December 23, 1978: Arsenal's Lampoon Christmas Vacation

Liam Brady, after scoring that goal

December 23, 1978: A North London Derby is played at White Hart Lane. Tottenham Hotspur Football Club host their arch-rivals, Arsenal FC.

Arsenal were by far the more historically successful team, while Tottenham -- or "Spurs" -- were the team whose fans had a chip on their shoulders. I've often compared the relationship to that between New York's baseball teams, but that's a bit unfair -- to the Mets. The Mets began play in 1962, a year after Spurs won their most recent Football League title. They've won the FA Cup (England's national soccer tournament) 6 times since then, but the last of those was in 1991, and they haven't even reached a Final since.

A foolish backpass by Spurs' John Pratt fell into the path of Alan Sunderland, allowing him to score, just 43 seconds into the game. Spurs never got going, even their much-heralded midfielder Glenn Hoddle making the kind of mistakes that had John Motson, calling the game for Match of the Day on the BBC, saying, "Oh, dear me!" In the 38th minute, Sunderland scored again.

This Arsenal team was known as the Irish Connection.  Midfielder Liam Brady and forward Frank Sfapleton had grown up together in Dublin, the Republic of Ireland. Manager Terry Neill was from Belfast, Northern Ireland, as were right back and team Captain Pat Rice, the last holdover from Arsenal’s team that won "The Double," both the Football League and the FA Cup, in 1971; left back Sammy Nelson, a reserve on that 1971 team; and goalkeeper Pat Jennings, once a star for Spurs, but they let him go, and Arsenal picked him up for free.

Just after the hour, Brady picked up the ball, dribbled down the touch line with the most famous left foot in Arsenal history, got nearly to the corner, and sent a hellacious cross into the box. Stapleton was waiting, threw himself forward, and sent a diving header into the net.

It was 3-0 to The Arsenal. With Christmas just 2 days away, the 5,000 or so Arsenal fans in White Hart Lane began to sing:

Jingle bells, jingle bells

jingle all the way!

Oh, what fun it is to see

The Arsenal win away!

Just 4 minutes later, there was a scramble on front of Spurs' net. Brady began one of the most fondly-remembered sequences in Arsenal history, sliding in to steal the ball cleanly, then dribbling while looking for a shot, finding one, and sending it curling in. 4-0. Motson said, "Look at that! Oh, look at that! What a goal by Brady!" Brady ran over to celebrate in front of a group of Spurs fans, and there was nothing he could do, for it was 4-0 to The Arsenal.

Sunderland really wanted a 3rd goal. He had several attempts that came to nothing. Only 1 Arsenal player had ever scored a "hat trick" against Spurs: Ted Drake, in 1934. (Only 1 Tottenham player has ever done it against Arsenal: Terry Dyson in 1961.) Finally, in the 82nd minute, he got a breakaway, and got his 3rd. In stoppage time, Stapleton got the ball and got loose, and launched a shot that hit the corner of the goal. Motson said, "Well! That could have been six!" Instead, it ended Tottenham 0-5 Arsenal.

The BBC's postgame graphic

(UPDATE: In 2025, Eberechi Eze became the 3rd Arsenal player to score a hat trick against Tottenham.)

Arsenal fans who were there claimed that, on the way out, Spurs hooligans were assaulting anyone they saw wearing red, even if they hadn't been to the game. But Arsenal were on their way to a Merry Christmas (or, as they would say in England, a Happy Christmas) and that season's FA Cup; while Spurs were on their way to another trophyless season.

Soon, Spurs signed 2 superstars from Argentina's recent World Cup win: Osvaldo "Ossie" Ardiles and Ricardo "Ricky" Villa. This later led to a joke among Arsenal fans: Alan Sunderland never played for Sunderland, Ricky Villa never played for Aston Villa, and Danny Shittu never played for Tottenham. (A few years earlier, Tottenham had a player named Mike England, but he was from Wales, and played his international football for Wales. In the 2000s and 2010s, there was a player named Stephen Ireland who played his international football for the Republic of Ireland.)

*

December 23, 1978 was a Saturday. Venezuelan baseball player Víctor Martínez and Canadian actress-model Estella Warren were born.

Baseball was out of season. Although NFL Playoff games are usually played on Saturdays, it didn't happen this time. There were 3 college football bowl games played that day:

* Number 14 Texas beat Number 13 Maryland, 42-0 in the Sun Bowl, at the stadium of the same name in El Paso, Texas.

* Number 16 Pittsburgh lost to North Carolina State, 30-17 in the Tangerine Bowl, at the stadium of the same name in Orlando.

* And Number 18 Missouri beat Louisiana State (LSU), 20-15 in the Liberty Bowl, at the stadium of the same name in Memphis.

There were 6 games played in the NBA that day:

* New York Knicks lost to the Houston Rockets, 129-107 at The Summit in Houston. (The arena has since been converted into the Central Campus of the Lakewood Church, Dr. Joel Osteen's "megachurch.")

* The Atlanta Hawks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 109-91 at The Omni in Atlanta.

* The Indiana Pacers beat the New Orleans Saints, 127-103 at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis.

* The San Antonio Spurs beat the Detroit Pistons, 130-126 at the Silverdome in the Detroit suburb of Pontiac, Michigan.

* The Kansas City Kings beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 122-117 in overtime at the Milwaukee Exposition, Convention Center and Arena, or "The MECCA." Since 2014, it has been named the UW-Panther Arena.

* And the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Washington Bullets, 114-109 at the Portland Memorial Coliseum.

There were 7 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Islanders beat their arch-rivals, the New York Rangers, 9-4 at the Nassau Coliseum. Bryan Trottier scored 5 goals and 3 assists.

* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Colorado Rockies, 3-2 at the Montreal Forum.

* The Boston Bruins beat the Buffalo Sabres, 6-4 at the Boston Garden.

* The Detroit Red Wings and the Washington Capitals played to a tie, 2-2 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit.

* The Chicago Black Hawks beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-2 at the Chicago Stadium.

* The Minnesota North Stars beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 5-3 at the Metropolitan Sports Center in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota.

* The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the St. Louis Blues, 6-1 at the Checkerdome, as the St. Louis Arena was then known.

