Will any player match Ted Drake’s longstanding record seven goals in an English top-flight game of football?
On the 14th of December 1935 former England and Arsenal legendary talisman Ted Drake set the record for the most goals scored in an English top-flight game of football, which has never been equalled nearly 90 years later! Against the odds Drake single handily flew in seven strikes on his own at Villa Park, witnessing the then current reigning League Champions Arsenal destroy Aston Villa 7-1 in the First Division with ease.
Bob Wall, former Arsenal administrator and worker for 50 plus years at Highbury, stated in his book “Arsenal from the heart” that one of the most heroic individual feats in English football could’ve easily have not occurred:” The most extraordinary part of the achievement was that it nearly didn’t take place.
Ted was still feeling the effects of a twisted knee twenty-four hours before the match and Tom Whittaker had virtually made up his mind that he should not play. George Allison, who was then manager, was in London hospital recovering from a heart attack. His condition was such that Tom decided it would be wrong to worry him by discussing possible team changes. So, he asked Ted if he would be willing to take the risk of playing with his knee heavily strapped up. Ted readily agreed but that was not the end of Tom’s worries. “
Before kickoff, to add insult to injury, Drake tripped up on the perimeter track whilst warming up, cutting his arm and needing further support from the Arsenal medics.
The only players who would suffer anymore injury and pain throughout the 90 minutes would be those of the Villa side which included six internationals and deemed “The Bank of England” team after their massive spending spree that year.
Going into the game Drake was in need of some goals to rescue his attacking form which had come to a halt surprisingly, following netting a record 44 goals the previous 1934/35 campaign in his first proper season since joining The Gunners, which no player has achieved since at The North Londoners!
Ironically, The Villains commenced the match on the front foot before being overthrown by the ferocious firepower of Drake where, by halftime he’d secured a hat-trick. Pat Beasley sent a long ball to the once gas reader for the first, Cliff Bastin who was Arsenals all-time top striker for nearly 60 years till Ian Wright overtook his feat in 1997 with 179 goals, attached another long pass to Drake for the second, and the third was slotted in from a rebound.
Come the hour mark in front of 60,000 fans Drake had clinched a second hat-trick.
The fourth was handed to him on a plate after a defensive error from Tommy Griffiths. The fifth witnessed Bastin grab a second assist and the sixth was a poor clearance which landed at the feet of Drake allowing him to extend his obliteration of the Villa defence. The most feared man of the match wrapped up his seventh in the final moments of the match thanks to Bastin’s superb passing again. The gamble of playing the injured Drake paid off!
Drake later declared on BBC’S ‘Kicking and Screaming’ football programme not long before his death in May 1995, aged 82 that the referee ruled out the eighth goal due to greed. The Arsenals fifth all-time top goalscorer in history with 139 goals to his name recalled: ”One thing I remember was that I cracked the ball, hit the bar, came down and the bar must’ve put spin on the ball because it came out and it was already over.
It so happened to be that the referee that day was Mr George Reeder (a great friend of mine and a Southampton colleague), I claimed for another goal, and he said, ‘Cor blimey Ted you’ve got seven already.’”
The 14th of December has since been a memorable occasion in the Drake family for not only football reasons but personal ones too, with his third and final son Graham being born ten years to the day Ted rampaged Aston Villa with seven goals.
Many would presume that this was the greatest achievement in Drake’s footballing career who later became the first player and then manager to clinch the English top-flight title in 1955 at Chelsea, but not the gentlemen of the man he was!
While speaking on ITV’S The Big Match in the 1970’s to the infamous football presenter and commentator Brian Moore, Drake humbly denied that scoring seven goals was the best moment of his playing days. Moore introduced him into his guest appearance talking “Whilst at Arsenal he once scored seven goals in a game against Villa, but he tells me that’s not his greatest of memory”.
An upbeat Drake responded “no it isn’t, no, I was quite proud of that and I hold the record to this day, but the greatest game I ever played in was Arsenal versus Everton at Goodison Park in 1933/34 possibly when they had a great side and they were challenging us for the Championship.”
After having already scored the opener Drake assisted goalie Frank Moss with the second and final goal of the encounter after he came off his line with a shoulder injury against “Everton at their greatest” as described by the unparallel Arsenal goalscoring Messiah.
Liam Harding
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