December 11, 2021: New York City FC Win the MLS Cup

December 11, 2021: New York City Football Club win the MLS Cup.

With the New York Tri-State Area having at least 2 teams in the other sports, and just the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer, there was room for a 2nd team. A revived New York Cosmos never got their act together to get admitted to MLS. So NYCFC was founded in 2013, and began play in 2015.

They played most of their home games at the new Yankee Stadium, due to the New York Yankees holding a 20 percent ownership stake. The remaining 80 percent is owned by City Football Group, owned by Mansour bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, brother of the President and de factor monarch and dictator of the United Arab Emirates.

City Football Group also owns Manchester City Football Club, which has dominated England's Premier League since 2012; Melbourne City FC, the Australian team formerly known as Melbourne Heart, so they, metaphorically, "cut the heart out of the club"; and teams in France, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Uruguay, India, China and Japan.

The UAE is a country whose official policy discriminates against women, Jews and gays, making them anathema to many in the mainly-liberal Tri-State Area. Their own fans don't care. They point out their slogan, "Five Boroughs, One City," and remind Red Bull fans that they play in New Jersey (in Red Bull Arena in Harrison, Hudson County), not in the City.

This came back to bite City fans, known to Red Bull fans as "The Smurfs" due to their blue jerseys, when, not controlling their own venue, they had to move "home games" due to the Yankees controlling scheduling at Yankee Stadium. They were able to move some games to the New York Mets' Citi Field. But they've had to play 2 games at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut, 116 miles from Midtown Manhattan. Red Bull fans have called City "East Hartford FC."

The low point for Red Bull fans, until the 2021 MLS Cup Final, was their own team's management opening Red Bull Arena up to NYCFC for "home games." The high point was on May 21, 2016, when the Red Bulls went into Yankee Stadium and beat City, 7-0. Despite the Red Bulls being a charter MLS team that had never won an MLS Cup, losing its only Final in 2008, they could still, with much legitimacy, claim, "New York is Red."

That changed in the 2021 Playoffs. The Red Bulls reached the Playoffs in their 2nd season, 2016, for the 1st of 4 straight trips to the MLS Cup Quarterfinals. They got knocked out in the 1st Round in 2020. But in 2021, they beat Atlanta United in the 1st Round, beat the New England Revolution away on penalty kicks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, and beat the Philadelphia Union away in the Conference Finals.

They faced the Portland Timbers, at Providence Park in Portland. The 1st half was a bit dull, until Valentin Castellanos putting NYCFC on the board in the 41st minute. They thought they had the game won, until stoppage time: In the 94th minute, Felipe Mora equalized for the Timbers.

There was no scoring in extra time, and the game went to penalties. City goalkeeper Sean Johnson saved penalties from Mora and Diego Valeri. Alexander Callens sent the winning penalty kick home.

New York City FC were the Champions of Major League Soccer. It was the 1st top-flight league title for a New York-based soccer team since the original Cosmos won Soccer Bowl '82, 39 years earlier. And it was the 1st league title for a New York-based team in any sport since the New York Giants won Super Bowl XLVI, nearly 10 years earlier.

New York was now Blue. It was the most humiliating moment in the long, humiliation-riddled history of the New York Red Bulls, and they didn't even play.

UPDATE: In 2026, Manchester City were found guilty of 114 violations of Premier League rules. This renders every achievement of theirs illegitimate, including the 2021 title of "farm club" New York City FC.

*

December 11, 2021 was a Saturday. Baseball was out of season. There was 1 college football game played that day, the Army-Navy Game. Navy beat Army, 17-13 at MetLife Stadium at the Meadowlands.

There were 7 games played in the NBA:

* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Golden State Warriors, 102-93 at the Wells Fargo Center (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia.

* The Utah Jazz beat the Washington Wizards, 123-98 at the Capital One Arena in Washington.

* The Miami Heat beat the Chicago Bulls, 118-92 at the FTX Arena (now the Kaseya Center) in Miami.

* The Memphis Grizzlies beat the Houston Rockets, 113-106 at the FedEx Forum in Memphis.

* The Denver Nuggets beat the San Antonio Spurs, 127-112 at the AT&T Center (now the Frost Bank Center) in San Antonio. Nikola Jokić led all scorers on the night with 35 points, and also had 17 rebounds.

* The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Sacramento Kings, 117-103 at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (now the Rocket Arena) in Cleveland.

* And the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Orlando Magic, 106-104 at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles.

And there were 12 games in the NHL:

* The New York Islanders beat the New Jersey Devils, 4-2 at the UBS Arena.

* In an "Original Six" matchup, the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 5-4 at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

* The Ottawa Senators beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 4-0 at the Corel Centre in Ottawa.

* The Washington Capitals beat the Buffalo Sabres, 3-2 in a shootout at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Anaheim Ducks, 1-0 at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.

* The St. Louis Blues beat the Montreal Canadiens, 4-1 at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis.

* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Arizona Coyotes, 5-3 at the Gila River Arena (now the Desert Diamond Arena) in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona.

* The Boston Bruins beat the Calgary Flames, 4-2 at the Saddledome in Calgary.

* The Carolina Hurricanes beat the Edmonton Oilers, 3-1 at Rogers Place in Edmonton.

* The Los Angeles Kings beat the Minnesota Wild, 2-1 at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles.

* The San Jose Sharks beat the Dallas Stars, 2-1 at the SAP Center in San Jose.

* And the New York Rangers, the Detroit Red Wings, the Vancouver Canucks, the Colorado Avalanche, the Florida Panthers, the Nashville Predators, the Winnipeg Jets and the Vegas Golden Knights were not scheduled.

And in English soccer, Arsenal beat Hampshire team Southampton, 3-0 at the Emirates Stadium in North London.

July 22, 2010: The New York Football Challenge

Dane Richards (left) and Wayne Bridge

July 22, 2010: The New York Football Challenge begins at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey. As Tony Reali of ESPN's Around the Horn would say, "And by football, I mean futbol!"

The host New York Red Bulls, with newly-signed superstar Thierry Henry, the Arsenal legend, took on Arsenal's arch-rivals, fellow North London team Tottenham Hotspur, a.k.a. "Spurs."

