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, 90 years ago: 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. England won this game, 6-3.

December 2, 1995: The Curse of St. Patrick

December 2, 1995, 30 years ago: In an NHL "Original Six" matchup, the Detroit Red Wings beat the Montreal Canadiens, 11-1 at the Montreal Forum. Vyacheslav Kozlov scored 4 of those Detroit goals. Mark Recchi had the lone tally for the Habs.

This was the game in which Canadiens' goalie Patrick Roy was infamously hung out to dry by Canadiens management. General manager Réjean Houle told head coach Mario Tremblay to leave Roy in the net. He left Roy there until 11:57 of the 2nd period, after the Canadiens' defense, strong enough to win the Stanley Cup 2 1/2 years earlier, had collapsed to the point where he'd allowed 9 goals in that time.

Roy skated over to where team president Ronald Corey was sitting, and said, "It's my last game in Montreal." Roy was suspended, and, 4 days later, came "Le Trade": Roy and team Captain Mike Keane, a right wing who had also been feuding with Tremblay, were traded to the Colorado Avalanche for goaltender Jocelyn Thibault, left wing Martin Ručinský and right wing Andrei Kovalenko.

Ironically, until the season before, the Avalanche had been the Quebec Nordiques. Roy was from Quebec City, and had grown up loving the Nords and hating the Habs, before winning 3 Vezina Trophies and helping them win 3 Stanley Cups. 

He helped the Avs win the Cup that season, and again in 2001. In addition to the '96 Cup with the Avs, Keane would win the Cup again with the Dallas Stars in 1999. What did the Habs get? Not much, although Kovalenko did score the last goal at the Forum, as the team was preparing to move into the new Molson Centre (now the Bell Centre).

Canadien fans took Roy's side in the dispute. They let their displeasure be known all season long, including into the move, with the new arena having room for an additional 3,300 fans. It took until 2008 for Roy and the team to reconcile enough to get him to come for the retirement of his Number 33.

The winningest team in hockey history took until 2021 to return to the Stanley Cup Finals, losing it to the Tampa Bay Lightning. It is known as "The Curse of St. Patrick," even if, as he has proven in his subsequent coaching and management career, Roy is no saint. He had helped them win their 23rd and 24th Stanley Cups. They are still looking for their 25th.

December 2, 1975: Archie Griffin Is Awarded a 2nd Heisman Trophy

December 2, 1975, 50 years ago: Archie Griffin becomes the 1st player ever to be awarded the Heisman Trophy as college football player of the year for a 2nd time.

Archie Mason Griffin was born (as "Archie," not "Archibald") on August 21, 1954, in Columbus, Ohio, the seat of The... Ohio State University. Perhaps he was born to play football there. He started at running back as a freshman in 1972, the 1st year that freshmen were eligible to play in NCAA Division I. He ran for 867 yards.

Head coach Woody Hayes said, "He's a better young man than he is a football player, and he's the best football player I've ever seen." For the 1973 season, to better take advantage of Griffin's skills, Hayes switched from the T formation to the I formation, with Griffin at the back. He rushed for 1,428 yards, and was named a First Team All-American. Ohio State went 10-0-1, winning the Big Ten Conference title and the Rose Bowl.

Griffin finished 5th in the voting for the Heisman Trophy. At the time, this was considered an astounding achievement for a sophomore. His teammate, guard John Hicks, finished 2nd. In any era, this would be considered an astounding achievement for an offensive lineman. Griffin also finished behind John Cappelletti of Penn State (1st), Roosevelt Leaks of Texas (3rd) and Dave Jaynes of Kansas (4th), and just ahead of another Ohio State player, linebacker Randy Gradishar.

In 1974, Griffin ran for 1,620 yards, as Ohio State went 10-1, winning the Big Ten again, before losing the Rose Bowl. He won the Heisman in, appropriately enough, a runaway. He beat out fellow running backs Anthony Davis of USC and Joe Washington of Oklahoma.

In 1975, Griffin made the most of his senior year, rushing for 1,357 yards, making himself the 1st player ever to lead the Big Ten in rushing for 3 straight years. He remained the only one until Jonathan Taylor did it for Wisconsin from 2017 to 2019.

Ohio State won the Big Ten again, going undefeated, until losing the 1976 Rose Bowl in Griffin's last college game. Overall, the Buckeyes went 40-5-1 with him in the starting lineup. Overall, he rushed for 5,589 yards and 26 touchdowns.