* The Vancouver Canucks beat the Los Angeles Kings, 2-0 at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver.

* And the Atlanta Flames and the Colorado Rockies were not scheduled.

And there were 2 games played in the World Hockey Association. The New England Whalers beat the Birmingham Bulls, 4-3 at the Springfield Civic Center (now the MassMutual Center) in Springfield, Massachusetts, where they were playing during repairs on the Hartford Civic Center. And the Cincinnati Stingers beat the Quebec Nordiques, 6-2 at the Riverfront Coliseum (now the Heritage Bank Center).

December 4, 1935: Swastikas Over White Hart Lane

The Swastika flag can be made out,

in the upper-right corner of the photo.

December 4, 1935: The national soccer teams of England and Germany play each other at White Hart Lane in Tottenham, Middlesex, a northern suburb of London. The match is surrounded by controversy.

That had not been the case the 1st time the teams played each other. On May 10, 1930, at the Poststadion in Berlin, with Germany governed by the Weimar Republic, there were no incidents, and the game ended in a draw, 3-3.

But in 1933, the Nazi Party took power in Germany. Their oppression of the nation's Jews, for blaming them for Germany's defeat in World War I, caught the attention of the world. And so, when a 2nd football match between the countries was set for England, many people worried about what Germans, traveling to watch their team play, might do to English people they perceived as Jewish.

To make matters worse, the chosen venue for the match was White Hart Lane, in Tottenham. Until a 1963 Act of Parliament redrew the boundaries of England's Counties, Tottenham was part of Middlesex. Effective January 1, 1965, it would be a part of London, as would parts of Kent and Surrey, while Middlesex was eliminated entirely.

Fans of Tottenham Hotspur, or "Spurs," the team playing home games at The Lane, have always claimed that "North London is ours." It's never been true: Arsenal, 4.7 miles away, and officially within London since 1913 (even though White Hart Lane never moved following its opening in 1899), have always been the more successful team.

Why did the choice of venue make things worse? Because Tottenham has long been thought of as a Jewish area of London, and "Spurs" a "Jewish club." It's not true: Their local area does not have a noticeably larger percentage of Jewish residents than most of London.

Nevertheless, their fans have accepted this identity, flying Israeli flags, and even using an anti-Semitic slur (which I won't use here) for the name of their hooligan firm. Fans of other London teams, including (regrettably) Arsenal, East End team West Ham United, and West London team Chelsea have also used slurs and anti-Semitic tropes against them.

It had been rumored that 8,000 Germans were traveling to London for the match, and trouble was feared. In fact, none of the Germans among the crowd of 54,164 is known to have caused any trouble. Still, the photographs showing the Nazi Swastika flag flying over White Hart Lane, as well as the English Cross of St. George and the British Union Jack, was jarring.

Germany wore white shirts. England, wearing blue, fielded this lineup:

* Goalkeeper, Henry Gibbs, of Birmingham City.

* Right back, George Male of Arsenal.

* Left back and team Captain, Eddie Hapgood of Arsenal.

* Right half, Jack Crayston of Arsenal.

* Centre half, Jack Barker of Derby County.

* Left half, John Bray of Manchester City.

* Outside right, Stanley Matthews of Stoke City.

* Inside right, Horatio "Raich" Carter of Sunderland.

* Centre forward, George Camsell of Middlesbrough.

* Inside left, Ray Westwood of Bolton Wanderers. And...

* Outside left, Cliff Bastin of Arsenal.

If 4 Arsenal players in the starting lineup seems excessive, let the record show that Arsenal had won the last 3 Football League titles, and that the 1934 match against Italy known as "The Battle of Highbury," at Arsenal's stadium, had 7 Arsenal players.

As The Times of London reported, the game was not much of a contest. I have left the account as written, with no changes of spelling or grammar:

England beat Germany at White Hart Lane yesterday by three goals to none. The football was naither as interesting to watch nor as perfect in technique as it might have been, but the afternoon was a great success for at least two reasons. First, the game was played throughout in the friendliest of spirit ; and, secondly, after a morning of heavy and persistent rain, the sun came out, and both the players and the spectators had far better conditions than they could have expected three or four hours before the kick-off.

Germany were fortunate in that the margin against them was not bigger, and it would be flattery to pretend otherwise...

England's one goal came when Camsell was given a pass which sent him racing through in the inside-left position, and his shot, taken from an extremely acute angle, could not be stopped...

First a movement down the left wing begun by Hapgood ended with Bastin centreing across for Camsell to head into the net, and then some splendid football by Bastin, who had worked into the centre, led up to Camsell, who had run over to the left, to return the ball to Bastin, who never looked like making a mistake with his shot.

So that was 2 goals for Camsell, and 1 for Bastin, whose 178 goals for Arsenal would be a club record until 1997, and are still 3rd all-time behind the 228 of Thierry Henry and the 185 of Ian Wright.

The Observer, which had warned of German violence, had to admit: "So chivalrous in heart and so fair in tackling were the English and German teams who played at Tottenham in mid-week that even the oldest of veterans failed to recall an international engagement played with such good manners by everybody."

The teams would play just once more before World War II broke out, at the Olympiastadion in Berlin in 1938. The German players saluted the Nazi flag. The English players did as well, in a gesture of solidarity, except for Stan Cullis of Wolverhampton Wanderers, later to manage that team to glory.

*

December 4, 1935 was a Wednesday. Baseball was out of season. Football was in midweek. The NBA hadn't been founded yet. And while the NHL season was underway, no games were scheduled. So the England-Germany football match produced the only score on this historic day.

May 8, 1971: The 1st Arsenal Double, Part II

May 8, 1971: Having won the Football League 5 days earlier, Arsenal Football Club of North London now prepared to take on Liverpool Football Club, at England's national stadium, the original Wembley Stadium in West London, for the FA Cup Final.

On May 3, Arsenal beat their North London arch-rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, a.k.a. "Spurs," in the final game of the League season, 1-0 on a late goal by Ray Kennedy, to win the League title.

When Spurs became the 1st team in the 20th Century -- since Aston Villa in 1897 -- to win The Double, in 1961, they had time to properly prepare: They won the League on April 17, beat Sheffield Wednesday at home, and didn't have to play the FA Cup Final for 3 weeks, beating Leicester City on May 6.

