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, 50 years ago: 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.

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.

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, 96 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.

Part II will follow on May 8.

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 is 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 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.