In 1961, Spurs won the Football League and the FA Cup tournament, becoming the first English team in the 20th Century to "win The Double" or "do The Double." They also won the FA Cup in 1962, 1967, 1981 and 1991 -- but that's it for major trophies. They've since won the League Cup in 1999 and 2008, but teams that consider the League Cup a "major trophy" can hardly be called a "big club."

Spurs fans also like to talk about their hooliganism. But there was no way they were going to be able to pull any of their usual stuff at Red Bull Arena: The home team has a great security system, searching for weapons and tossing out anyone outside the designated supporters-club sections (in other words, anyone inside the "family sections") that gets out of line. Besides, do they really think London is tougher (or "harder" as they would say) than New York and New Jersey? It is not.

Anyway, both teams went through the 1st half with most of their starters, including the newly-signed Henry, who scored his first goal for his new team. It wasn't a vintage "Henry... What a goal! What a goal!" shot, but it counted just the same. A lot of Tri-State Area converts to the Arsenal cause (a.k.a. Gooners, from the team's nickname the Gunners, from the cannon on their crest) went mental, watching the greatest player in team history (some would still say that's Dennis Bergkamp) score for their real home team.

Henry had already been embraced by the Metro fans, and he embraced them in return. He told reporters that he even took the PATH train from Manhattan to Harrison. I wonder how many people recognized him? He did do a Gillette razor commercial with Roger Federer and Tiger Woods, although for most U.S. broadcasts, that ad was Federer, Woods and Derek Jeter.

Anyway, Metro's Number 14 didn't get the treatment Pelé got when he came to play for the New York Cosmos from 1975 to '77, but Henry did have the advantage of the increased TV coverage from the NASL's time, being that, aside from the '70 World Cup where he led Brazil to victory, most Americans hadn't really seen Pelé up until '75.

In contrast, with Premier League action from England, La Liga action from Spain, Serie A action from Italy, and Bundesliga action from Germany now available via satellite, and Henry's appearances in the 1998 and 2006 World Cups for France (winning the former as a substitute and reaching the Final of the latter as an already huge star), most Americans who care about sports know who he is, having seen him play on TV, first for Arsenal and then for Barcelona.

In the 2nd half, Red Bulls manager Hans Backe took out Henry, and some other starters, including the goalkeeper, the Senegalese wizard Bouna Condoul, replacing him with Greg Sutton.

Two big mistakes. Not only did those substitutions take out our best offensive player, but switching goalies was a bonehead move. Sutton may have been Canada's Number 1 -- that is, the starting goalkeeper on their national soccer team -- but he was no match for Spurs, whose manager Harry Redknapp left in his starters, including Robbie Keane, Gareth Bale and Luka Modrić. Keane and Bale both scored in the 2nd half to give Spurs a 2-1 win.

Needless to say, the Spurs fans were their usual selves, thinking they were "taking the piss on our manor." Dimwits, they were losing against the starting lineup of an MLS team! An MLS team! This, after they managed only a scoreless draw against the San Jose Earthquakes in their last game, and the Quakes, at the time, were only 5th in the MLS West! At least the Red Bulls were 2nd in the MLS East!

Most Europeans who observe the MLS say that it's about as good as England's second division, "The Championship." (No, I don't know who named it that, or what drugs he was on at the time. Nor do I know who named their third and fourth divisions "League One" and "League Two.") So, last night, Spurs were losing against MLS starters, and only beat MLS scrubs. In an exhibition, or, as soccer fans would say, a "friendly."

And they took the piss? They're lucky there wasn't a fight: The New Yorkers and New Jerseyans would have mussed 'em up but good, the dirty chumps. Wait, sorry, forgot to "speak English" there: The locals would have given them a right hiding, the bloody bastards!

The Challenge continued the next night, as another English club, Manchester City, takes on Sporting Clube de Portugal, a.k.a. "Sporting Lisbon." With Red Bull Arena being right across the Passaic River from the Portuguese-heavy (and Brazilian-laden as well, due to the language) Ironbound section of Newark (it's a 15-minute walk from Market Street and Ferry Street bars across the Jackson Street Bridge to the Arena), Sporting were a natural for this weekend, led by Portugal national-team stars, striker Liédson and goalie Tiago.

Man City, also stuck with Second Team Syndrome behind Manchester United (which barely beat MLS expansion team Philadelphia Union 1-0 the preceding Saturday), had recently been bought by Arab investors, making it the richest sports team on the planet. In the 2010-11 season that was about to begin, City won the FA Cup for the 1st time since 1969. The next season, they won the League for the 1st time since 1968, and went on to become English soccer's next great dynasty. But all that was yet to come.

In 2010, they featured 2 former Arsenal stars, the much-admired Senegalese/French midfielder Patrick Vieira, and the formerly-cheered, now lustily-booed-with-good-reason, Togolese striker Emmanuel Adebayor. But in this game, City lost 2-0 to Sporting, as Yannick Djaló scored both goals.

And on Sunday, July 25, there was a doubleheader, which I attended. Sporting and Spurs drew 2-2, while the Red Bulls beat Man City 2-1.

The standings for the Challenge worked like this: 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, and 1 point for each goal scored. With 2 losses and 1 goal, Man City got 1 point. For a win, a draw, and 3 goals, the Red Bulls got 6. With a win, a draw, and 4 goals, Sporting and Spurs each got 8 points. But Sporting had the superior goal difference, +2 to +1, and so Sporting were declared the winners and were awarded the trophy. No Player of the Tournament was named. Attendance for the doubleheader was 23,228, probably a sellout when freebies were counted. (Red Bull Arena officially seats 25,000 even.)

*

July 22, 2010 was a Thursday. These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Kansas City Royals, 10-4 at Yankee Stadium. Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez hit home runs. A-Rod had 4 RBIs, and he and Mark Teixeira each had 3 hits, supporting CC Sabathia.

* The New York Mets lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 2-0 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Hiroki Kuroda pitched 8 innings of 5-hit shutout ball, supported by a home run from Matt Kemp.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Baltimore Orioles, 5-0 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Carl Pavano -- yes, Yankee Fans, that Carl Pavano -- pitched a 5-hit shutout.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the San Diego Padres, 8-0 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta. Tim Hudson pitched 7 innings of 4-hit shutout ball.

* The Florida Marlins beat the Colorado Rockies, 3-2 at Sun Life Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida. Ronny Paulino's singled drove in the winning run in the bottom of the 9th.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 3-2 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.

