The First Crossword

The Arsenal crossword was introduced in the first programme of the 1968/1969 season when the club started issuing larger size editions for the first time.

Compiled by John Barrett it went on to be a major part of the programme for several years.

I have no idea when the plug was pulled but the last one I have is number 685 against Oldham Athletic in 1994, my last ever Highbury game.

My programme collection in the Premier League era is years out. I went to some in 93/94 plus of course the Oldham game (a league cup tie) but the next home issue I have is 2002 and by then the crossword had gone. Perhaps Wenger felt it belonged to a time before he arrived!

In my flights of fancy as youth I would picture myself redesigning our programmes but I don't think I ever consigned to crossword to history...even though I never did them myself: I didn't like the idea of defacing the programme full stop!

For the first home game of the current season, 2014/2015, there is no crossword, but there is a true or false page with the answers at the bottom!

Then You Took My Highbury Away

I will never tire of looking at images of Highbury. I just wish I had gone more often and perhaps taken a bit more time to drink in the surroundings.

First, they roofed the Clock End.
Then, the destroyed the North Bank.
Next, they changed the badge
Finally, they took Highbury.

What we have is a shiney new stadium straight from the box, a stadium that looks similar to many others around the world. And a stadium that is only really accessible to those with deep pockets.

The promises made at the time of the move were just that. Ticket prices would be more affordable? Yep, for the richest. We would compete with the best. Yep, Liverpool and Spurs and possibly Everton.

At least the bowl is just around the corner from Arsenal Stadium so I can combine a visit to the former with one to the latter. But I would never go to Highbury then go to the bowl if I didn't have to.

Maybe the words of an aging old fart but I feel sorry for those who didn't get to witness Badger, roasted peanuts man, the police band, the schoolboys' enclosure, 10 to 3 against that lot from up the road, queuing down to Finsbury Park to get in, Make Money girls, the old half time scoreboards...

Memories are made of this...saviour them because one day that is all that is left.

Colour Makes Its Debut

We take colour football prgrammes for granted these days but there was a time, when colour pictures were as rare as a Tottenham title.

The first time we had any colour photographs, or plates as they were then called, was against Chelsea in 1967/68. On Boxing Day to be exact. And to commemorate the event, the Arsenal increased the price of the programme from sixpence to a shilling!

In true Arsenal style, that is the Arsenal style before a certain French manager came in and invented the club, the players featured were defenders!

The exercise was repeated just once more in that season, against Manchester United the day after my mum's birthday!

Colour remained a novelty until the 1974/75 season when it was a colour photo was introduced on the cover for the first time and the middle pages also featured a couple of colour snaps, usually of badly dressed players playing golf or relaxing off the pitch! The club again took the opportunity to double the cost of the programme to 10p!

For some reason the following season saw a return to black and white all through the programme and it wasn't until 1976/77 that it became a regular thing.

Helping The Veterans

These two photographs show the Hospital for the Invalids of the War at Le Cannet, France. This hospital was purchased and equipped for the French Total Disabled Servicemen with money raised from regular friendlies between Arsenal and Racing Club de Paris.

Some background on the games can be found at the excellent Woolwich Arsenal site.

Change Your Colours

In recent years Arsenal have taken to playing about with their change shirts. For those of us who grew up and cut our teeth on yellow shirts and blue shirts that is all we knew and we have found it difficult to see colours like blue and white being worn in various seasons.


Thanks to the internet our protests have been long, loud, liked and retweeted and all to no avail.

But spare a thought for Leeds United fans back in the late 1950s, early 1960s. Before Don Revie came along and made them play in all white they wore some kind of yellow and blue kit as this team picture shows from the Arsenal programme in 1957/58.

I wonder how many fans tore up their season tickets in disgust or wrote angry letters to the local paper? Or were there other things to worry about like children listening to Elvis Presley, rationing and national service?!

By the way, that tall, lanky thing standing on the left at the end of the row? Recognise him?

When Israeli Teams Were Frequent Opponents

Back in the 1950s, playing foreign teams was still a novelty and of course Arsenal were at the forefront.

Hapoel Tel Aviv first visited Highbury in the 1951/52 season for example and later came games against South Africa, Anderlecht, Portuguesa De Desportos and Racing Club de Paris in the 1953/54 season.

1954/55 v Grasshoppers, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Spartak, Rangers
1955/56 v Clyde
1956/57 v Red Star CCA Bucharest
1957/58 v Hapoel Tel Aviv, Eintracht Frankfurt (?)
1958/59 v Rangers (postponed), Juventus, Rangers
 1959/60 v Grasshoppers

Oh happy days!