That Leicester team included Frank McLintock, who would also lose the 1963 FA Cup Final with them, to Manchester United; and captain Arsenal onto the Wembley pitch in the League Cup Finals of 1968 and 1969, also losing. He was winless there, about to make his 5th attempt.

Arsenal would have just 4 days to prepare. As a result, although Liverpool finished 5th in the League, 14 points behind Arsenal, some betting companies installed them as the favorites. It was not outrageous, as they had won the League in 1964 and the FA Cup in 1965, and they still had some of the players from those teams. But they were in a bit of a transition, as those players were starting to get old, and the players who would help the Mersey Reds dominate the 1970s were still working their way in.

Liverpool did have one big advantage in getting there: A home draw in every round, until the Quarterfinal, with the Semifinal and the Final being on neutral ground. Arsenal, on the other hand, had gotten away draws in every round.

May 8, 1971. An unseasonably warm day in London. For some reason, Liverpool had the choice of kit for the Final. so they wore their all-red gear, meaning Arsenal couldn't wear their usual home kit, red shirts with white sleeves, and white shorts. Instead, Arsenal wore their "change strip," yellow shirts with blue trim, and blue shorts.

Arsenal had several chances in the game. In the 1st half, Charlie George, who grew up within walking distance of the Arsenal Stadium at Highbury, and rode his local status, long hair, rebellious attitude and great ability to become the team's most popular player, blasted one just over the crossbar. This led Brian Moore, broadcasting the game for British network ITV, to say, "He really does strike those balls beautifully."

In the 2nd half, Kennedy hit a dribbler that just scurried past the goalpost, leading Moore to say, "Kennedy! Oh, what a miss!" When the 90 minutes, plus stoppage time, was over, it was 0-0. Arsenal had dominated play, but had nothing to show for it.

This was Arsenal's 66th game of the season, combining all competitions, and McLintock and played every minute of every game. Now, physically and mentally exhausted, and seeing Liverpool's Emlyn Hughes receiving treatment for a cramp, he had to convince his teammates, equally "knackered" (as they say over there), to hang on through extra time. On the video, he can be seen gritting his teeth and pumping his fist, telling them to keep going.

But right after the restart, Liverpool's Irish forward Steve Heighway fired a shot from a ridiculous angle, and put the ball past Arsenal goalkeeper Bob Wilson. Liverpool were up 1-0, and all seemed lost for the Gunners. Yes, they had the League title, but now, it looked like the talk would be that they had "bottled" The Double.

But it wasn't sudden-death: The entirety of extra time would be played, no matter what. McLintock rallied the troops, telling them to get Bob off the hook.

They did. They stiffened up, and prevented Welsh forward John Toshack from making it 2-0 to the Scouse team. And then, in the 101st minute, there was a scramble, and the ball went past Liverpool goalie Ray Clemence. 1-1.

George Graham claimed the goal. But did he score it? Interviewed many years later, forward John Radford said, "Every time I look at the tape, he's got a guilty look on his face." Indeed, the video replay showed that Graham never touched the ball, sweeping his left foot at it, and missing. The last man to touch the ball was Eddie Kelly, who had been brought on in the 64th minute, as a substitute for midfielder Peter Storey. Substitutions had only been legal in English football since the 1966-67 season, and this made Kelly the 1st sub to score in an FA Cup Final.

In the 111th minute, Radford was on the left wing, and sidefooted a pass to George, at the edge of the penalty area. He launched a net-seeking missile. Moore had the call: "Radford. Oh, Charlie George, who can hit 'em, oh, what a great goal! Charlie George! Oh, what a fabulous goal by George! Clemence had no chance with that!"

Charlie turned, and dropped to the ragged Wembley turf, his arms spread out. No smile this time, like there was in the Manchester mud earlier in the tournament. He was as tired as anybody else.

The soundtrack to the musical Jesus Christ Superstar had been released during the season, and Charlie's raised arms reminded people of the lead character. Soon, to the theme song, people began singing, "Charlie George, superstar, how many goals have you scored so far!" (Opposing fans, noting his long hair -- though not as long as Jesus' -- sang, "Charlie George, superstar, looks like a woman and he wears a bra!")

But the celebration made him an icon, making him more famous than his talent, as great as it was, would otherwise have taken him. To the tune of the Christmas carol "The First Noel," fans went on to sing, "Charlie, Charlie, Charlie, Charlie! Born is the Ki-ing of High-igh-bur-y!"

King Charles with the FA Cup

It was 2-1. The Arsenal defense held on for another 10 minutes, and the Double was won. Although Arsenal had previously won 7 League titles and 2 FA Cups, this game would be their signature victory -- until 1989, when another 18-year League title drought came to an end. That legendary game would also be against Liverpool.

The Arsenal players climbed the steps to Wembley's Royal Box. King George V had handed the FA Cup to Arsenal Captain Tom Parker in 1930. His son, Prince Albert, Duke of York, had handed it to Alex James in 1936. In 1950, the Duke, now King George VI, handed it to Joe Mercer.

That King's daughter, Queen Elizabeth II, supposedly an Arsenal fan, hasn't attended an FA Cup Final in many years. In 1971 -- as it would be again in 1993, 1998, 2002, 2003 and 2005 -- it was the Queen's cousin, another grandchild of George V, who gave the Arsenal Captain the Cup: Prince Edward, Duke of Kent.

McLintock holds high the Cup.

Bob Wilson shakes hands with the Duke of Kent.

The woman in yellow is Katharine, Duchess of Kent.

(Charles, Prince of Wales, would give the Cup to Pat Rice in 1979. In 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2020, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, handed the Cup to Arsenal's Captains.)

McLintock later said he was so knackered, he couldn't feel anything as he walked up the steps. The ITV cameras told another story, as did their commentator, Brian Moore, who noted, "What a smile!"

*

In his 1992 memoir Fever Pitch, Arsenal fan Nick Hornby would call 1971 "Arsenal's annus mirabilis" -- "Miracle Year." It took Bertie Mee, Don Howe, Frank McLintock and the rest 5 years to build a dual champion, and one particularly hard year to finish the job.