* The Washington Nationals beat the Cincinnati Reds, 7-1 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 5-2 at Comerica Park in Detroit.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 2-0 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Over 11 innings, Phillies pitchers, including Cole Hamels over the 1st 8, allowed just 1 hit. Placido Polanco won it with a home run in the top of the 11th.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Los Angeles Angels, 3-2 at Rangers Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 3-0 at Chase Field in Phoenix. Matt Cain pitched 8 innings of 3-hit shutout ball.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Seattle Mariners, 8-6 at Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) in Seattle. The Mariners scored 5 runs in the bottom of the 9th to send the game to extra innings, but an RBI double by Eric Patterson won it for the Sox in the top of the 13th.

* And the Chicago Cubs, the Chicago White Sox, the Cleveland Indians, the Houston Astros, the Oakland Athletics and the Tampa Bay Rays were not scheduled to play.

June 26, 2003: The Death of Marc-Vivien Foé

June 26, 2003: Marc-Vivien Foé dies of a previously undiagnosed heart condition, while playing midfield for Cameroon against Colombia, in the Semifinal of the Confederations Cup, a match being held in his adopted hometown of Lyon, France. He was 28, and was survived by a wife, but no children.

Foé was born on May 1, 1975, in Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon. A midfielder, he won his country's version of the FA Cup with Canon Yaoundé in 1993. He moved to France, and helped Racing Club de Lens win the League title in 1998.

He spent the next season with West Ham United of East London, and helped them win the 1999 UEFA Intertoto Cup, a 3rd-tier European tournament. He moved to Olympique Lyonnais, and helped them win the Ligue 1 title in 2002. In addition, he helped Cameroon with the Africa Cup of Nations, the continent's national team tournament, in 2000 and 2002.

Lyon loaned him to Manchester City for the 2002-03 season, and he played in 38 of their 41 games, scoring 9 goals, including the last goal at their old stadium, Maine Road, on April 21, 2003.

The Cameroon team, known as the Indomitable Lions, reached the World Cup in 1994 and 2002. Foé was in both squads, but they did not get past the Group Stage either time. They played in the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup. Foé played in wins over Brazil and Turkey. With the team having thus qualified for the knockout stage, he was rested for their game against the United States, a 0-0 draw that knocked the Americans out of the tournament.

Only 4 teams qualified for the knockout stage. On June 26, Cameroon faced Colombia in the Semifinal, at what was officially his club home field, the Stade de Gerland in Lyon. In the 72nd minute, with Cameroon leading 1-0, he ran to the center circle, and collapsed. No other player was near him, so he hadn't been fouled.

The medical team attempted to resuscitate him on the pitch. He was stretchered off, and for 45 minutes, they tried to restart his heart. It didn't work, and he was dead at 28.

His wife, Marie-Louise, said that he had been suffering from stomach issues, but he wanted to play this game in his adopted hometown. Winfried Schäfer, Cameroon's German manager, had noticed that Foé seemed fatigued. He signaled to Foé that he wanted to substitute him off, but Foé signaled that he wanted to keep going.

The game was played to a conclusion, and Cameroon hung on to win. That night, in the other Semifinal, at the Stade de France in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis, France beat Turkey, 3-2. Thierry Henry, Robert Pires and Sylvain Wiltord, all players for North London team Arsenal, scored for France, and each pointed to the sky as a salute to Foé. Three days later, France beat Cameron in the Final at the Stade de France, with Henry scoring a "golden goal" in the 97th minute.

Unlike in North American sports, retiring uniform numbers is unusual in world soccer, and is rarely done for a player who is still alive. Lens retired the Number 17 shirt that he wore for them, and Manchester City did the same with Number 23. Plaques honoring him were installed at the new City of Manchester Stadium (now the Etihad Stadium) and in the memorial garden at the housing complex built on the site of Maine Road. A street outside Stade Bollaert-Delelis in Lens was renamed for him.

*

June 26, 2003 was a Thursday. These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 4-3 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. Mike Mussina got the win, supported by home runs from Jason Giambi and Raúl Mondesí. Derek Jeter went 0-for-5.

* The New York Mets lost to the Florida Marlins, 6-1 at Shea Stadium.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Detroit Tigers, 6-4 at Fenway Park in Boston.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves, 8-1 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta. Randy Wolf outpitched Mike Hampton, and was supported by home runs from Jim Thome and Mike Lieberthal.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Baltimore Orioles, 13-8 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Cleveland Indians, 4-1 at Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) in Cleveland.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago Cubs, 5-3 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Sammy Sosa hit a home run, but the Cubs blew a 3-2 lead in the 9th inning, including a home run by Geoff Jenkins.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds, 11-7 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Minnesota Twins, 5-1 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Texas Rangers, 13-0 at The Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Tim Hudson pitched 7 innings of 3-hit shutout ball, and 2 relievers finished a 4-hit shutout.

* The Seattle Mariners beat the Anaheim Angels, 10-6 at Edison International Field (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). Ichiro Suzuki went 1-for-5 with an RBI.

* And the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Colorado Rockies, the Houston Astros, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Montreal Expos, the Pittsburgh Pirates, the San Diego Padres and the San Francisco Giants were not scheduled.

May 19, 2026: Arsenal Win the Premier League After 22 Years

Captain Martin Ødegaard lifts the Premier League trophy

NOTE: Although this entry is from after 2022, I have backdated all entries from after that year to the corresponding date in 2022.

May 19, 2026: Manchester City Football Club get a goal in stoppage time to forge a 1-1 draw with AFC Bournemouth, at Dean Court in Bournemouth, Dorset, England. But they can't quite find a goal in what little time remains to win the game. And so, they get one point for the draw, instead of the three points they would have gotten for a win.

As a result, even if they win their last game of the season, home to Birmingham team Aston Villa 5 days later, they will have a maximum of 81 points on the season. And Arsenal Football Club, of North London, had already accumulated 82 points, including 3 in a 1-0 home win over Lancashire team Burnley the day before.

Therefore, at 11:25 AM -- 4:25 PM, U.S. Eastern Time -- Arsenal became Champions of the Premier League, for the 1st time in 22 years, since the "Invincibles" season of 2003-04.

As it turned out, Man City lost their finale to Villa, anyway, 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester; while Arsenal went to Selhurst Park in South London, beat Crystal Palace, 2-1, and were presented with the Premier League trophy.

