May 1, 1953: England's Football League Division One has its closest finish ever.
Arsenal Football Club, of North London, had dominated the League in the 1930s, winning 5 League titles and 2 FA Cups, with another season of being runner-up in both, in a 9-year stretch. World War II shut the League down, but in 1948, the 2nd full season after The War, Arsenal won the League again.
This was the 1st full season under manager Tom Whittaker. He had played for Arsenal in the 1920s, before the glory began. His career ended due to an injury, but it led directly to him tending to his former teammates' injuries as their physio -- or "trainer," as would be said in American sports. All through the glory years, managed by Herbert Chapman until his death in 1934, and then under George Allison, he kept them going.
When Allison stepped down in 1947, Whittaker was considered the natural choice to succeed him. He led them to the 1948 League title, and the 1950 FA Cup. He got them back to the FA Cup Final in 1952, ironically losing due to an injury, to Walley Barnes. English football did not allow substitutes until the 1968-69 season, largely due to Barnes' injury beginning a stretch of several Cup Finals that ended up being decided by injuries sending teams down to 10 men.
There was no European competition at the time. And Arsenal went out of the 1952-53 FA Cup in the Quarterfinal. But a strong run through January and February kept them close to the League lead. They stumbled a little in March, but picked up again in April.
Whittaker found a young gem in goalkeeper Jack Kelsey. Otherwise, it was a veteran team: Right back Joe Wade, left back Barnes; halfbacks Alex Forbes, Ray Daniel and team Captain Joe Mercer; and forwards Don Roper, Jimmy Logie, Peter Goring, Doug Lishman and Ben Marden. (Kelsey, Barnes and Daniel were Welsh. Forbes and Logie were Scottish. The rest of the starting lineup was English.)
By April 18, Arsenal were tied for 1st with Birmingham-area team Wolverhampton Wanderers, a.k.a. Wolves, with 2 games in hand. At a time when a win was 2 points, they had 3 games to go, and needed just 3 points -- a win and a draw -- to win the title.
But they faltered, with a 0-0 draw away to Welsh team Cardiff City on the 22nd, and then a 2-0 loss away to Lancashire team Preston North End on the 25th. Now, Arsenal and Preston were tied for the League lead with 1 game left to play, which gave Preston hope that they could still take the title. Wolves were out: They had finished their schedule, and were 1 point back.
On April 29, Preston played their game in hand, beating East Midlands team Derby County away, 1-0. This meant that Arsenal had to win their last game to take the title: Regardless of how many goals they won by, a win would give them 54 points, the same as Preston, and the title, based, on the rules of the time, on goal average. But a draw would leave them with 53, and a loss with 52.
Arsenal were taking a ragged, muddy pitch at the Arsenal Stadium, known as Highbury for its North London neighborhood, on May 1, a damp Friday night. It was moved back to this day, to avoid clashing with the FA Cup Final the next day. Their opponents were Lancashire team Burnley, who were in 5th place, and had held Arsenal to a 1-1 draw at Burnley's stadium, Turf Moor, the preceding December 13. So it was hardly a gimme for the Gunners.
A crowd of 51,586 was on hand. That might sound big to more recent fans, knowing Highbury's seating capacity as 38,000, but that was after it was converted to all-seater. The standing areas -- the North Bank and the southern Clock End -- were not full, possibly due to the weather, possibly due to the unfamiliarity of a Friday night match. But Lishman remembered those who had showed up being loud: "The crowd was at their best that night. The noise they made was unbelievable, it was really ear-piercing... However much the players and the fans were in conflict that season, I can't deny they were superb on that night."
The game kicked off at 6:00 PM. Just 6 minutes into the game, Burnley scored. Midway through the 1st half, Forbes and Lishman scored within minutes of each other to give Arsenal the lead. Logie scored just before the half to make it 3-1 to The Arsenal.
But the sky opened again, and it rained so hard that there was consideration of abandoning the game, and restarting it on another date. The 2nd half started anyway, and Burnley soon scored to make it 3-2. Logie and Goring both later admitted they found it difficult to move on the waterlogged pitch. Roper tore ligaments in his knee, and Mercer later said, "Playing in that match crocked me for good." (He had to be talked out of retirement, but broke his leg the next season, and never played again. He later managed Manchester City to the League title in 1968 and the FA Cup in 1969.)
Both Roper and Mercer kept playing through their injuries, so as not to reduce Arsenal's full complement of 11 men. The League would not allow substitutions, even for injury, until 1965. The only thing that seemed to be saving them is that Burnley were struggling with the awful playing surface as well.
The pressure got to manager Whittaker: He left the dugout, and retreated to his office, pouring himself a stiff drink. He may have been better off: Later in the game, a Burnley shot beat Kelsey and hit the crossbar. Later still, Burnley thought they should have been awarded a penalty, but they weren't. Finally, at 8:00, the referee blew his whistle, and the game was over, 3-2 to The Arsenal.
Arsenal were the Champions, having finished level on points with Preston, and having finished just 0.099 of a goal better than Preston. Under the current rules, the first tiebreaker
would be goal difference. That would have given Arsenal a bigger cushion, +33
to +25.
And so, in a 24-year stretch -- 17 seasons, taking out the war-affected seasons -- Arsenal had won the League 7 times, and the Cup 3 times. No other team in England had done so well over that stretch. But the run took a lot out of them. Aside from Kelsey, it was an aging team, and most of them never won another trophy as a player.
Whittaker died of a heart attack in 1956, still the Arsenal manager. There are those who believe that he had more than just the one stiff drink that night, and that he might well have set himself on a path to death at age 58.
Replacing Whittaker and the players proved difficult, and the 1953 League title turned out to be Arsenal’s last trophy for
17 years. A month later, Queen Elizabeth II was crowned, and, after Arsenal
lost the League Cup Final in 1968 and again in 1969, the line became "Arsenal
haven't won a trophy since the Coronation." They won 3 over the next 2 seasons.
*
May 1, 1953 was a Friday. The following day, the FA Cup Final was held at Wembley Stadium in West London, and Lancashire team Blackpool beat Manchester-area team Bolton Wanderers, 4-3. That was also the day of the Kentucky Derby, and Dark Star beat Northern Dancer. It was the only loss of Northern Dancer's career: He went on to win the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes.
Football, basketball and hockey were out of season. These baseball games were played that Friday:
* The New York Yankees lost to the Chicago White Sox, 6-5 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Billy Pierce outpitched Johnny Sain. Mickey Mantle went 0-for-3 with 2 walks.
* The New York Giants lost to the St. Louis Cardinals, 3-2 at the Polo Grounds. Stan Musial went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Willie Mays was serving in the Korean War, and unavailable for the Giants.
* The Brooklyn Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs, 6-5 at Ebbets Field. The Cubs scored 3 runs in the top of the 8th, but the Dodgers scored 4 in the bottom of the 8th, including a home run by Pee Wee Reese. Jackie Robinson did not play.
* The Milwaukee Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-2 at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia.
* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds, 8-3 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh.
* The Boston Red Sox beat the Cleveland Indians, 8-1 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Ted Williams was serving in the Korean War, and unavailable for the Red Sox.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 7-3 at Briggs Stadium (later Tiger Stadium) in Detroit.)
* And the Washington Senators beat the St. Louis Browns, 6-5 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis, which had just been renamed Busch Stadium.
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