But it quickly ended. Howe was offered the manager's job at his former team, West Brom. He took it, and later admitted, "That was the time that I left when I should have stayed. Because that team, the Double team, had more in it."

He was probably right. The 1971-72 season was the closest in League history. Derby County won the title, and Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester City were all just 1 point behind. Arsenal were 5th, 6 points back; Tottenham, 6, 7 points back. And Arsenal again reached the FA Cup Final, this time losing to Leeds, who got a little bit of revenge for losing the '71 title to Arsenal. (They had won the League in 1969, and would again in 1974. And they didn't walk away empty-handed in '71, winning the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.)

But without Howe, Mee had no one to rein him in, no former player in a place of some power to serve as a buffer between him and the players. Team scout Steve Burtenshaw became the assistant manager, but it ust wasn't the same. So Mee became more and more tyrannical. He had already alienated midfielder Jon Sammels, who put in a transfer request, and as sold to Leicester City.

Mee purchased Alan Ball, a member of England's 1966 World Cup-winning team. He had helped Everton win the League title in 1970. But his addition meant the end at Arsenal for George Graham, whom Mee sold to Manchester United.

Things weren't bad, but the seeds of getting worse were sown. Mee began to push McLintock out, buying centreback Jeff Blockley from Coventry City. Mee decided that buying Blockley was his biggest mistake as Arsenal manager. In 1973, Arsenal fought Liverpool for the League title all season long, including a 2-0 win away to Liverpool on February 10. They were still close on March 26. But their last 6 League games were 1 win, 3 draws and 2 losses, and they finished 2nd, 3 points behind Liverpool.

McLintock was sold to West London team Queens Park Rangers, a.k.a. QPR, and the era was over. Wilson, Radford and George Armstrong got older. Mee alienated Ray Kennedy, and sold him to, of all teams, Liverpool in 1974. He starred for them for a few years. Pretty much anybody who remembers him, unless they're an Arsenal fan, remembers him with Liverpool. His career began to decline when he developed Parkinson's disease: While still alive, he has had to leave not just football in any role, but public life entirely.

Mee alienated Charlie George, and ended up selling him to Derby in 1975. And replacements simply weren't forthcoming. The next-to-last game of the 1974-75 season was a Derby at home to Tottenham, and it was "a relegation six-pointer," won 1-0 by Arsenal. Spurs survived by winning the next week. But Arsenal finished 16th, and 17th in 1976. Mee was fired.

Former Arsenal centreback Terry Neill was brought in to manage, and he brought Howe back. Together, they led Arsenal to the 1979 FA Cup. Pat Rice had become Captain, and was the only 1971 regular still with Arsenal as they won the 1979 Cup. Sammy Nelson, a backup on the '71 team, started in '79. And the '79 Arsenal goalkeeper? None other than Pat Jennings, whom Spurs had let go a few years before.

But they lost the FA Cup Final in 1978 and 1980, and the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1980. Neill was fired in 1983, and Howe promoted to replace him. "Now, that was the time I stayed, when I should have left!" Howe said. After 3 years of being good, but not quite good enough, Howe resigned.

*

For reasons that have never been made clear to me, neither England nor Scotland gave many chances to Arsenal players. Look at these totals for Arsenal players of the 1970s:

Total caps for England: Alan Ball 72 (but only 12 after he came to Arsenal), Ray Kennedy 17 (but none until '76, after he left), Graham Rix 17, Malcolm Macdonald 14 (the last in '75, before he arrived), Brian Talbot 6, Bob McNab 4 (the last in '69), John Radford 2 (the last in '71), Brian Kidd 2 (the last in '70, before he arrived), Charlie George 1 (in '76, after he left), Alan Sunderland 1; George Armstrong, Jon Sammels, Peter Simpson, David Price and Steve Walford, between them, none. Peter Storey was an exception, getting 19.

Hell, Jeff Blockley, considered by some to be the worst Arsenal defender of the decade, got as many England caps as Charlie George, considered the most talented Arsenal player of the decade: One.

Total caps for Scotland: George Graham 12, Frank McLintock 9 (the last in '71), Willie Young (the last in '75, before coming to Arsenal), Bob Wilson 2 (the last in '71), Eddie Kelly none.

It was different for the other "nations" of the British Isles, due to manpower levels. The Republic of Ireland gave Liam Brady 72, Frank Stapleton 71 and David O'Leary 68. Northern Ireland gave Pat Jennings 119, Terry Neill 59, Sammy Nelson 51, Pat Rice 49. Wales gave John Roberts 22.

*

Bob Wilson, Pat Rice and George Armstrong went on to be assistant coaches for Arsenal. George Graham was named manager in 1986, and led them to the League Cup in 1987, the League title in 1989 and 1991, the 1st-ever FA Cup and League Cup "double" in 1993, and the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1994.

Arsène Wenger was named manager in 1996, and kept the '71 Double players on as coaches. In 1998, Arsenal came from 12 points back in March to defeat Manchester United for the Premier League title (which replaced the old Football League Division One in 1992), and beat Newcastle United for the FA Cup, for Arsenal's 2nd Double.

In 2000, Armstrong became the 1st player from that 1971 team to die, as he suffered a brain hemorrhage while running a training session at London Colney, Arsenal's training camp in suburban Hemel Hempstead. He was 56 years old, and a training pitch (practice field) there was named for him.

Wilson and Rice remained, and Arsenal won a 3rd Double in 2002. This time, the way the scheudule worked out, they had even fewer days to prepare than in 1971: They beat Chelsea in the Final on May 4, and Man United to win the League on May 8. They nearly won yet another Double in 2003, taking the Cup, but faltering in the League to finish 2nd. At that point, Wilson retired from coaching. Rice remained on through the 2012 season, helping Wenger guide Arsenal to an unbeaten season in the League in 2004, another FA Cup in 2005, a trip to the UEFA Champions League Final in 2006, and into the new Emirates Stadium the next year.

Bertie Mee died in 2001, at the age of 82. Don Howe died in 2015, at 80. Backup centreback John Roberts died in 2016, at 69. Backup goalkeeper Geoff Barnett died this past January 15, at 74.

