Arsenal History: Our first decade – Dial Square to Woolwich Arsenal

Arsenal from scratch – Rolling back the years! 1886-1896

There is a lot of talk of the present and the future in football these days, but people very rarely speak about the history and the past of a football club. And when I say past I mean way back when all of us were not even a thought in this world..

So, I begin with the thought of ‘can you imagine if we were still called Dial Square football club?’

What a mouthful that would be if you’re drunk in the pub after a win and someone asks who you support…

A football club formed in October 1886 by David Danskin, the original captain of the team. He was a Scottish Mechanical Engineer and footballer back in the day, and 15 of his fellow munition workers.

So, the men all came together and formed Dial Square Football Club which they named after a workshop that sat at the heart of the Royal Arsenal building in Woolwich South East London.

And so, Dial Square’s first ever game was played two months after being formed, on the 11th December 1886 against Eastern Wanderers and our men won 6-0. A score line that today is not always easy to come by no matter the opponent.

But within the space of a month the club had a little setback where they had their name changed to Royal Arsenal, the building in which they had their first brainwave for a name for the club.

And of course, every team needs a pitch to play on and the clubs first home ground was Plumstead Common, although they played most of their games at the Manor Ground. But their poor facilities saw the club move to the nearby Invicta Ground which was also in Plumstead, in 1890, before returning to the Manor Ground three years later because the Invicta Ground’s rent proved too expensive, although money nowadays would be no object..

However, another change came once more where the club had to yet again change their name when in 1893 Royal Arsenal had become a limited liability company and so the club was now playing under Woolwich Arsenal, each time keeping the name Arsenal in the title.

This would have been a clue as to what our name would be in the future surely…

Two years before the name changed the second time though, Royal Arsenal became the first London club to turn professional and in 1889-1890 and 1890-1891 they won their first trophies, the Kent Senior Cup and London Charity Cups. They also entered the FA Cup for the very first time in 1889-1890.

So really it could be argued that we were destined for success right, as it only took us three years after being formed to win some silverware 😀

However, all was not rosy as there were more professional teams based in the North of England who would soon come calling for some of our amateur players that were showing why they should be snapped up to professional contracts. Something which to this day is still the same, clubs wanting to sign our players, some succeeding and some not.

But that was a time when the gulf between the Northern and some Southern clubs were apparent back then, although now the tables have turned. Arsenal or Royal/Woolwich Arsenal did not have an easy ride especially as once they made a move to become professional in 1891 the move was frowned upon by many of the other amateur Southern clubs and so we were banned from being able to participate in local competitions by the London Football Association

Who could have imagined though that when we were first formed back in 1886 we would go on to be as successful as we have been (not including the last ten or so years of course) but if you look before that, would you have thought that we would be, to date, the only club to have gone a season unbeaten?

It is all well and good clubs winning the double or the Champions League and the league but going a whole season unbeaten can and will, surely be up there with one of football’s biggest achievements for any club no matter what other trophies come after. And you can argue that being the first Southern member of the Football League is also a big achievement.

Therefore, although I am always proud to say I am a Gooner who lives in the South East, despite the club now being located in North London, I always take it back to say at least I support my local team – because that is where the club were formed. And that is when the history books were beginning to be written and those are the types of books that will never be erased!

To be continued…

Shenel Osman

@sh3n3l_