When City made up the numbers
Back in the 1930s, Downing Street was an accessible London avenue and on the day of the 1933 Fa cup final, the Lancashire Evening
Post reported that an Everton fan had strolled unimpeded up to No 10 and hung a horseshoe on the door knocker.
Whether it was an inspiration is unknown, but Everton beat Manchester city 3-0.
It was Everton’s first cup triumph since 1906, so their first at Wembley stadium. It was the first match at Wembley since the previous final. In the crowd were the touring West Indies cricket team.
Of rather wider significance was that, for the first time in a cup final, shirt numbers were used.
This was an experiment. Illustrating this is that the player bowing as he shook hands with the Duke of York — city’s Matt Busby — is wearing No 19.
It had been decided that Everton would wear Nos 1-11 and they did so in the order we became accustomed to — goalkeeper Ted Sagar wearing No 1, centre forward Dixie Dean wearing No 9.
city, however, did not follow that order. Their goalkeeper, Len Langford, did not wear No 12 as might have been expected, but 22 instead. city went in reverse to what became the norm. The 12 jersey went to Eric Brook, the man whose goalscoring record has just been surpassed by Sergio aguero.
What was also significant in terms of jerseys was that with both teams’ first-choice colours a shade of blue, both were forced to change kit. Thus Everton wore ‘white jerseys and black knickers’ as newspaper reports put it, and city wore ‘ scarlet jerseys and white knickers’.
Until then, the backs of jerseys, like the fronts, were blank and supporters recognised players by position. a man thinking most thoroughly about how the game could be improved for players and spectators was the great innovator, Herbert chapman.
chapman, as arsenal manager from 1925 until his death in 1934, declared: ‘The days of haphazard football are gone.’
The idea of shirt numbers was not new. The conservative Football League’s standard response to suggestions was ‘No’, but in august 1928, without the authorities’ consent, arsenal took to the pitch at Hillsborough wearing numbers. On the same afternoon, with chapman’s encouragement, chelsea did too. The Football League instantly banned it, though arsenal reserves were allowed to use numbers.
But five years later, with radio coverage of football growing and newspapers publishing pictures of a pitch divided into squares so that listeners could follow where the ball was, the League relented for the cup final. It was a one-off and there was much debate about the usefulness of numbers — and radio coverage.
Elsewhere in London that day arsenal hosted Huddersfield Town at Highbury and in the old Second Division, West Ham played Tottenham at Upton Park. But attendances suffered.
That night’s Sheffield Green ’Un reported that only an estimated 6,000 turned up for Wednesday’s home game against Bolton — in the top division — and said it understood why Doncaster Rovers put their kick-off back to six o’clock. ‘Beyond all dispute,’ said the
Green ‘Un, ‘millions have “listened in” to today’s Wembley story and consequently “gates” have been thinner than ever. League football cannot live on the enthusiasm of fireside supporters.’
The Football League board had to cope with competing interests and the popularity of the cup final was a threat to clubs not involved.
at a time of economic depression, one argument against numbers was the cost.
Perhaps due to football superstition, Everton wore numbers the Saturday after the cup win, but at the end of the 1932-33 season, at the League’s Management aGM, a proposal to make numbered jerseys compulsory was rejected. Then in 1937 England wore numbers for the first time and in 1939, five years after chapman’s death, the League agreed to bring in numbered shirts.
The 1939-40 season lasted only three games due to the Second World War. But a change had been made and by the 1950 World cup, FIFa decreed that all teams should wear numbers in games.
By the time of the 1954 World cup in Switzerland, all squads had to have individual numbers from 1-22 or 23.
In a 2-0 victory against the host nation, England’s goals were scored by their No 17, Jimmy Mullen of Wolves and his clubmate Dennis Wilshaw, No 15.
Numbers were no longer an experiment.