Steve Burtenshaw is 85, Frank McLintock is 81, Bob Wilson is 79, Terry Neill (sold right before the Double season) is 78, Bob McNab is 77, George Graham and Peter Simpson are 76, Jon Sammels and Peter Storey are 75, John Radford is 74, Pat Rice and Sammy Nelson are 72, Peter Marinello is 71, Charlie George and Eddie Kelly are 70, and Ray Kennedy is 69.

25th Anniversary Reunion at Highbury, 1996.

Back row, left to right: John Radford, assistant coach Steve Burtenshaw,

Peter Marinello, Peter Simpson, Jon Sammels, Geoff Barnett, Bob Wilson,

John Roberts, Charlie George, David Court, Pat Rice.

(Court had played for Arsenal 1962-70,

but was already gone before the Double season.)

Front row, left to right: Bertie Mee, Bob McNab,

George Graham, Don Howe, Frank McLintock,

George Armstrong, Sammy Nelson and Ray Kennedy.

The 1970-71 Double team was, for many years, the signature Arsenal side. It was succeeded as such by the 1988-89 League title winners, and then by the 2003-04 "Invincibles." Now, with the great teams of the 1930s, '40s and '50s having passed into afterlife, they are the oldest remaining great team. They remain a precious memory for whose who are old enough to remember, and a milestone in team history for those of us who are not.

*

There were 10 Major League Baseball games played on that Saturday:

* The New York Yankees beat the Chicago White Sox, 2-1. Bobby Murcer singled home the winning run in the top of the 11th inning. Steve Kline pitched all 11 innings for the Yankees, for the win.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Montreal Expos, 3-0 at Jarry Park in Montreal. Ken Holtzman pitched a 3-hit shutout.

* The California Angels beat the Cleveland Indians, 5-2 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals, 2-1 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 4-2 at Milwaukee County Stadium.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Washington Senators, 9-2 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota.

* A doubleheader was split at San Diego Stadium. The Cincinnati Reds won the opener, 7-4. The San Diego Padres won the nightcap, 10-0. Steve Arlin allowed 7 hits, but kept the shutout.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-3 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* And that Atlanta Braves beat the San Francisco Giants, 5-2 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Hank Aaron and Clete Boyer hit home runs for the Braves. Willie Mays hit a home run for the Giants. For Aaron, it was the 604th home run of his career. For Mays, it was the 634th. It remains the only game in which 2 players with at least 600 home runs played in the same game and added to their total.

The Stanley Cup Finals were underway, and were tied 1-1. The next day, the Montreal Canadiens won Game 3. The Chicago Black Hawks took a 3-2 lead in the series, but the Canadiens won it in 7. 

May 3, 1971: The 1st Arsenal Double, Part I

Top row, left to right: Pat Rice, Peter Storey, John Roberts,

Frank McLintock, Bob Wilson, Geoff Barnett, Charlie George, 

John Radford, Bob McNab and George Graham.

Bottom row: Alan Ball, Peter Marinello, Sammy Nelson,

Peter Simpson, Eddie Kelly and George Armstrong.

May 3, 1971: An epic story approached its climax. But, to finish it off, the team in question would have to pass two stern tests in a span of six days: One at the home of their local arch-rivals, the other at the national stadium.

The Royal Arsenal Football Club was founded by workers at the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich, in Southeast London, in 1886. The connection with the Arsenal led to the team being nicknamed the Gunners. Eventually, their fans became known as the Gooners.

In 1893, they turned professional. This rendered their name partly false, since they no longer met the definition of a "club"; and illegal, since no professional organization in Great Britain could then carry the name "Royal" without the royal family's permission.

So they renamed themselves for their locality: Woolwich Arsenal. Actually, they played their home games a neighborhood away, in Plumstead. Today, the area has good transportation links. That was not the case in the team's early days, so, in 1913, they moved across the River Thames, to North London.

They built The Arsenal Stadium, which was nicknamed for its neighborhood: Highbury. In 1925, Herbert Chapman became the team's manager. (As with baseball, soccer team's head coaches are called "managers," because they are also, in effect, what we would call the general manager.) He led them to win the Football Association (FA) Cup in 1930, and the Football League Division One in 1931 and 1933.

He died in 1934, but what he put in place continued under new manager George Allison. Not only was the stadium's West Stand in 1932 and East Stand in 1936 rebuilt in Art Deco fashion, but the team won the League again in 1934, 1935 and 1938, and the Cup again in 1936. Under Tom Whittaker, they won the League in 1948 and 1953, and the Cup in 1950.

Whittaker died in office in 1956, and Arsenal went into a down period. In 1966, they hired a new manager: Bertie Mee, their physiotherapist (America would say "trainer"), who had barely played. He instilled discipline, while his coach Don Howe, once a great defender whose career ended early due to injury, got them to play the right way. In 1970, they won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, now known as the UEFA Europa League.

Bertie Mee, with the eventual fruits of his labors

*

Arsenal began the next season on August 15, 1970, at Goodison Park in Liverpool, home of the defending League Champions, Everton. Charlie George and George Graham scored. But a collision with Everton goalkeeper Gordon West broke Charlie's ankle. He didn't return to play until December, or to the starting lineup until February. Centreback Peter Simpson and midfielder Jon Sammels had already gotten hurt, in the preseason, and neither would return until November.

The staff had to scramble. Ray Kennedy, only 19 years old but already a hero of the previous season's Fairs Cup Final, was put into the starting lineup. Graham, previously a forward, was moved back into midfield, and ended up scoring more goals instead of fewer. John Roberts stepped in as Simpson's replacement, and was effective.

The heart and soul of the team was Frank McLintock. The centreback had played for Midlands team Leicester City in 2 FA Cup Finals, losing in 1961 to Tottenham Hotspur, a.k.a. Spurs, Arsenal's North London arch-rivals; and again in 1963, to Manchester United.

Arsenal had signed him in 1964, and he became Captain in 1968, and took them into the League Cup Final, losing to Leeds United. They returned in 1969, but lost to Swindon Town, a 3rd division team. He was now 0-4 in Finals at Wembley Stadium, England's national stadium, in West London.

Arsenal's last trophy of any kind had been the 1953 Football League title, winning it a few days before Queen Elizabeth II was crowned at Westminster Abbey. The line became, "Arsenal haven't won a trophy since the Coronation." That ended with the Fairs Cup win of 1970, with McLintock and goalkeeper Bob Wilson, a fellow Scot, parading that trophy around Highbury.

