1886–87 Royal Arsenal F.C. season

Dial Square / Royal Arsenal
1886–87 season
Chairman	None
Manager	None
None	None
None	None
Top goalscorer	League: None; All: Unknown
Highest home attendance	Unknown
Lowest home attendance	Unknown
	Home colours
	Home colours
	1887–88 →

This was the first season of the club that was to become Arsenal F.C.

The club was formed by David Danskin and other workers from the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich. Early games were played under the name Dial Square.

Home games were played on an area of Plumstead Common that is now bordered by Heavitree Road, Waverley Crescent and St John's Terrace. Players used The Star Inn public house in Jago Close as a dressing room.^[1]

The club's first match was against Eastern Wanderers on 11 December 1886. The match was played on a piece of scrap land in what is now Tiller Road on the Isle of Dogs.

In his book "Forward, Arsenal!", Bernard Joy gave the team line-up for first match as: Beardsley, Danskin, Porteous, Gregory, Bee, Wolfe, Smith, Moy, Whitehead, Morris, Duggan. However, in 1953 Robert Thompson claimed that he played in the first game (along with Wells in place of Morris and Duggan) and scored the first goal. Further, it has been found that Fred Beardsley played for Nottingham Forest in the F.A. Cup that day.^[2]

Thompson also claimed to have suggested the name Royal Arsenal. From Thompson's account, it appears that the first game played as Royal Arsenal was against Millwall Rovers on 5 February 1887.

Club officials

Committee members

David Danskin
Fred Beardsley
Joseph Bee
Thomas Wells
Duncan Porteous
G Whitehead
George Smith
Thomas Gregory
Trainer: Morris Bates
Secretary: Elijah Watkins
Treasurer: Fred Beardsley

Jack Humble was probably involved with the club during the season.

Players

Players that were reported as having played for Dial Square / Royal Arsenal during the 1886–87 season include:

David Danskin (captain)
Fred Beardsley (vice-captain)
Joseph Bee
James Crichton
Robert Crichton
Charles Duggan
John Gellatly
Thomas Gregory
Alfred Morris
James Moy
Richard Pearce
Duncan Porteous
Richard Price
George Smith
Robert Thompson
Thomas Wells
G Whitehead
Frank Wolfe

Matches

All matches that Dial Square / Royal Arsenal played during the 1886–87 season were friendlies. Significant matches were:

11 Dec 1886 v Eastern Wanderers (A) – the club's first ever game
8 Jan 1887 v Erith (H) – the club's first home game
5 Feb 1887 v Millwall Rovers (A) – the club's first game under the name Royal Arsenal

Statistics

Date	Ground	Opponent	Score^[3]
11 Dec	A	Eastern Wanderers	6–0
8 Jan	H	Erith	6–1
15 Jan	H	Alexandra United	11–0
22 Jan	H	Eastern Wanderers	1–0
29 Jan	A	Erith	3–2
5 Feb	A	Millwall Rovers	0–4
12 Feb	A	Alexandra United	6–0
26 Feb	H	2nd Rifle Brigade	0–0
12 Mar	H	Millwall Rovers	3–0
26 Jan	H	2nd Rifle Brigade	0–1

References

^ Grant, Scott; White, Colin (1988). Arsenal History And Full Record 1886 – 1988. London: Lingfield Sport Publications. p. 11.
^ "Arsenal's first game". The History of ArsenalFC by Tony Attwood. Archived from the original on 30 October 2010. Retrieved 13 December 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
^ Arsenal goals come first

External links

Arsenal season-by-season line-ups

[1] Grant, Scott; White, Colin (1988). Arsenal History And Full Record 1886 – 1988. London: Lingfield Sport Publications. p. 11.

[2] "Arsenal's first game". The History of ArsenalFC by Tony Attwood. Archived from the original on 30 October 2010. Retrieved 13 December 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)

[3] Arsenal goals come first

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Arsenal F.C. seasons
Royal Arsenal F.C.	1886–87 1887–88 1888–89 1889–90 1890–91 1891–92 1892–93
Woolwich Arsenal F.C.	1893–94 1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14
Arsenal F.C.	1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24

v t e 1886–87 in English football
« 1885–86 1887–88 »
FA competitions	FA Cup Qualifying rounds Final
Related to national team	Home Championship
Club seasons	Argyle (Plymouth Argyle) Aston Villa Eastville Rovers (Bristol Rovers) Newton Heath LYR (Manchester United) Dial Square / Royal Arsenal St. Mary's Y.M.A. (Southampton) Stoke West Bromwich Albion