Arsène Wenger had managed Arsenal to the Premier League title in 1998, 2002 and 2004. He had led them to the FA Cup in 1998 (making for a "Double"), 2002 (another Double), 2003 and 2005. He got them to the UEFA Champions League Final in 2006.

But the Arsenal Stadium, known as Highbury for its North London neighborhood, seated just 38,000. A new stadium was needed, and the 60,000-seat Emirates Stadium opened a few blocks away in 2006. Although it provided much more matchday revenue, it was needed not just to pay off the stadium debt over a period of years, but also to buy the contracts of players needed just to keep pace with big-spending teams like Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool F.C., and West London team Chelsea F.C.

Arsenal won the FA Cup under Wenger in 2014, 2015 and 2017. They reached the Final of the Champions League in 2006; the Semifinals in 2009; and the Quarterfinals in 2008 and '11. They reached the Final of the League Cup in 2007 and 2011.

But while their places in the Premier League kept them qualifying for the Champions League, they couldn't win the League title. They finished 2nd in 2016; 3rd in 2008, '10, '12, '15; 4th in 2006, '07, '09, '11, '13, '14; 5th in 2017, and 6th in 2018. And some of the big-salaried players that Wenger had brought in decided to hand in transfer requests, demanding to be sold to teams with better chances of winning trophies, abandoning the man who had given them the chances to become the great players they became.

A small but loud minority of fans demanded that Wenger be fired, and replaced by a manager who would outspend the biggest spenders, instead of paying off the stadium debt -- which the team was legally obligated to do. Finally, in 2018, team owner Stan Kroenke, an American who also owned the NFL's Los Angeles Rams, the NBA's Denver Nuggets, the NHL's Colorado Avalanche, MLS' Colorado Rapids, and has since bought MLB's Los Angeles Angels, fired Wenger, ending his tenure after 22 years, though allowing him a dignified pregame ceremony before his last home game.

Unai Emery, who had won trophies in his native Spain and France, was hired. He got Arsenal 5th in 2019, and to the Final of UEFA's secondary tournament, the Europa League, which he'd won 3 times before, and has since won twice more. But it was an awful performance in the Final, and the final piece of his alienation of several of Arsenal's good players.

He was fired midway through the 2019-20 season, and replaced by Mikel Arteta, assistant to Josep "Pep" Guardiola at Manchester City, and a former midfielder at Arsenal under Wenger. Whereas Emery had taken the team that Wenger built and flopped, Arteta took the team that Emery built and won the 2020 FA Cup. But the damage was done: That season, and in 2021, Arsenal finished 8th.

Arteta had 3 major advantages: The fans knew him, they knew he wasn't Emery, and the stadium debt was mostly paid off. So big signings could be made. In 2022, Arsenal finished 5th. In 2023, '24 and '25, they finished 2nd each time, finishing, respectively, 5 points behind City, 2 points behind City, and 10 points behind Liverpool. And he got them to the Quarterfinal of the Champions League in 2024, and the Semifinal in 2025.

Mikel Arteta with the 2020 FA Cup

In 2025-26, Arsenal were ready. The usual starting line up was Spanish goalkeeper David Raya, English right back Ben White, French centreback William Saliba, Brazilian centreback Gabriel Magalhães (in Brazilian football tradition, usually known by just his first name), Italian left back Riccardo Calafiori, Norwegian central midfielder and team Captain Martin Ødegaard, English central midfielder Declan Rice, English right wing Bukayo Saka, Brazilian left wing Gabriel Martinelli, and German centre forward Kai Havertz.

Notable other contributors included Dutch right back Jurriën Timber, Spanish defender Cristhian Mosquera, English left back Myles Lewis-Skelly, Ecuadorian left back Piero Hincapié, Spanish central midfielders Mikel Merino and Martin Zubimendi, English right wing Noni Madueke, Brazilian left wing Leandro Trossard, English forward Eberechi Eze, Brazilian forward Gabriel Jesus, and Swedish forward Viktor Gyökeres.

For the first time since the early Wenger years, Arsenal seemed to have at least two world-class players at every position. (Though that couldn't really be said about Raya's backup and fellow Spaniard, Kepa Arrizabalaga.) So that, when the annual injury crisis came -- and injuries did keep Ødegaard, Saka, Saliba, Timber, White, Jesus and Havertz out for long stretches -- Arsenal were able to weather it this time, and stay at or near the top of the PL table. 

In their 1st 14 League games, Arsenal won 10, drew 3, and lost only a 1-0 decision away to Liverpool. This included a 1-1 draw at home to Man City, where Martinelli scored in stoppage time to save them; goals by Merino in the 84th minute and Gabriel in the 96th to come from behind away to Newcastle United; and a 4-1 demolition of North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur at home, in which Eze became only the 3rd Arsenal player, after Ted Drake in 1934 and Alan Sunderland in 1978, to score 3 goals in a game against "Spurs."

Defending Champions Liverpool were never a factor, and ended up 5th, behind Arsenal, Man City, Man United and Aston Villa. On March 14, Arsenal led City by 9 points with 7 games to play, though City had a game in hand. Indeed, on the morning of March 22, Arsenal were still eligible for all 4 trophies they were playing for: The Premier League, the FA Cup, the League Cup, and the Champions League.

But that day, they lost the League Cup Final to City, 2-0 at Wembley Stadium in West London. Then, on April 4, they were knocked out of the FA Cup in the Quarterfinal by Southampton, 2-1 away. Then came back-to-back defeats, 2-1 at home to Bournemouth on April 11, and, in what was being viewed all over the world as the title decider, 2-1 away to City on April 19. Now, Arsenal led by 3 points, with 5 to play, and City could match them with their game in hand. Arsenal no longer controlled their own destiny.

But City faltered. Though they did beat Chelsea to win the FA Cup, and followed their PL win over Arsenal with a 1-0 win away to Burnley on April 22, their trip to Liverpool to play Everton on May 4 ended in a 3-3 draw. Now, once again, it was Arsenal who, if they won all their remaining games, would win the title. City beat Brentford on May 9 and Crystal Palace on May 13, both 3-0 at home. But without wins away to Bournemouth on May 19 and home to Villa on May 24, Arsenal would win. And City could only draw 1-1 with Bournemouth, and lost 2-1 to Villa.

