Arsenal 7-1 Hibernian (lost footage of charity football match; 1952)

Football programme for the match.

Status: Lost

On 22nd October 1952, Arsenal hosted Scottish club Hibernian at Highbury Stadium in a friendly match used in aid of the National Playing Fields Association and of the Central Council of Physical Recreation. In a match dominated by the home side, the encounter also has television significance. This was the first instance of a football match utilising floodlights, as well as the first match in Scottish television to feature a professional Scottish team.

Background

Heading into the match, both teams were title contenders in their respective leagues. Arsenal was challenging for the 1952/53 Football League First Division title, eventually earning 54 points alongside Preston North End but becoming champions by virtue of a superior goal difference. Meanwhile, Hibernian challenged Rangers for the 1952/53 Scottish Division A title, but Hibernian ultimately missed out as Rangers had the better goal average after both teams scored 43 points. Thus, the match was expected to be somewhat competitive, with the intent to aid charities like the National Playing Fields Association and of the Central Council of Physical Recreation.

During this time period, the BBC had launched its Television Service in Scotland, and had showcased a Schools' International Match between England and Scotland on 5th April as the first football match to be shown on Scottish television. Its Scottish television broadcast of the Arsenal-Hibernian match would break further ground by featuring a professional Scottish team. Additionally, the match is notable for being the first televised game to feature floodlights, which enable football matches to be played at night. Highbury Stadium had utilised floodlights since September 1951, but the FA's and Football League's reluctance to use floodlights in competitive matches meant that the first floodlight game did not occur until 1956. However, Arsenal were allowed to use floodlights in friendlies, and these were used to attract a large stadium and television audience to view a now-common piece of technology in modern football matches. Commentary was said by issue 1510 of Radio Times to have been done by Jimmy Jewell and Peter Thomson, but Jewell passed away the day before the match.

The match occurred in front of 55,001. Arsenal dominated the game courtesy of five goals from Don Roper, and two from Doug Lishman. Lawrie Reilly provided a consolation goal for Hibernian.

Availability

Like all early television programs, the Arsenal-Hibernian match was televised live and was unlikely to have been directly recorded. Although there were means of achieving this following the Second World War, recording seldom occurred until video tape was perfected in the late-1950s. Thus, televised footage of the match is most likely permanently missing, and no newsreels footage is known to exist. Nevertheless, issue 1510 of Radio Times helped to document the television broadcast.

Gallery

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  Issue 1510 of Radio Times detailing the television broadcast of the match.

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)
• 1955 Scottish Cup Final (partially found footage of football match; 1955)
• 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)
• Falkirk 3-2 Newcastle United (lost footage of football match; 1953)
• 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 Sports Television

• 1931 Epsom Derby (lost televised footage of horse racing event; 1931)
• 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)
• 1953 British Grand Prix (partially found footage of Formula One race; 1953)
• Archery (lost early televised toxophily; 1937-1938)
• The Boat Race 1938 (partially found footage of rowing race; 1938)
• Catch-As-Catch-Can Wrestling (lost early BBC televised professional wrestling matches; 1938-1939; 1946-1947)
• Darts and Shove Ha'penny (lost early BBC televised darts matches; 1936-1939)
• England 16-21 Scotland (partially found footage of rugby match; 1938)
• Horace Lindrum vs Willie Smith (lost footage of televised snooker; 1937)
• Woods and Jack (lost early televised lawn bowls; 1937; 1946)

Early BBC Television

• Alexandra Palace's wartime television demonstrations (lost footage of private television transmissions; 1943, 1945)
• 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)
• The Care of Your Car (lost early BBC motoring show; 1947)
• Cook's Night Out (lost early BBC cooking show; 1937)
• Craftsmen at Work (lost early BBC documentary show; 1938, 1946)
• 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)
• Masks through the Ages (lost early BBC history talk show; 1937)
• Opening of the BBC Television Service (partially found coverage of inaugural day of high-definition television service; 1936)
• The Orchestra and its Instruments (lost early BBC music talk show; 1937)
• 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 Wasp's Nest (lost early BBC television adaptation of Agatha Christie short story; 1937)
• Weaponless Self-Defence (lost early ju-jitsu television program; 1936-1937)
• The World of Women (lost early BBC talk show; 1937)

Early Sports Television Media

• 1934 Philo T. Farnsworth broadcasts (lost early television demonstrations; 1934)
• 1936 Summer Olympics (lost television coverage of Berlin Games; 1936)
• 1938 Pennsylvania Quakers football season (lost early televised college football games; 1938)
• 1960 Daytona Races (lost CBS and NBC televised footage of NASCAR prelude events to Daytona 500; 1960)
• Bill Longson vs Whipper Billy Watson (lost footage of professional wrestling match; 1947)
• 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)
• Columbia Lions 1-2 Princeton Tigers (partially found footage of college baseball game; 1939)
• Fordham Rams 34-7 Waynesburg Yellow Jackets (lost footage of college football game; 1939)
• Indianapolis 500 WFBM-TV Broadcasts (lost racing footage; 1949-1950)