Re-creating the parade at Highbury the following Saturday:

McLintock with the Fairs Cup, Wilson with a ball.

And, together, McLintock and Wilson, under Howe's coaching, organized the team's defense into a (usually) unstoppable force. There were some hiccups, the most notorious being their September 26 visit to Staffordshire, losing to Stoke City, 5-0. But in the 42 League games, they had 25 shutouts, or "clean sheets" as the term is in English soccer.

McLintock remembered: "Once we were one-nil up, that was it. You could go get yer fish and chips, your cup o' tea, get on yer bike. Because I don't think we blew a 1-0 lead all season." I looked it up: His memory was right.

The team survived their injury crisis, often with flair. On November 9, they were knocked out of the League Cup in the 4th Round, by South London team Crystal Palace. They reached the Quarterfinals of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, eliminating Lazio of Rome, Sturm Graz of Austria and Beveren of Belgium, before being knocked out by Köln of Cologne, Germany on March 23.

They marched through the FA Cup, eliminating Yeovil Town of Somerset in the 3rd Round, Portsmouth of Hampshire in the 4th, Manchester City in the 5th, and Leicester City in the Quarterfinal. And, as the injured players came back, the League title quest became a 2-horse race between the Gunners and Leeds.

These were the players that were building a legend, with their uniform numbers, their positions, their ages, and their hometowns:

1: Bob Wilson, goalkeeper, 29, from Chesterfield, in the North-West of England, but his parents were Scottish, and he played for Scotland.

2: Pat Rice, right back, 22, Belfast, Northern Ireland.

3: Bob McNab, left back, 27, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, in the North of England.

4: Peter Storey, midfielder, 25, Farnham, Surrey, in the southern suburbs of London.

5: Frank McLintock, centreback, 31, Glasgow, Scotland.

6: Peter Simpson, centreback, 26, Gorleston, Norfolk, in East Anglia.

7: George Armstrong, right wing, Hebburn, Tyne and Wear, in the North-East.

8: George Graham, midfielder, 26, Bargeddie, Scotland, in the eastern suburbs of Glasgow.

9: John Radford, forward, 24, Hemsworth, West Yorkshire.

10: Ray Kennedy, midfielder, 19, Seaton Delaval, Northumberland, in northernmost England.

11: Charlie George, 20, forward, Islington, Arsenal's own neighborhood in North London.

Also frequently used: Eddie Kelly, midfielder, 20, Arbroath, Scotland; John Roberts, centreback, 24, Abercynon, Wales; and Jon Sammels, midfielder, 25, Ipswich, Suffolk, in East Anglia.

*

On February 17, Arsenal went to Maine Road, home of Manchester City, which had won the League in 1968 and the Cup in 1969. City were still a really good team. The weather, as it so often is in Manchester, was rotten. Charlie George said, "It was a typical Manchester evening, and I loved it. I loved playing in the mud and the rain." He scored a goal on a free kick, and another on what hockey fans would call a breakaway, giving Arsenal a 2-1 victory, to knock City out of the Cup.

After the 2nd goal, Charlie ran back to his teammates, pumped his fists, and then laid down on the muddy grass, getting mud in his already-famous long hair. It was a celebration that would become familiar.

Arsenal were supposed to play away to Tottenham on March 27. But Arsenal had advanced to the FA Cup Semifinals, which were to be played on that day. The North London Derby was moved to May 3, the Monday after the last Saturday of the season, setting up a dramatic finish.

On that March 27, Arsenal went to Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, Yorkshire, home of Sheffield Wednesday, a neutral site, as FA Cup Semifinals always are, to play Stoke City. The Arsenal fans were placed in the Leppings Lane end, the western end of the stadium. In 1973, this would prove to be a problem, as safety conditions endangered Arsenal fans there, but there were no injuries. In 1981, Tottenham played a Semifinal there, and there were injuries, but no deaths. There would be problems there in 1987 and 1988, too. In spite of that, the 1989 Semifinal between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest was played there. One thing led to another, and over 700 people were hurt, 97 of them killed.

But in 1971, there was no problem. At least, not in the stands. But on the pitch, Stoke took a 2-0 lead in the 1st half-hour, and it looked like all the "Double" talk for Arsenal would come to a screeching halt. But Storey scored early in the 2nd half. In the last minute of regular time, Arsenal were awarded a penalty that Stoke fans have whined about for 50 years. Storey was then Arsenal's designated penalty-taker, and he scored it, and a replay was ordered.

It was scheduled for March 31, at Villa Park in Birmingham, home of Aston Villa. This time, Arsenal ensured their place in the Final, with Graham and Kennedy scoring to make it a 2-0 win. Stoke would win the League Cup the next season. Other than that, they have never won a major trophy, despite having played since 1863, the year the FA was founded. Liverpool beat neighbors Everton to book their place as Arsenal's Final opposition.

On that March 31, Leeds were 6 points ahead of Arsenal. (A win was 2 points to a team until 1982, when it was raised to 3 points.) But Arsenal had 3 games in hand: They had 10 games to go, including the rescheduled Derby with Spurs, and a game away to Leeds.

Arsenal beat West London's Chelsea 2-0 at home on April 3, Midlands team Coventry City 1-0 at home on April 6, Hampshire team Southampton 2-1 away on April 10, and Midlands team Nottingham Forest away 3-0 on April 13. On April 17, Leeds were stunned by Birmingham-area team West Bromwich Albion, in a result that the Yorkshire team's fans still complain about. Arsenal took advantage, beating North-East team Newcastle United 1-0 on a goal by Charlie George. Arsenal were now top of the table. They then beat Lancashire team Burnley 1-0 at home on April 20.

But on April 24, West Brom proved to be an equal opportunity offender, holding Arsenal to a 2-2 draw at The Hawthorns in West Bromwich. And on April 26, at Elland Road, Leeds defeated Arsenal 1-0, to retake the League lead.

On May 1, the final Saturday of the season, Leeds hosted Nottingham Forest, and beat them 2-0; while Arsenal hosted Stoke, and beat them 1-0 on a goal by Eddie Kelly. Leeds had now finished their League season, with 64 points. Arsenal had 63, and one more game to play.