And Arsenal rebounded from the seemingly demoralizing loss to City to win their last 5. They won 1-0 at home to Newcastle on April 25. They won 3-0 at home to Fulham on May 2. Trossard's 83rd-minute strike on May 10 gave them a 1-0 lead away to West Ham United of East London, and a stoppage-time equalizer was checked on VAR, and Raya was shown to have been fouled, negating the goal and giving Arsenal the win.

Am I upset that Arsenal "won the League because of VAR"? No, I'm upset at the titles they didn't win all those years, because there was no means to get the calls right, instead of giving them to Manchester United and Chelsea and Manchester City for years.

Havertz scored in the 37th on May 18 to beat Burnley at home, 1-0. Then, with the title won the next day without taking the pitch, they won 2-1 away to Palace on May 24.

The celebrations began in North London right after the final whistle in Bournemouth on May 19, and kept going until May 30, when Arsenal played the Champions League Final in Budapest, Hungary. They took an early lead, but lost to the defending Champions, Paris Saint-Germain, on penalty kicks. It was a bitter season finale.

But by the next morning, any considerations that going 1-for-4, losing the CL Final, or winning only the PL title were a "failure" were tossed aside. The celebratory parade through Islington that day was the biggest parade in the history of London club sports. Not since the England team won the 1966 World Cup had there been a bigger one.

Arsenal truly are London's team. Liverpool and Manchester United may have 20 League titles (old league and new league combined), while Arsenal have 14; but, as built by Wenger and now by Arteta, Arsenal are a team for a multicultural city, a team for the whole world. From Mayfair, Mumbai and Melbourne to Manhattan, Montreal and Mombassa, The Arsenal are a team for the whole world.

*

May 19, 2026 was a Tuesday. These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 5-4 at Yankee Stadium. Will Warren outpitched Dylan Cease. Ryan McMahon and Ben Rice hit home runs. Aaron Judge went 0-for-3 with a walk.

* The New York Mets lost to the Washington Nationals, 9-6 at Nationals Park in Washington. Foster Griffin outpitched Nolan McLean. James Wood went 3-for-5 with a home run and 4 RBIs. Bo Bichette went 2-for-4 with 2 home runs and 4 RBIs.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-1 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

* The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Baltimore Orioles, 4-1 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Miami Marlins, 8-4 at LoanDepot Park in Miami.

* The Cleveland Guardians beat the Detroit Tigers, 4-3 at Comerica Park in Detroit.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat their arch-rivals, the Chicago Cubs, 5-2 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Houston Astros beat the Minnesota Twins, 2-1 at Target Field in Minneapolis.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 9-6 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Iván Herrera hit a 3-run home run in the bottom of the 10th inning.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Kansas City Royals, 4-1 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Colorado Rockies, 10-0 at Coors Field in Denver. Tyler Alexander pitched just 1 inning for the Rangers, then Kumar Rocker pitched the next 7, and got the win.

* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the San Francisco Giants, 5-3 at Chase Field in Phoenix.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres, 5-4 at Petco Park in San Diego.

* The Sacramento Athletics beat the Los Angeles Angels, 14-6 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Seattle Mariners, 2-1 at T-Mobile Park in Seattle.

Football was out of season. The Stanley Cup Playoffs were in progress, but no games were played. One game was played in the NBA Playoffs: The New York Knicks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 115-104 at Madison Square Garden, in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Cavaliers led by 22 points in the 4th quarter, but the Knicks went 30-8 to force overtime, and outscored the Cavs 14-3 in that overtime period. Jalen Brunson scored 38 points.

May 14, 2011: Manchester Football's Greatest Day

May 14, 2011: The greatest day in the history of Manchester soccer -- "football," as they would say.

Manchester United clinch their 19th League title, breaking the record they shared with Liverpool FC. They needed only a draw in 1 of their last 2 games of the season, or a loss by Manchester City and a loss by Chelsea FC in either of their last 2 League games, and the title was theirs. They got their draw, 1-1 with Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park in Blackburn, Lancashire.

But Man City, with the wealth of the United Arab Emirates' royal family and government behind them, win their 1st trophy of any kind in 35 years, and their 1st FA Cup in 43 years, defeating Stoke City of Staffordshire in the Final at the new Wembley Stadium in West London.

Yaya Touré scores the game's only goal, in the 74th minute. Rather than a member of the royal family, as is usually the case, City's Captain, Carlos Tevez, who had famously left United for City, received the Cup from a recent hero of the British Army's effort in the War On Terror in Afghanistan, Corporal Mark Ward.

It begins a run that has now reached 12 seasons with 6 League titles, 2 FA Cups, 6 League Cups (including this season's), and a berth in the 2021 UEFA Champions League Final. As for Stoke, it remains the only FA Cup Final in their history. They have been playing since 1863, and have just 1 major trophy, the 1972 League Cup.

Yaya would have set a new record for highest uniform number worn in an FA Cup Final, 42, had not his teammate Mario Balotelli worn 45. That would remain a record until, 11 years later to the day, Trent Alexander-Arnold wore 66 for Liverpool in the 2022 Final.

UPDATE: The record was broken again in 2025, by Manchester City left back Nico O'Reilly, who wore 75. Alexander-Arnold remains the highest-numbered player for a winning team.

In 2026, Manchester City were found guilty of 114 violations of Premier League rules. This renders every achievement of theirs illegitimate. Of course, United had been cheating for years, too. So had Chelsea. So the 2011 Premier League title should have gone to the 4th place team, Arsenal. And since Stoke were also a dirty team, the 2011 FA Cup should have gone to the one finalist who wasn't tainted: Bolton Wanderers.

*

May 14, 2011, like all FA Cup Final days, was a Saturday. American-style football was out of season. The NBA Playoffs were in progress, but no games were played. One game was played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs: The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Boston Bruins, 5-2 at the TD Garden in Boston. The Bruins went on to win the series, and the Cup, anyway.

And these Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Boston Red Sox, 6-0 at the new Yankee Stadium. Josh Beckett allowed 4 hits over 6 shutout innings, Matt Albers 2 over 2, and Rich Hill 1 in the 9th, outpitching CC Sabathia. Derek Jeter went 1-for-4 with a walk. Alex Rodriguez went 1-for-4. Adrián González hit a home run for the Sox.

* The New York Mets lost to the Houston Astros, 7-3 at Minute Maid Park (now Daikin Park) in Houston. J.A. Happ outpitched R.A. Dickey. Daniel Murphy hit a home run for the Mets.

