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 League
Champions Arsenal were known as the Bank of England Club during
their heyday in the 1930's and they swooped on Elland Road in
June 1934 to spirit away iron man Wilf
Copping for £6,000. It was a sad day for Leeds as one of their
key players departed, never to be adequately replaced. Former
Leeds City boss Herbert Chapman
had coveted the fearsome No 6 for months, but it was not until
after his unexpected death that the Gunners finally got their
man in the close season.
That summer saw a number of other departures, the main one being
goalkeeper Jimmy Potts off to Port Vale after nearly 250 games
for Leeds. Manager Dick Ray
generally sought to replace from junior football, with full back
Les Goldberg, wing half Fred Mills, winger Jack Hargreaves and
inside forward John Thomson arriving. Eric Stephenson was the
most successful of these discoveries, going on to play for England.
During the winter, Ray also bought a couple of established stars,
paying Sunderland £6,000 for 33 year old centre half Jock McDougall
and Newcastle £1,150 for centre forward Jack Kelly.
Leeds had managed mid table finishes over the previous two seasons,
but Copping was badly missed. In 1934-35 Leeds sank to 18th place,
though with only four points fewer than in the previous campaign.
But defensively there were some dreadful embarrassments: Middlesbrough
won 4-2 at Elland Road on the opening day, an 8-1 defeat at Stoke
in the second match of the season, a 6-3 defeat at West Bromwich
in November and a 7-1 thrashing at Chelsea in March - despite
Leeds having taken a 10th minute lead in the latter.
Leading striker Arthur Hydes was out until mid October and in
the first two games of the season, Ray experimented with Mills
at centre forward. He got both goals against Middlesbrough (his
only ones for the club), but he soon reverted to his more customary
right half position, having to cover for England international
Willis Edwards, who was
again struggling with injuries.
Young Bert Sproston got a good run in the side at right back
in place of George Milburn, but the other Milburn brother, Jack,
had a better season, now club penalty taker and slotting home
six. Jack had been on England's summer tour of Czechoslovakia
and Hungary, though he never appeared for his country, despite
a decade of great consistency at Elland Road.
Leeds had a couple of wins in September, but it was not until
Hydes returned to the team on October 20 that they started hitting
anything like real form. Hydes got five goals in his first three
games, two of which were won, and he continued in good form, scoring
22 times in 30 League games with another three in the Cup. Billy
Furness was an excellent foil for Hydes, hitting 16 goals in 34
appearances, with seven of those coming in the last six matches
of the season. The two were proving a real handful for defences,
but the Leeds defence was more problematic, conceding 8 at Stoke,
7 at Chelsea, 6 at West Bromwich Albion, and 4 against Middlesbrough,
Sunderland, Liverpool and Everton.
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It was a difficult winter at Elland Road and wins were few and
far between. The best came on January 5, with a hat trick from
Hydes the highlight of a 5-1 win over Blackburn. FA Cup defeat
at the hands of inferior opposition was the norm between the wars
for Leeds and this year was no different. They lost 2-1 in a Fourth
Round replay at home to Second Division Norwich.
Just over a month later, on March 5, Dick Ray ended his 30 year
association with Elland Road by resigning his £1,000 a week job
as manager, joining Second Division Bradford Park Avenue a month
later. The Board cast around desperately for a successor and quickly
appointed 52 year old Ashington boss Billy
Hampson as Ray's successor. Hampson had guested for Leeds
City during the First World War and had a ten year run as a full
back at Newcastle, winning an FA Cup medal in 1924, aged 41. He
had managed Third Division (North) side Carlisle for a few years
before moving to Ashington.
It was a baptism of fire for Hampson. By the time Leeds lost
7-1 at Chelsea's Stamford Bridge on March 16, they were starting
to get dragged into a fight against relegation. They looked comfortable
enough, but they were on the fringe of quite a scrap for survival,
with Huddersfield, Wolves, Birmingham, Middlesbrough, Leicester
and Tottenham all involved. Leeds still had to play a number of
those sides at Elland Road and their path to survival  was
in their own hands.
However, after the Chelsea defeat, they drew with Wolves, and
Leicester came away from Elland Road with a 2-0 win. There was
another home draw with Birmingham and then they lost the return
at St Andrews by 3-1. Their position was now starting to look
precarious, but they managed to turn things around with a 2-0
win at Preston, which left them safe. They "celebrated" by struggling
on the last day with bottom club Spurs at Elland Road, but managed
to win 4-3 and secure an end of season 18th place, a clear five
points above relegation. It had been a worrying time, but in the
end points in the bag had been enough to cushion against that
shaky run in. Billy Hampson breathed a huge sigh of relief and
prepared for a summer of change.
Other Football Highlights from 1934-35
- It wasn't so much a football match, more a pitched battle,
when England beat world champions Italy 3-2 at Highbury. Seven
Arsenal players, including former Leeds man Wilf Copping, were
in the England side for a game that will be forever known as
the Battle of Highbury, as a clash of cultures and styles resulted
in misunderstandings and open warfare
- Arsenal built another monument to the late Herbert
Chapman when they tied up their third consecutive League
title, emulating Huddersfield's feat in the 1920's, which was
also inspired by the great man. The Gunners finished a clear
four points above Sunderland
- In one of the most exciting finals seen for years, Ellis Rimmer
scored twice in the last three minutes to give Sheffield Wednesday
their first Cup victory since 1907 after a 4-2 win over West
Bromwich Albion
- Rangers won the Scottish League and Cup Double for the second
year running
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