An away win over a tough Spurs team on the Monday night would give Arsenal 65 points and the title. A loss would give it to Leeds. A draw was a bit more complicated, as both teams would end up with 64 points. At the time, the 1st tiebreaker was goal average. If the game ended 0-0, then Arsenal would win on goal average. But if it was 1-1, 2-2, or higher, then Leeds would have the advantage and the title.

*

May 3, 1971. Officially, there were 51,992 paying customers inside White Hart Lane. Unofficially, it's been estimated that at least that many were on the outside, hoping against hope to get in. It may have been the most people who ever tried to attend a Football League game. (A 1934 game between hosts Manchester City and Stoke City brought in 84,569.) And most of them seemed to be supporting Arsenal, wearing red and white scarves, red shirts, red hats, whatever.

Arsenal didn't have to win. As I said, a 0-0 draw would have done them just nicely. And as the game wound down, and the score was still 0-0, the roar of the apparently pro-Arsenal crowd at Spurs' ground got louder and louder.

In the 87th minute, Armstrong was on the left wing, opposite his usual position. But that was all right, as the little man (5-foot-6) with the big sideburns and the seemingly limitless energy could pass with either foot. He sent a left-footed cross into the penalty area. Kennedy leapt, and headed the ball past Spurs keeper Pat Jennings. As a later song would put it, it was "One-nil to The Arsenal."

The crowd exploded in joy. But then came an awful realization: If Spurs scored in the dying minutes, it would be 1-1, and a draw would no longer help. But the defense, led by McLintock and Wilson, held, and Arsenal had their 1st title in 18 years.

"That was a great night," McLintock said, many years after the fact. "I loved that night." He would have a very different reaction after the game yet to come.

*

May 3, 1971 was a Monday. This was the day of the largest protests against the Vietnam War. I have a separate entry for that event.

There were 2 Major League Baseball games played that day. The New York Mets beat the Chicago Cubs, 3-2 at Shea Stadium. Tommie Agee singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning. Tug McGraw was the winning pitcher, in relief of Gary Gentry. And the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Chicago Cubs, 3-2 at the new Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.

The NBA season had ended 3 days before, with the Milwaukee Bucks beating the Baltimore Bullets for the title. The American Basketball Association started its Finals, and the Utah Stars won Game 1, beating the Kentucky Colonels, 136-117 at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah. Zelmo Beaty and George Stone each scored 26 points for the Stars, while Darel Carrier scored 36 in defeat for the Colonels.

The Stanley Cup Finals, between the Montreal Canadiens and the Chicago Blackhawks, began the next day. The Hawks had won Game 7 of the Semifinals against the New York Rangers the day before. Three days before that, Pete Stemkowski had won Game 6 for the Rangers with a triple-overtime goal. But the Hawks took Game 7, to set up an epic Finals.

April 19, 1913: The Relegation of Woolwich Arsenal

April 19, 1913: Woolwich Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur play to a 1-1 draw at White Hart Lane. Arsenal's relegation to Division Two is assured.

What is also already assured is the construction of a new stadium. The club's chairman, Henry Norris, believing that weak transport links (which have since greatly improved for that area) are hurting the club, has decided to move Arsenal to the Islington section of North London.

Tottenham, yet again, flip out about a club invading "their territory," even though the new stadium, to be named Arsenal Stadium, but nicknamed "Highbury" after the neighborhood, is 4 1/2 miles away -- roughly as far away from White Hart Lane as Clapton Orient already were.

It should be noted that neither Clapton Orient, nor West Ham United, nor Chelsea, nor any other London or quasi-London club objected to the move. Just "Spurs," apparently again being pricks for the sake of being pricks.

Arsenal fans like to say they've never been relegated. This is not true -- but it is also now true that they haven't been relegated in well over 100 years.

Spurs fans like to say, and sing, "North London is ours!" Except, until a redrawing of the boundaries that took effect in 1965, the Tottenham district wasn't even in London. In contrast, despite Tottenham Hotspur Football Club having moved a grand total of 300 yards since 1899, beating Arsenal by 14 years, Arsenal have been in not just London, but North London, since 1913, 52 years more.

You would think that, given that this is the only time Arsenal have ever been relegated, Spurs fans would brag about it. But, I suppose, just like the myth (for which there is absolutely no evidence) that "Arsenal bribed their way into Division One" in 1919, the myth that "Arsenal have never been relegated" has taken so much hold as to force the ignorance of the truth.

Sunderland, of the North-East, went on to win the 1913 Football League Division One title, beating Birmingham team Aston Villa by 4 points. That result would be reversed in the FA Cup Final, as Villa beat Sunderland. So each team stopped the other from winning both trophies, and achieving "The Double."

*

April 19, 1913 was a Saturday. These baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Washington Senators, 3-0 at the Polo Grounds. Walter Johnson pitched a 6-hit shutout.

* The New York Giants swept a doubleheader from the Boston Braves, 7-2 and 10-3 at the South End Grounds.

* The Brooklyn Dodgers lost to the Philadelphia Phillies, 1-0 at the brand-new Ebbets Field. Addison "Ad" Brennan pitched a 5-hit shutout.

* The Philadelphia Athletics beat the Boston Red Sox, 7-5 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. Eddie Collins went 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs. Tris Speaker went 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds, 6-5 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Honus Wagner did not play.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the St. Louis Browns, 4-0 at Navin Field in Detroit. (The ballpark was later renamed Briggs Stadium and Tiger Stadium.) Jean Dubuc pitched a 3-hit shutout. Ty Cobb did not play.

* The Cleveland Naps beat the Chicago White Sox, 9-2 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Napoleon "Nap" Lajoie, the Cleveland team's 2nd baseman, best hitter, manager and namesake, went 2-for-5. "Shoeless Joe" Jackson went 0-for-3, but did draw 2 walks.

Shortstop Ray Chapman went 2-for-5 with an RBI. Seven years later, Chapman would be hit in the head with a pitch, and become baseball's only fatality from an on-field event. The Naps became the Cleveland Indians in 1915, after Lajoie left; and the Cleveland Guardians in 2022.

* And the Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-1 at Robison Field in St. Louis.

April 17, 1961: Have You Ever Seen Tottenham Win the League?