* The Florida Marlins beat the Washington Nationals, 1-0 at Nationals Park in Washington. Anibal Sánchez pitched 8 innings of 3-hit shutout ball, and Juan Carlos Oviedo completed the 4-hit shutout.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-3 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta. Martín Prado and Nate McLouth hit home runs for the Braves.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 6-0 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. Brad Bergesen pitched a 4-hit shutout. Mark Reynolds and Jake Fox hit home runs.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-3 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals, 3-0 at Comerica Park in Detroit. Brad Penny pitched 8 innings of 5-hit shutout ball, and José Valverde pitched a perfect 9th.

* The San Francisco Giants were leading the Chicago Cubs, 3-0 after 6 innings, when the game was called due to rain. Ryan Vogelsong had allowed 7 hits over 6 shutout innings.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 8-2 at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Minnesota Twins, 9-3 at Target Field in Minneapolis. José Bautista hit a 2-run home run in the top of the 11th inning, opening the gates to a 6-run inning.

* The Los Angeles Angels beat the Texas Rangers, 3-2 at Rangers Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Colorado Rockies, 9-7 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 1-0 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. How many Diamondbacks does it take to pitch a 4-hit shutout? This time, 4: Josh Collmenter allowed 2 runs over 6 innings, Aaron Heilman pitched a perfect 7th, David Hernandez allowed a hit in the 8th, and J.J. Putz allowed a hit in the 9th.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Chicago White Sox, 6-2 at the Oakland Coliseum (then named the Overstock Coliseum).

* And the Cleveland Indians and the Seattle Mariners were rained out at Progressive Field in Cleveland. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on August 23.

May 13, 2012: The Sergio Agüero Game

May 13, 2012: Arsenal FC hang on to win 3-2, away to Birmingham-area team West Bromwich Albion, and secure a UEFA Champions League place for the next season. I watched this game at the Blind Pig, in New York City's East Village, which was served as one of the homes of local Arsenal supporters from 2011 until it closed in 2019.

What happened 3 minutes after that final whistle was cheered at the Blind Pig almost as much. Because Arsenal fans hate Manchester United almost as much as we hate Tottenham Hotspur, and possibly more than we hate Chelsea FC.

United had just finished off Sunderland AFC, 1-0 at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland, in the North-East of England. At the same time, their local rivals, Manchester City, which hadn't won the League since 1968, were playing West London team Queens Park Rangers, at home at the Etihad Stadium. If City could win, they would tie United with 89 points on the season, and, with a greater goal difference, they would win the title.

But, when United's game ended, City were losing, 2-1. United's players, and manager Alex Ferguson, thought they had won the Premier League title, and they were already celebrating on the pitch.

But Edin Džeko, City's Bosnian striker, scored in stoppage time, in the 92nd minute. The game was tied, but that wouldn't be enough. They had to win. In the 94th minute, Sergio "Kun" Agüero, City's Argentine striker, put the ball past QPR keeper Paddy Kenny.

City had won, 3-2. Agüero ripped his shirt off, and swung it around like a madman. The fans went wild, over what was, without question, the greatest moment in their club's history. In bars all over the world, people who weren't happy that City had spent so much of the Abu Dhabi royal family's money to win the title watched, and were still happy that United had been beaten, and could no longer claim supremacy over the League in general, or even their city in particular.

Agüero had scored the greatest goal in League play since Michael Thomas won the title for Arsenal in even tighter circumstances in 1989. Since that was before the changeover from the old Football League Division One in 1992, this remains the greatest goal in Premier League history.

Agüero went on to help Man City win 5 Premier League titles. In 2019, he helped them win the League, the FA Cup, and the League Cup, England's 1st-ever "Domestic Treble." He also helped Argentina reach the Final of the 2014 World Cup. By the time they won it in 2022, he was no longer a member of the national team. He was previously married to Giannina Maradona, daughter of fellow Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona.

UPDATE: In 2026, Manchester City were found guilty of 114 violations of Premier League rules. This renders every achievement of theirs illegitimate. Of course, United had been cheating for years, too. So the 2012 Premier League title should have gone to the 3rd place team, Arsenal.

*

May 13, 2012 was a Sunday. In America, 2 games were played in Major League Soccer. The New York Red Bulls beat the Philadelphia Union, 3-2 at PPL Park (now Subaru Park) outside Philadelphia in Chester, Pennsylvania. And the San Jose Earthquakes and Los Angeles-based Chivas USA played to a 1-1 draw at Buck Shaw Stadium (now Stevens Stadium) outside San Jose in Santa Clara, California.

American-style football was out of season. These Major League Baseball games were played:

Two games were played in the NBA Playoffs. The Miami Heat beat the Indiana Pacers, 95-86 at the American Airlines Arena (now the Kaseya Center) in Miami. LeBron James scored 32 points. And the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Memphis Grizzlies, 82-72 at the FedEx Forum in Memphis.

One game was played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs: The Los Angeles Kings beat the Phoenix Coyotes, 4-2 at the Jobing.com Arena (now the Desert Diamond Arena) in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona.

* The New York Yankees lost to the Seattle Mariners, 6-2 at Yankee Stadium. Kevin Millwood outpitched Andy Pettitte. Justin Smoak and Casper Wells hit home runs for the M's. Ichiro Suzuki went 1-for-5. Derek Jeter went 1-for-4. Alex Rodriguez went 0-for-3 with a walk.

* The New York Mets lost to the Miami Marlins, 8-4 at Marlins Park (now LoanDepot Park) in Miami. The Mets led 4-2 in the bottom of the 9th inning, but relievers Frank Francisco and Manny Acosta melted down, until future Yankee Giancarlo Stanton hit a walkoff grand slam off the animatronic "Home Run Sculpture" in left-center field.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Cleveland Indians, 12-1 at Fenway Park in Boston 

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the San Diego Padres, 3-2 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Jimmy Rollins hit a home run.

* The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Baltimore Orioles, 9-8 at Camden Yards in Baltimore.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Houston Astros, 3-2 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. Josh Harrison singled Clint Barnes home with the winning run in the bottom of the 12th.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Washington Senators, 9-6 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago White Sox, 9-1 at U.S. Cellular Field (now Rate Field) in Chicago.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 8-2 at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-3 at Target Field in Minneapolis.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-4 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Anaheim Angels, 13-6 at Rangers Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 7-3 at Chase Field in Phoenix.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies, 11-5 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* And the Detroit Tigers beat the Oakland Athletics, 3-1 at the Oakland Coliseum (then known as the O.com Coliseum).

