On March 9, 1935, Arsenal and Sunderland faced one another at Highbury in a top-of-the-table First Division match, with George Allison’s Gunners closing in on their third successive title and netting an incredible three goals a game.
It was little wonder that interest in us was reaching fever pitch. Three days before, we’d annihilated Tottenham Hotspur 6-0 at White Hart Lane in a ridiculously one-sided north London derby to move to the division’s summit, two points ahead of Sunderland.
The Wearsiders were not as potent up front, but had beaten us 2-1 at Roker Park earlier in the season. The legendary forward Raich Carter grabbed both of Sunderland’s goals that day, with Ted Drake responding.
The crowds flocked to Highbury for the huge clash, so much so that the gates were locked one hour before kick-off. In that era, crowds in N5 regularly topped 60,000, but on this afternoon, history was made. The 73,295 in attendance would set an attendance record for Highbury that would never be broken - even more astonishing given the official capacity of our home at the time being 72,000.
Gunners supporter George Stephens recalled during our 1993 interview: “It was more communal then, when I was young. You could mix with opposing fans, there was no segregation. There was a rule that if you were small and got stuck in the middle, where you couldn’t see, they’d pass you down to the front over the heads of people. My lasting image is of knocking against all those bowler hats….a sea of bowler hats and clouds of cigarette smoke.”
Once everyone was in place, the game itself wasn’t worthy of the occasion; on a cloudy, windy afternoon, both teams ultimately cancelled one another out, resulting in a goalless draw.
Wilf Copping had a splendid match against Sunderland’s other marauding forward Bobby Gurney, and Carter went close on two occasions, as did Drake. The gigantic crowd sportingly applauded both sides at the end, but ultimately went home a tad disappointed.
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We pushed on after that draw, losing just once more that campaign and completing a hat-trick of championship victories. To show just what a fantastic side Sunderland were, the Rokerites won the title the following season by eight points (impressive in an era of two points for a win), plundering 109 goals in the process.
We actually defeated our then-closest rivals 3-1 in the opening match of the campaign, with Drake scoring twice in front of another gargantuan Highbury crowd of 66,428, but in December 1935 Allison’s men were edged out in a 5-4 thriller at Roker Park, when 58,773 turned up to watch, emphasising the heady days for both clubs.
73,295 remains the biggest crowd to watch a match in N5, although three attendances at Wembley for our Champions League matches against Panathinaikos, Fiorentina and Lens between 1998 and 2000 exceeded that figure, with the game against the latter reaching 73,707 - making it our largest ever “home” attendance.
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