Hutchins Arthur Image 3 Arsenal 1922

Description

Bishop’s Waltham, Hampshire born left back Arthur Hutchins joined Southern League Croydon Common from serving for five years in The Royal Navy in the summer of 1911, for whom he held the Croydon Common record for goals scored from the penalty spot converting 22 times in 159 appearances and being their top scorer in 1913-14 from the penalty spot alone with 11 strikes! He played in Croydon Common’s last ever match and was known as “Monument” during his time there.

He guested for Fulham and Arsenal during wartime football (playing over 100 wartime matches for The Gunners) before formally joining Arsenal after the War in April 1919, making his Football League debut at Sunderland in September 1919. He was an England trialist in 1921, playing in the Nortb v South match, and played 108 times for Arsenal, scoring once from the penalty spot against Liverpool at Highbury in September 1922 in a 1-0 Gunners win. He lost his place to Andrew Kennedy that November and moved to Charlton Athletic on a free transfer the following summer, scoring once from the spot in 21 appearances for The Addicks in his single playing season there, staying at The Valley until 1926 before his retirement.

NB In the photograph Arthur Hutchins (left) and Arsenal teammate Jack Butler are outjumped by Liverpool’s Dick Johnson at Anfield in August 1922. Johnson scored a hat-trick as Liverpool won 5-2.