Bill Nicholson

April 17, 1961: Tottenham Hotspur Football Club beat visiting Sheffield Wednesday, of Yorkshire, 2-1 at their home ground, White Hart Lane, in Middlesex -- not in London, North or otherwise. This gave "Spurs" the championship of the Football League First Division.

"Spurs" had previously won the League title in 1951, also at home, and also clinching against Wednesday. That time, "the Push-and-Run Spurs" included right back Alf Ramsey, who would manage England to win the World Cup in 1966; and wing-half Bill Nicholson. Now 42, Scarborough, North Yorkshire native "Bill Nick" was their manager.

White Hart Lane, in its 1934 to 1980 configuration

They fell behind inside half an hour, but Bobby Smith tied the score with 3 minutes to go before halftime. Les Allen scored moments later, and the Lilywhites hung on for victory on a Monday night.

As a newspaper put it the next day, "It was a nervy, and often far too passionate, battle played out in a hot, seething atmosphere of a 61,000 crowd which had about it something of the clamour of a Plaza de Toros." (A bullfighting ring in Spain.)

After the game, the crowd chanted, "We want Danny! We want Danny!" for the team's Captain, Danny Blanchflower, a 35-yer-old right half from Belfast, Northern Ireland.

It was Blanchflower who gave Spurs -- along with the Latin phrase Audere est Facere ("to dare is to do") -- their motto: "This game is about glory." In full:

The great fallacy is that the game is first and last about winning. It is nothing of the kind. The game is about glory, it is about doing things in style and with a flourish, about going out and beating the other lot, not waiting for them to die of boredom.

Ever since, Spurs fans have run with this idea, claiming to be not only great, but stylish, playing "champagne football," and, to the tune of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," singing, "Glory, glory, Tottenham Hotspur."

On May 6, 19 days later, Spurs would win the FA Cup Final, beating Leicester City of the Midlands, to become the 1st team to win both the League and the Cup -- "The Double" -- in the 20th Century, since Birmingham's Aston Villa did it in 1897.

It made Spurs, however briefly, the most popular team in England. They went on to win the FA Cup again in 1962 and 1967, and the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1963, making them the 1st British team to win any European tournament.

As of April 17, 2022, Spurs have never won the League again. Meanwhile, their North London arch-rivals, Arsenal Football Club, have won it 6 times since then. Arsenal fans sing:

Have you ever seen Tottenham win the League?

Have you ever seen Tottenham win the League?

Have you ever seen Tottenham

ever seen Tottenham

ever seen Tottenham win the League?

The proper response is then yelled, to apply to anyone not old enough to actually remember 1961: "Have you fuck!"

Here's the count of English football champions, in the old Football League First Division from 1962 to 1992, and then in the Premier League from 1993 to the most recent completed season of 2021: Manchester United 15, Liverpool 14, Manchester City 6, Arsenal 6, Chelsea 5, Everton 4, Leeds United 3, Derby County 2, Leicester City 1, Blackburn Rovers 1, Aston Villa 1, Nottingham Forest 1, Ipswich Town 1, Tottenham Hotspur 0.

Spurs' pretentions to "glory" and "champagne football" have long since collapsed in dust; and while they have dared much in the last 60 years, they have done previous little. Especially since their 1991 FA Cup win: Just 2 League Cups, and not even reaching the Final of the FA Cup, going 0-8 in Semifinals, including losing to Arsenal in 1993 and 2001.

They can cite Arsenal's South London (actually Kent) origins, calling them "Woolwich," all they want. It just makes them look like fools. "North London is ours"? Since at least 1971, when Arsenal, also on a Monday night, won the League at White Hart Lane, that statement has been bollocks.

"North London." About that: The London Government Act 1963 meant a reorganization of local governments in Britain's capital region, taking effect on April 1, 1965. Section 3 abolished the administrative counties of London and Middlesex, and absorbed parts of the counties of Kent, Essex, Surrey and Hertfordshire (but leaving the rest of those counties), plus the whole of the City of London, to form the administrative area of "Greater London."

So when Tottenham fans say, "We were the first club in London to (achieve whatever they say they'd achieved)," unless it hadn't been done before the Spring of 1965, and then they did it first, they're either lying, or they don't know what they're talking about.

And when they claim that Arsenal have only been in North London since 1913, that's true; but when they claim, "North London is ours!" they're wrong: They may have been in Tottenham (or in postal code N17) since 1882, and at the White Hart Lane site since 1899, but they have only been in London since 1965. It doesn't matter than they didn't cross the border, the border crossed them: Arsenal were in London over half a century before they were.

Bill Nicholson managed Tottenham until 1974, and died in 2004. He is now honored with a statue outside Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which replaced White Hart Lane in 2019. A pair of gates leading to The Lane, made famous in the photograph of him shown above, were renamed the Bill Nicholson Gates, and were preserved at the new stadium.

*

April 17, 1961 was a Monday. Norman Julius Esiason, later to be the quarterback and radio show host known as Boomer, was born.

Only 3 games were played in Major League Baseball that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the Kansas City Athletics, 3-0 at Yankee Stadium. Whitey Ford pitched a 3-hit shutout. Mickey Mantle went 3-for-3 with 3 RBIs, including the 1st of 54 home runs he would hit that season. Roger Maris went 0-for-3, and was still looking for his 1st homer. He would go on to hit 61. Yogi Berra went 0-for-2 with 2 walks.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Los Angeles Angels, 3-2 at Fenway Park in Boston. Carl Yastrzemski, the rookie the BoSox were counting on to succeed Ted Williams in left field, went 0-for-4.

* And the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 9-5 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Stan Musial went 1-for-4, and Bob Gibson was the winning pitcher. Duke Snider hit a home run for the Dodgers, who led 4-2 going into the 8th inning, but the Cards scored 3 in the 8th and 4 in the 9th to win it.

Football was out of season. The NHL season had ended the day before, as the Chicago Black Hawks beat the Detroit Red Wings, 5-1 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit, in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals. It was their 1st Cup win since 1938. It would take until 2010 for them to win another.

The NBA season had ended 6 days before, as the Boston Celtics beat the St. Louis Hawks, 121-112 at the Boston Garden, to take the Finals in 5 games.