In 1930-31 Arsenal not only won the championship for the first time but also became the first southern club to do so since the inception of the league 43 years earlier. The team lost just four games and notched 66 points, a record that would stand for 3 8 years. In only one of their 42 league fixtures did they fail to score. Interestingly, the Gunners' home and away records were identical:
Won 14, Drew 5, Lost 2. Jack Lambert top-scored with 38 goals, but all the forwards made handsome contributions. David Jack hit 31 goals, while the briUiant wingers Cliff Bastin and Joe Hulme scored 28 and 14 respectively.
An aggregate 127 goals was not quite enough to set a new record, however. That honour went to runners-up Aston Villa, for whom Tom "Pongo"
Waring netted 49 times. Villa scored 128 goals in that campaign, which remains a record in English football's premier division.
Hard-fought Vi 11 a-Blues Derby
Opposite: Some of the large crowd that watched the hard-fought contest between Aston Villa and Birmingham at Villa Park in October l930.The game provided an abundance of thrills and ended in a draw, each side scoring in the first half.
Below: Victory - and the Cup. West Brom captain Glidden, surrounded by his elated team mates, carries the cup after defeating their neighbours Birmingham 2-1. Second-Division West Brom were the first team to win promotion and the FA title in the same year. Aston Villa also entered the record book in 1931 finishing the season with 128 goals, 49 of which were attributed to Pongo Waring, the season's top marksman.
Above: Would-be referees take a practical examination using chess pawns to represent players before they appear in front of the Essex County FA Referees Committee.
Dixie Dean
World History