May 11, 2013: The Wigan Miracle

May 11, 2013: The FA Cup Final is held at the new Wembley Stadium in London. Manchester City were the defending Premier League Champions. Wigan Athletic, also of the Manchester area, were doomed to be relegated. Yet, through sheer grit and determination, they had gotten to the Final for the 1st time.

For the full 90 minutes, much of it in rainfall, Wigan held off the best team in the country. (Yes, Manchester United won the League, but they weren't better than City.) And then came stoppage time. Ben Watson, a 22-year-old Londoner who came on as a substitute in the 81st minute, scored in the 91st. Referee Andre Marriner blew his whistle at the 94th minute, and Wigan had won, 1-0.

If this is not the biggest upset in FA Cup Final history, that's only because the people deciding such things haven't yet had 10 years to have this one sink in. Clive Tyldesley, broadcasting for ITV, called it "the biggest upset since the Crazy Gang!" meaning Wimbledon FC over Liverpool FC in 1988, 25 years earlier.

Gary Caldwell, Wigan's usual Captain, was injured and unable to play, with Emmerson Boyce wearing the armband. Caldwell received the Cup from the outgoing chairman of the Football Association, David Bernstein.

Ironically, Bernstein had previously been chairman of Man City. In 1999, both teams were stuck in the 3rd division. Bernstein and Whelan had both brought their clubs back from the brink of financial disaster, stabilized them, built new stadiums, and gotten them into the Premier League. Bernstein sold City to the royal family of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, who completed the process of turning them into League Champions and Cup winners -- but not on this day.

Games like this have the English speak of "the magic of the Cup." Then Arsenal won the next 2, 3 of the next 4, and 4 of the next 7, and that made people speak of how "the Cup has been devalued." Give me a break.

It was particularly sweet for Wigan's chairman of the board, Dave Whelan: He had played for Lancashire team Blackburn Rovers in the 1960 Final, but broke his leg late in the 1st half, forcing them to play the entire 2nd half with 10 men -- substitutes were not allowed until 1968 -- and they lost to Birmingham-area team Wolverhampton Wanderers, 3-0. Now, Whelan, who had taken Wigan from the 3rd division to the 1st, and built their new stadium, had a major trophy.

UPDATE: In 2026, Manchester City were found guilty of 114 violations of Premier League rules. This renders every achievement of theirs illegitimate. This makes the Wigan Miracle even more amazing.

*

May 11, 2013 was, like all FA Cup Final days, a Saturday. In American soccer, the New York Red Bulls and the New England Revolution played to a 1-1 draw at Gillette Stadium in the Boston suburb of Foxborough, Massachusetts.

American-style football was out of season. Two games were played in the NBA Playoffs. The New York Knicks lost to the Indiana Pacers, 82-71 at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse (now the Gainbridge Fieldhouse) in Indianapolis. And the Memphis Grizzlies lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder, 87-81 at the FedEx Forum in Memphis.

One game was played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs: The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the New York Islanders, 4-3 at the Nassau Coliseum. Brooks Orpik scored the winning goal, 7:49 into overtime.

And these Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Kansas City Royals, 3-2 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. Andy Pettitte outpitched James Shields. Vernon Wells hit a home run. Derek Jeter did not play, but Jayson Nixon went 2-for-3 with a walk in his place at shortstop.

* The New York Mets lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 11-2 at Citi Field. Jon Niese, the pitcher born the day the Mets last won the World Series, October 27, 1986, didn't get out of the 5th inning.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Boston Red Sox, 3-2 at Fenway Park in Boston.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Washington Nationals, 8-2 at Nationals Park in Washington.

* The Tampa Bay Rays beat the San Diego Padres, 8-7 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 13-7 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Detroit Tigers, 7-6 at Comerica Park in Detroit.

* The Los Angeles Angels beat the Chicago White Sox, 3-2 at U.S. Cellular Field (now Rate Field) in Chicago.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Baltimore Orioles, 8-5 at Target Field in Minneapolis.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Colorado Rockies, 3-0 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Adam Wainwright pitched a 2-hit-1-walk shutout.

* The Texas Rangers beat their newly-installed, due to a League switch, cross-State rivals, the Houston Astros, 8-7 at Minute Maid Park (now Daikin Park) in Houston.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 3-1 at Chase Field in Phoenix.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Miami Marlins, 7-1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Atlanta Braves, 10-1 at AT&T Park (now Oracle Park) in San Francisco.

* And the Oakland Athletics beat the Seattle Mariners, 4-3 at Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) in Seattle.

May 7, 1938: Lucky Arsenal & the Crash of Manchester City

Eric Brook

May 7, 1938: One of the most stunning seasons in the history of English football (soccer) comes to a conclusion. As the Lancashire Evening Post put it -- I have changed neither their spelling nor their grammar -- "If it were possible to stage-manage a football season, skilfully building the actions of the play up to a tremendous climax, that which occurred on Saturday would stand as the perfect example of contrariness."

In the 1936-37 season, under manager Wilf Wild, Manchester City Football Club had won the Championship of England's Football League Division One, by 3 points over South London team Charlton Athletic, and 5 points over North London team Arsenal. (At the time, the Football League awarded a team 2 points for a win and 1 point for a draw. In 1982, to encourage playing to win, they made it 3 points for a win.)

Although this was City's 1st League title, it was not a big surprise, as they'd been a good team in recent years, finishing 5th and winning the FA (Football Association) Cup in 1934, and 4th in 1935, before dropping to 9th in 1936. Their usual starting lineup included such fine players as goalkeeper Frank Swift, inside forward Eric Brook, and centre-half Matt Busby, who would go on to manage crosstown rivals Manchester United to glory in the 1950s and '60s.

Charlton were a bit of a surprise: That 2nd place finish remains their best ever. Arsenal finishing a strong 3rd was no surprise: They had won the League in 1931, 1933, 1934 and 1935; had won the FA Cup in 1930 and 1936; and were runners-up in both in 1932. Having built on the success of manager Herbert Chapman, who died in 1934, George Allison sent out a team with an attack led by forward Ted Drake, wingers Cliff Bastin and Joe Hulme, and defenders George Male, Eddie Hapgood and Wilf Copping.

