  It’s completely free, but being a member does make a statement that you value our work not just in recording Arsenal’s history but also in engaging with the club over issues relevant to supporters today.   You can join for free at https://aisa.org/associate-membership/

Here are today’s anniversaries.  

Today’s headline comes from 1906.

13 October 1894: Henry Boyd, Arsenal’s most prolific scorer ever, scored his 8th goal in five games.  The result was Newton Heath 3 Woolwich Arsenal 3, part of a seven match unbeaten run.

13 October 1906: One of the first known press references to Arsenal supporters as “Gunners” appeared on this day.  The name originally turns up in 1904, but this report in the Bristol Evening News also particularly mentioned the antics of the supporters who worked in the Torpedo Factory and the fireworks they made at work and let off in the games.  It was most likely this group who popularised the name.

13 October 1917:  In an attempt to divert discontent and improve the nation’s spirit in wartime the government took over Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge ground on this day to celebrate the (largely imaginary) life of the great English heroine Boadicea.

13 October 1919: Leeds City FC of the second division were expelled from the Football League and their directors and their wartime manager, Herbert Chapman, were banned from football for life.

13 October 1919: The conviction of Mr James Matthew Littleboy, a former mayor of Fulham, for annoying ladies in Hyde Park, was quashed. The ex-Mayor, who said he was troubled by noises in his head, was supported by Sir Henry Norris who vouched for his good character.

13 October 1923: Arsenal 1 Manchester City 2.  The Times described Arsenal as “tame” with City playing an offside trap and a counter-attacking game that thus far had not been common in the first division.   Arsenal’s defeat meant that after a run of three wins they had now scored one goal and got one point in the last three games.

13 October 1928: Arsenal smashed the world transfer record with the purchase of David Jack by Herbert Chapman for £10,890.  The tale is that Chapman got the negotiators from Bolton drunk to get the deal done.

13 October 1934: 68,000 turned up for the home game with Man City.  Arsenal won 3-0 (Bowden 2, Bastin).  It was part of a run of 15 goals in four games.

13 October 1946: Arsenal 4 Swansea 1 in the Football League South.  It was the second, and final, win for Arsenal in the first 13 games of the season during which the club let in 33 goals.

13 October 1959: First game for John Snedden in friendly v Grasshoppers.  Arsenal won 8-2.

13 October 1960: Arsenal signed John McClelland from Glenavon for £7000.  He had one major season with Arsenal – 1962/3 where he replaced McKechnie in goal and played 33 games.

13 October 1960: George Eastham was finally released by Newcastle who had previously refused to sell him.  As a result of Newcastle’s obduracy Eastham went to court backed by the Professional Footballers Association and challenged the retain-and transfer system.  He won which was an irony because it was a court case by Arsenal in 1883 which established the legality of the system in the first place

13 October 1971: Bob Wilson and George Graham played for Scotland for the first time.  It was one of just two caps for Bob Wilson.  Graham played 12 times for his country.  See also here.

13 October 1979: The 11th league game of the season and the difficult reality was that Arsenal had only won three of the previous ten, and matters didn’t improve much with a 0-0 away draw at Bolton in front of 17,032.

13 October 1984: Leicester City 1 Arsenal 4.  The result kept Arsenal to the top of the league, three points above Tottenham in second.  Sadly our form declined and we finished 7th while Tottenham finished 3rd.

13 October 1990: Final game for Gus Caesar in the Graham Rix Testimonial match v Tottenham. Arsenal lost 2-5.   He ended his career playing in Hong Kong in 2002, and has since worked in the finance industry in the Far East and the UK.

13 October 2001: Southampton 0 Arsenal 2.  League match 8 of the third Double season.  Pirès‘ scored in the 5th minute and Henry wrapped it up with the second on 74 minutes.  Arsenal were second in the league, having won five, drawn 2 and lost one.

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