Arsenal vs Arsenal Reserves (lost footage of early BBC televised football match; 1937)

The Arsenal teams posing for the television camera unit.

Status: Lost

On September 13th, 1937, Arsenal's first and reserve teams competed against each other in a friendly match. This match proved historic, because it was the first instance of a televised friendly football match, being broadcast on BBC television. It is also claimed by some sources as the first televised football match.

Background

Prior to the televised match, Arsenal Football Club already made media history by being part of the first live football radio broadcast, when it faced Sheffield United in 1927. Ten years later, BBC would again select Arsenal, this time to feature in its relatively new Television Service in order to showcase the platform's ability to show live sport. The reasoning behind this choice centred around Arsenal's Highbury Stadium being the closest football ground to BBC's headquarters at Alexandra Palace, with its East Stand containing a gantry already suitable for cameras. The move was further logical as only a few televisions could receive the Alexandra Palace signal, spanning about ten miles away.

Arsenal's first and reserve teams were selected to face each other in a friendly for the sole purpose of providing a television demonstration. According to the Manchester Guardian, three cameras were used to show the match, two being at the respective goalmouths to show play close-ups and interviews, another being in the stands to show the ground in a more comprehensive manner. The broadcast of the match lasted fifteen minutes, a result of BBC Television Service's limited hour-long daily schedule. George Allison, who was both Arsenal's manager and a BBC radio commentator, would first introduce the players to the television viewers, with the rest of the broadcast dedicated to the match. The schedule labelled the segment as Football at the Arsenal.

Ultimately, the broadcast was deemed a success. Some sources, including the BBC, claim that this match was the first to be televised. However, others like The Guardian and England Football Online note that the 1937 FA Cup Final was partially televised on 1st May 1937. Nevertheless, the BBC would later break further ground in broadcasting live football, including an England-Scotland international game in full on 9th April 1938. Meanwhile, Arsenal would later go on to become the 1937-38 First Division champions. The result of the match was not properly archived and has been lost to time.

Availability

Like other early BBC television broadcasts, the Arsenal-Arsenal Reserves match was broadcast live and was not recorded. Therefore, footage of the match is most likely permanently missing. A few photos of the Arsenal teams posing for a BBC mobile television unit provide the only accessible media of the match. A video featuring an introduction of the team was claimed to have been recorded prior to the broadcast. However, this was debunked by the Woolwich Arsenal blog, which noted that one of the narrators, Herbert Chapman, had already passed away three years earlier.

See Also

Association Football/Soccer Media

• 1937 FA Cup Final (partially found footage of football match; 1937)
• 1938 FA Cup Final (partially found footage of football match; 1938)
• 1939 FA Cup Final (partially found footage of football match; 1939)
• 1947 FA Cup Final (partially found footage of football match; 1947)
• 1966 FIFA World Cup Final (partially found original colour film of international football match; 1966)
• Arsenal vs Arsenal Reserves (lost footage of early BBC televised football match; 1937)
• Barbados 4–2 Grenada (partially found soccer match footage; 1994)
• Barnet 3-2 Wealdstone (lost footage of Athenian League football match; 1946)
• Brian Clough's Football Fortunes (lost DOS port of football management game; 1987)
• Charlton Athletic 1-0 Blackburn Rovers (lost footage of FA Cup match; 1947)
• England 0-1 Scotland (partially found footage of international football match; 1938)
• England 1-1 Scotland (partially found footage of international football match; 1947)
• England 3-0 France (partially found footage of international football match; 1947)
• England 3-0 Rest of Europe (partially found footage of international football match; 1938)
• Hallo! Bundesliga (lost GolTV series; mid 2000s-mid 2010s)
• Juventus 1-7 A.C. Milan (partially found footage of Serie A football match; 1950)
• Scottish Universities 1-1 English Universities (lost footage of international football match; 1952)
• Serbia vs Albania (partially found footage of abandoned UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match; 2014)
• United! (lost British soap opera; 1965-1967)

Early BBC Television Media

• An Inspector Calls (lost television adaptation of play; 1948)
• Ann and Harold (lost early BBC drama television series; 1938)
• BBC Election Night (lost coverage of British general elections; 1950-1951)
• Cook's Night Out (lost early BBC cooking show; 1937)
• Dish of the Month (lost early BBC cooking show; 1937)
• First Aid (lost early BBC medical show; 1937)
• Foundations of Cookery (lost early BBC cooking show; 1939)
• Marcel Boulestin television shorts (lost early BBC programs; 1937-1939)
• RCA recording of BBC Television Service (found footage of pre-Second World War BBC television broadcast; 1938)
• Sea Stories (lost early BBC talk show; 1936-1937)
• Spelling Bee (lost early BBC game show; 1938)
• Telecrime (lost early BBC crime drama; 1938-1939; 1946)
• The Care of Your Car (lost early BBC motoring show; 1947)
• The Wasp's Nest (lost early BBC television adaptation of Agatha Christie short story; 1937)

Early Sports Television Media

• 1931 Epsom Derby (lost televised footage of horse racing event; 1931)
• 1934 Philo T. Farnsworth broadcasts (lost early television demonstrations; 1934)
• 1936 Summer Olympics (lost television coverage of Berlin Games; 1936)
• 1937 International Imperial Trophy Race (lost footage of motor race; 1937)
• 1937 Wimbledon Championships (partially found footage of tennis tournament; 1937)
• 1938 Ashes Series (partially found footage of international test cricket match; 1938)
• 1938 Pennsylvania Quakers football season (lost early televised college football games; 1938)
• 1953 British Grand Prix (partially found footage of Formula One race; 1953)
• 1960 Daytona Races (lost CBS and NBC televised footage of NASCAR prelude events to Daytona 500; 1960)
• Brooklyn Dodgers 2-5 6-1 Cincinnati Reds (lost footage of MLB doubleheader; 1939)
• Brooklyn Dodgers 23-14 Philadelphia Eagles (lost footage of NFL game; 1939)
• Catch-As-Catch-Can Wrestling (lost early BBC televised professional wrestling matches; 1938-1939; 1946-1947)
• Columbia Lions 1-2 Princeton Tigers (partially found footage of college baseball game; 1939)
• Darts and Shove Ha'penny (lost early BBC televised darts matches; 1936-1939)
• England 16-21 Scotland (partially found footage of rugby match; 1938)
• Fordham Rams 34-7 Waynesburg Yellow Jackets (lost footage of college football game; 1939)
• Indianapolis 500 WFBM-TV Broadcasts (lost racing footage; 1949-1950)
• The Boat Race 1938 (partially found footage of rowing race; 1938)