Ted Drake

As the new season began in August 1937, William "Dixie" Dean, former star forward of Liverpool-based team Everton, told one of the national newspapers, the Daily Mail, "This threatens to be the most open campaign we've ever seen. Half a dozen clubs stand a good chance of winning it, and any one of 10 clubs could go down."

Birmingham-area team Wolverhampton Wanderers were the preseason favorites, led by Stan Cullis. But on September 4, in only the 3rd game of the season, "Wolves" walked into Highbury, Arsenal's home ground, and got clobbered, 5-0. But after winning their 1st 3 games easily, Arsenal went on a tailspin, winning only 2 of their next 12.

But no team's dropoff was as shocking as Man City's. They lost 3 of their 1st 5 games, 4 straight during Christmas and New Year's week, and 5 straight in February and March. The FA Cup had given them a respite from their awful League form, but on March 3, Birmingham team Aston Villa knocked them out in the Quarterfinal.

That season's Cup, and the League schedule as well, was hit hard by a rough Winter. In the 3rd Round of the Cup alone, snow caused 261 postponements, and that Round took 66 days to complete.

Arsenal got their act together: From January 29 to April 9, they won 7 games, drew 4, and lost only 2. But 1 of those losses was in the 5th Round of the Cup, to Lancashire team Preston North End, featuring Bill Shankly, who would lift Liverpool FC to glory in the 1960s and '70s.

On April 23, on a very muddy pitch at their home of Deepdale, Preston lost to Arsenal, knocking them out of the title race and seriously boosting Arsenal's chances. But Preston reached the FA Cup Final a week later, at Wembley Stadium in West London. Their opponents would be Yorkshire team Huddersfield Town.

It was the 1st Cup Final ever televised. The 93,000-strong Wembley crowd outnumbered British TV owners 10 to 1, but that didn't stop the Daily Herald from running the headline: "The day is not far off when you may be able to watch your favourite football team from your fireside."

The game ended scoreless, and went to extra time. Just as it looked like extra time would also end scoreless, necessitating a replay, BBC commentator Thomas Woodrooffe said, "If there's a goal scored now, I'll eat my hat."

Right after he said that, Preston inside forward George Mutch was fouled in the penalty area, and referee Jimmy Jewell awarded Preston a penalty. The validity of the call has never been seriously questioned. Mutch took the penalty himself, and scored. Preston won, 1-0, and their Captain, Tom Smith, was handed the Cup by King George VI. At a banquet a few days later, Woodrooffe was served a cake in the shape of a hat, allowing him to keep his promise.

George Mutch

Just 7 days later, the League had its final slate of games for the season. Wolves led Arsenal by 1 point. All they had to do, away to North-East team Sunderland, was gain a draw, and there would be nothing that Arsenal could do: Even a win, in their last game, home to Manchester-area team Bolton Wanderers, wouldn't be enough to deny Wolves their 1st-ever League title.

But Sunderland had some pride, too: They had won the Cup the year before (but they've won it only once since, in 1973), and the League the year before that (but they haven't won it since). Although they were in 8th place, they were at home at Roker Park, and they were going to put up a fight. A rightful dismissal dropped them to 10 men, but they hung on to win, 1-0.

Wolves kicked off 15 minutes before Arsenal, but the Arsenal players didn't yet know the result until their game was over. They beat Bolton, 5-0, and had finished 1 point ahead of Wolves. Arsenal were Champions for the 5th time in 8 seasons, their 6th major trophy in 9. "Lucky Arsenal," the newspapers called them. Even then, the English media seemed to be aligned against the Gunners.

At the time, there were 22 teams in Division One, and the bottom 2 were relegated to Division Two, with the top 2 teams of Division Two promoted to Division One. Manchester City struggled hard to stay afloat, and in their next-to-last game, they beat Leeds 6-2, putting them in 16th place.

But on the last day, May 7, at Leeds Road, they lost 1-0 to Huddersfield Town. With the other teams between them and the drop positions winning, Man City finished 21st, and, along with 22nd-placed Birmingham-area team West Bromwich Albion, were relegated.

Dixie Dean turned out to be more right than even he imagined: Only 5 points separated 21st-place Man City from 10th-place Chelsea. And the 16-point gap between Champions Arsenal and relegated City is tied for the smallest one ever -- and, with the raising of a win to 3 points, it will almost certainly remain so.

Through the 2021-22 season, the 1937-38 Manchester City side still hold 2 unique distinctions: They are the only defending League Champions ever to be relegated, and they are the only side with a positive goal difference ever to be relegated. With the Premier League, replacing the old Division One in 1992, having 20 teams, the 20-places drop can never again be matched.

Stan Cullis would manage Wolves to the League title in 1954, 1958 and 1959, and the FA Cup in 1949 and 1960. Manchester City would be promoted back to Division One after World War II, but wouldn't win the League again until 1968 -- and then, not again until 2012, in dramatic circumstances, but would dominate the League for years to come.

*

May 7, 1938 was a Saturday. The only sport then in season in North America was baseball, and these games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Detroit Tigers, 12-8 at Yankee Stadium. Lefty Gomez outpitched Elden Auker. Lou Gehrig went 3-for-5 with 2 RBIs. Joe DiMaggio went 3-for-4 with a walk and an RBI. But the big hitting star for the Yankees was left fielder Myril Hoag, with 2-for-4 with 4 RBIs. Hank Greenberg went 0-for-3.

* The New York Giants beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-5 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Mel Ott went 2-for-4 with a walk and an RBI. Lloyd Waner went 3-for-5 with 2 RBIs, but Paul Waner only went 1-for-5.

* The Brooklyn Dodgers beat the Cincinnati Reds, 7-4 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the St. Louis Browns, 7-2 at Fenway Park in Boston. Jimmie Foxx hit a home run.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 4-2 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia.

* The Washington Senators beat the Chicago White Sox, 5-4 at Griffith Stadium in Washington. The ChiSox took a 4-3 lead in the top of the 10th inning, but back-to-back singles by John Stone and Cecil Travis got the tying and winning runs home.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Boston Bees (as the Braves were known from 1936 to 1941), 5-4 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Joe Marty singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 10th.

* And the Philadelphia Phillies and the St. Louis Cardinals were rained out at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on August 30. The Phils won the opener, 4-3. The Cards won the nightcap, 8-7 in 10 innings.