No player had ever won the Heisman twice. Four players had won it as juniors before Griffin: Doc Blanchard of Army in 1945, Doak Walker of Southern Methodist in 1948, Vic Janowicz of Ohio State in 1950, and Roger Staubach of Navy in 1963. Each had good senior years. But, in each case, another player simply had a better season. (In Blanchard's case, it was his Army backfield mate, Glenn Davis.)

But in 1975, the Heisman voters saw no problem with giving the Trophy to Griffin again, as he won by about as big a margin as he had the year before. And he beat a better crop of running backs, too: Joe Washington again, Chuck Muncie of California, Ricky Bell of USC, and the one who ended up winning it the next year, Tony Dorsett of Pittsburgh.

Winning 2 Heisman Trophies has never happened again. The closest call so far has come in 2008, when Tim Tebow of Florida came within 151 votes of a 2nd Heisman. And with players leaving after their junior year having become common, it is unlikely that there will ever be another.

In 1992, Ron Powlus, the most sought-after high school quarterback in the country, signed a letter of intent to play at Notre Dame. Beano Cook of ESPN, a shameless Notre Dame fan, predicted that Powlus would win 2 Heismans. He had a decent college career, but went 0-3 in bowl games, and never came close to winning the Trophy. Having sustained 2 notable injuries in that time, he went undrafted, and, despite having signed with 3 different NFL teams, he never played a down in the League.

Griffin? He was taken in the 1st round of the 1976 NFL Draft, by his home-State Cincinnati Bengals, where his teammates included a pair of Ohio State teammates: His brother Ray Griffin and Pete Johnson. But injuries limited him to 2,808 career rushing yards. He did help the Bengals win their 1st AFC Championship in the 1981 season, but he had a fumble (which he recovered himself) in Super Bowl XVI, and the Bengals lost.

After playing a season with the Jacksonville Bulls of the United States Football League, he retired from playing, and became a successful businessman. He served as President of The Ohio State University Alumni Association, and as an assistant athletic director. He is, essentially, an ambassador for the University, and speaks to the team before every game. Although his pro career was a disappointment, he is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. 

In 1991, he filmed a commercial for the University, one of those ads you see colleges air during their football games. He spoke briefly about his experiences, and two Heisman Trophies were shown. He closed by saying, "I received something no one else in the world has: A degree from The Ohio State University with my name on it." A clever piece of misdirection.

December 1, 1955: Rosa Parks Holds Her Seat

December 1, 1955, 70 years ago: Rosa Parks is told to get up and move. She says, "No." In so, doing, she made history.

As historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich said, "Well-behaved women rarely make history."

Let the record show that Rosa Parks was not the first woman to make this kind of history. In 1943, 17-year-old Bernice Delatte was arrested for defying segregation rules on a bus in New Orleans. In 1944, a U.S. Army Lieutenant was told to go to the back of a bus, to make room for a lower-ranking soldier. He refused. He got court-martialed. He was acquitted. His name was Jack Roosevelt Robinson. Yes, that Jackie Robinson. And in 1953, a 6-day boycott got the buses in Baton Rouge, Louisiana desegregated.

On March 2, 1955, Claudette Austin was arrested in Montgomery, the capital of Alabama, for refusing to give up her seat to a white woman on a crowded, segregated bus. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People had been waiting for a chance to challenge a "send the blacks to the back of the bus" law, in line with the decision the year before, by the U.S. Supreme Court, in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, that accommodations that were officially "separate but equal" was unconstitutional.

But Claudette was 15 years old, unmarried, and pregnant. Parks later said, "If the white press got ahold of that information, they would have a field day. They'd call her a bad girl, and her case wouldn't have a chance." The NAACP would need a more sympathetic defendant. Nine months later -- perhaps an appropriate time period -- they found one: Parks herself.

Rosa Louise McCauley was born on February 4, 1913 in Tuskegee, Alabama, and grew up in Pine Level, outside Montgomery. She was bullied by white children, and never forgot it. In 1932, she married Raymond Parks, a barber who worked with the NAACP. She joined the Montgomery chapter in 1943, and was elected its secretary. During World War II, she rode on an integrated trolley at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery. She later said, "You might just say Maxwell opened my eyes up."

On November 27, 1955, Rosa Parks was attending Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, whose pastor was 26-year-old Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He had invited T.R.M. Howard, head of the Regional Council of Negro Leadership in Mississippi, to speak of the recent murder of Emmett Till, and the acquittal of the 2 men who did it.

