Arsenal anniversaries 15 June: Bruce Rioch starts his one season as manager
Today’s Arsenal’s anniversaries are below – the headline comes from 1995. There are more details of our articles on the home page and at the bottom of this page.
15 June 1899: George Leavey was elected chair of Woolwich Arsenal. Through his extensive chain of gentleman’s outfitters including one in Plumstead he became to be a major source of revenue for the club until pulling out in 1910 – a factor which caused the club’s crisis that summer.
15 June 1910: Woolwich Arsenal factories started to lay off men due to a long-term downturn in work following the end of the Boer War – spelling catastrophe for Woolwich Arsenal FC which depended on a vibrant workforce to boost its attendance figures.
15 June 1912: Andy Ducat sold, confirming the club’s policy of selling off its best players in order to try and balance the books. The policy led directly to relegation the following season with the worst Arsenal record of all time.
15 June 1919: John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown completed the first nonstop transatlantic flight. (They took off on 14 June).
15 June 1925: Arsenal announced that the club had bought the Highbury stadium, and some additional land around it, and that the lease of the site had ended. Sir Henry Norris’ huge gamble in taking the ground on a full-repairing lease 12 years earlier had paid off.
15 June 1929: England played a tour of Australia, which included Tom Whittaker and Joey Williams. Joey played 22 games for Arsenal but only two on this tour, despite travelling across the world by sea.
15 June 1935: Arsenal signed Jackie Milne for a fee reputed to have been £5000. He played 49 league games and scored 19 goals.
15 June 1935: Ray Swallow born. Aside from playing 13 times for Arsenal he also played 38 first class cricket matches for Derbyshire.
15 June 1974: Trevor Ross signed as a professional. He played 58 times for Arsenal before moving on to Everton. He later became a non-league manager before becoming an HGV driver.
15 June 1995: Bruce Rioch became Arsenal manager and simultaneously Stewart Houston resigned from his post as temporary manager. Rioch lasted just one season and managed to get Arsenal a European slot on the final day of the season, before being sacked.
Elsewhere…
The 1919 Affair: How Arsenal were promoted to the first division – the only complete and detailed history of Arsenal’s election.
Day by Day the videos – An Arsenal video for (almost) every day of the year in order.
Day by Day the stories– a key moment in Arsenal and footballing history for each day of the year
Henry Norris at the Arsenal: There is a full index to the series here correcting 100 years of rumour and false allegations.
Arsenal in the 1930s: The most comprehensive series on the decade ever
Arsenal in the 1970s: Every match and every intrigue reviewed in detail.