ARSENAL 1934-35 FOOTBALL LEAGUE CHAMPIONS FOR THE THIRD TIME IN A ROW – FULLY AUTOGRAPHED ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPH INCLUDING ALL SEVEN ARSENAL PLAYERS WHO

ARSENAL 1934-35 FOOTBALL LEAGUE CHAMPIONS FOR THE THIRD TIME IN A ROW – FULLY AUTOGRAPHED ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPH INCLUDING ALL SEVEN ARSENAL PLAYERS WHO REPRESENTED ENGLAND AGAINST ITALY IN THE 1934 ‘BATTLE OF HIGHBURY’. SUPERB HISTORIC FULLY AUTOGRAPHED ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPH SIZE 9 ½” x 7 ½” LAID DOWN TO THE ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPHERS MOUNT TO GIVE AN OVERALL SIZE OF 11” x 9” DEPICTING GEORGE ALLISON’S FIRST ARSENAL SQUAD, TAKEN AT THE BEGINNING OF AUGUST 1934 AT THE START OF THE SEASON WHEN ARSENAL WON THEIR THIRD LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP IN A ROW. BEAUTIFULLY AUTOGRAPHED IN FOUNTAIN PEN DIRECTLY TO THE IMAGE BY ALL SITTERS. TWENTY-THREE AUTOGRAPHS IN TOTAL AS FOLLOWS: Back Row L-R: GEORGE MALE, JACK CRAYSTON, HERBIE ROBERTS, JIMMY DUNNE. Middle Row L-R: PAT BEASLEY, FRANK HILL, BOB JOHN, FRANK MOSS, EDDIE HAPGOOD (CAPTAIN), WILF COPPING. Front Row L-R: GEORGE ALLISON (MANAGER), JAMES MARSHALL, JOE HULME, RAY BOWDEN, TED DRAKE, ALEX JAMES, CLIFF BASTIN, BILLY MILNE (TRAINER). Additionally signed below the seated players by: LES COMPTON, NORMAN SIDEY, RALPH BIRKETT, TOM WHITTAKER and JACK LEE. INCLUDING THE SIGNATURES OF ALL SEVEN OF THE ARSENAL PLAYERS THAT REPRESENTED ENGLAND AGAINST ITALY THREE MONTHS LATER ON THE 14TH OF NOVEMBER 1934 IN THE MATCH NAMED ‘THE BATTLE OF HIGHBURY’. (Frank Moss, George Male, Eddie Hapgood, Wilf Copping, Ray Bowden, Cliff Bastin and Ted Drake) The 1934–35 season was Arsenal's 16th consecutive season in the top division of English football. Herbert Chapman's Arsenal had already claimed their first national trophy, the FA Cup in 1930 and League Championships followed in 1930-31 and 1932-33. Suddenly, in the middle of the 1933-34 season, Chapman died of pneumonia. His work was left to Joe Shaw and George Allison, who saw out a hat-trick with the 1933-34 and 1934-35 titles, and then won the 1936 FA Cup and 1937-38 title. After the death of Herbert Chapman in January 1934, Joe Shaw had been designated as caretaker, but in the summer, George Allison became full-time manager. In his debut season, he guided Arsenal to their third consecutive league title, with Arsenal finishing four points ahead of Sunderland. The Charity Shield was won at Highbury with a 4-0 victory over Manchester City, but the FA Cup run was ended by Sheffield Wednesday in the quarter-finals. During the season Arsenal had their highest ever Highbury attendance, with 73,295 witnessing a goalless draw against title rivals Sunderland. Ted Drake was top scorer with a club-record 42 goals from 41 league matches, thus topping the league scoring charts. In all competitions he made five more starts and scored two more goals. This season, Arsenal won 8-0 twice, against Leicester City and Middlesbrough, 7-0 against Wolves, 8-1 against Liverpool and 6-0 at rivals Tottenham, who coincidentally were relegated to the second division having finished the season bottom of Division One. The Battle of Highbury, England v Italy 14th of November 1934. The foggy afternoon of the 14th of November 1934 saw Arsenal provide seven members of the England team that played against the reigning World Champions Italy, a record contribution that still stands today. Fittingly, the match took place at Highbury stadium and ended in a 3-2 victory for England after a bruising and sometimes brutal match. Frank Moss, George Male, Eddie Hapgood, Wilf Copping, Ray Bowden, Cliff Bastin and Ted Drake were the Arsenal players involved. Eddie Hapgood captained England for the first time, while George Male and Ted Drake made their international debuts.