Blue plaque for Arsenal legend, Herbert Chapman

Legendary Arsenal Football Club manager, Herbert Chapman (1878 – 1934) was commemorated with an English Heritage Blue Plaque on 23 March at 2pm at 6 Haslemere Avenue , Hendon, London , NW4, where he lived from 1926 until his death in 1934. It was during this time that Chapman enjoyed his greatest managerial success with the football club that made his name, Arsenal. The plaque will be unveiled by Arsenal Chairman, Peter Hill-Wood.

Henry Chapman was born in 1878 in a small mining town near Sheffield . Although he trained as a mining engineer, he turned his hobby into a career and signed up as a professional footballer for Northampton in 1901. Quite by chance, Chapman moved into football management in 1907, accepting the position of player-manager of Northampton Town . It was in this role that he first displayed some of the talents that would propel him further up the managerial ladder. After a spell as secretary-manager of Leeds City , Chapman then became manager of Huddersfield Town , where he coached the club to an FA Cup victory and twice won the League Championship.

Chapman was appointed manager of Arsenal in 1925, and it was here he would achieve his greatest triumphs. The team won the FA Cup in 1929-30, and the League Championship in 1930-1 and 1932-3. Chapman was extremely well respected by his players and had an amazing ability to spot talent. He did everything possible to increase the profile of Arsenal, increasing spectator comfort at the Highbury grounds, and in order to attract crowds, he changed the name of the closest underground station from Gillespie Road to Arsenal in 1932.

Chapman moved into a newly built house at 6 Haslemere Avenue in 1926, and it was during his time there that he became an inspirational figure to players and managers alike. He did much to change the image of the manager as a back-stage figure dominated by the chairman and directors. He showed how important a talented manager who believed in tactics and motivation was to the success of a club. Chapman was also a great innovator and introduced many simple but revolutionary changes – floodlighting matches, using rubber studs on boots, and numbering the players. None of these ideas were accepted as standard until after the Second World War. Chapman died on the 6 January 1934 , shortly before his 56th birthday, and was buried in the local cemetery. The six pall-bearers at his funeral included celebrated Arsenal footballer, Jack Lambert.

It has been said that Chapman’s life story “is largely the story of how English football came of age”. By doing everything he could to put football – and especially Arsenal – into the public eye, he contributed to the high-profile sport we know today. At the time of Chapman’s sudden and untimely demise, Arsenal was at the head of the League Table and internationally famous. Chapman will be the first footballer to be honoured with an English Heritage Blue Plaque.

For further press information, please contact:

Helen Bowman, English Heritage Corporate Communications on 0207 973 3250 / 07789 927 584 or helen.bowman@english-heritage.org.uk or www.english-heritage.org.uk/blueplaques or Nick Mann at the Government News Network on 0207 217 3787 or nicholas.mann@gnn.gsi.gov.uk