It was still on her mind 4 days later, on December 1. At around 6:00 PM, she boarded a Montgomery City Lines bus downtown. Eventually, all of the White-only seats in the bus filled up. The bus reached the third stop, in front of the Empire Theater, and several White passengers boarded. The driver, James F. Blake, noted that two or three White passengers were standing, as the front of the bus had filled to capacity.

Blake moved the "colored" section sign behind Parks, and demanded that four Black people give up their seats in the middle section, so that the White passengers could sit. Three of them complied. Parks said, "I thought of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old African American who was lynched in Mississippi in 1955, after being accused of offending a White woman in her family's grocery store, whose killers were tried and acquitted – and I just couldn't go back." In her autobiography, she said:

People always say that I didn't give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn't true. I was not tired physically, or no more tired than I usually was at the end of a working day. I was not old, although some people have an image of me as being old then. I was forty-two. No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.

When Parks refused to give up her seat, Blake took to his radio, and called the police. When she was arrested, she asked the officer, "Why do you push us around?" She remembered him saying, "I don't know, but the law's the law, and you're under arrest."

She was charged with a violation of Chapter 6, Section 11, segregation law of the Montgomery City code. Edgar Nixon, president of the Montgomery chapter of the NAACP and leader of the Pullman Porters Union, and her friend Clifford Durr bailed Parks out of jail that evening.

On Sunday, December 4, plans for the Montgomery bus boycott were announced at Black churches in the area, and a front-page article in the Montgomery Advertiser helped spread the word. At a church rally that night, those attending agreed unanimously to continue the boycott until they were treated with the level of courtesy they expected, until Black drivers were hired, and until seating in the middle of the bus was handled on a first-come-first-served basis.

The next day, Parks was tried on charges of disorderly conduct and violating a local ordinance. The trial lasted 30 minutes. After being found guilty and fined $10, plus $4 in court costs -- the total of $14 worth about $170 in 2025 money -- she appealed her conviction, and formally challenged the legality of racial segregation.

It rained that day, but the Black community persevered in their boycott. Some rode in carpools, while others traveled in Black-operated cabs that charged the same fare as the bus, 10 cents. Most of the remainder of the 40,000 Black commuters walked, some as far as 20 miles.

The boycott lasted for an entire year. On December 20, 1956, the federal ruling Browder v. Gayle took effect, declaring the Alabama and Montgomery laws that segregated buses were unconstitutional. All the seats on all the buses were now open to all.

In 1957, Rosa and Raymond Parks moved to Detroit, living with her brother and sister-in-law. She became a fair housing activist, helped John Conyers get elected to Congress in 1964, and served as his secretary until 1988. She participated in the Selma-to-Montgomery march in 1965. Her husband and brother died within weeks of each other in 1977, and she stepped back from civil rights activities thereafter to care for her mother, who died in 1979.

She then returned to the struggle, adding Planned Parenthood to her causes. In 1994, she was robbed and assaulted in her Detroit home. Mike Ilitch, founder of Detroit-based pizza chain Little Caesars, and owner of baseball's Detroit Tigers and hockey's Detroit Red Wings, bought her an apartment in a high-rise riverfront condo.

The following year, in commemoration of the 40th Anniversary of her seated stand, President Bill Clinton invited her to the State of the Union Address. He said, "She's sitting down with the First Lady tonight, and she may get up, or not, as she chooses." Acknowledging a standing ovation, she briefly stood.

She died on October 24, 2005, at the age of 92, after years of ill health and cognitive decline. Although often called "the mother of the Civil Rights Movement," she had no children of her own. She became the 1st woman, the 2nd black person, and the 1st private citizen to lie in state under the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington.

A statue of her stands in Montgomery, roughly where she was arrested. In her adopted hometown of Detroit, the bus terminal is named for her. The bus on which she was arrested was also moved to Detroit, to the Henry Ford Museum in adjoining Dearborn, where it is on display along with the limousine in which President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, and the Ford's Theatre chair in which President Abraham Lincoln was sitting when he was assassinated.

As has been said, Rosa Parks sat, so that Martin Luther King could march, so that Barack Obama could run.

Bernice Delatte, the 1943 New Orleans protestor, lived until 2010. Claudette Austin became a nurse, married, and took the name Claudette Colvin. As of December 1, 2025, she is still alive.