3 February 1960 - Spurs Cruise Over Crewe

On 3 February 1960, Tottenham Hotspur secured their record win, a 13-2 victory over Crewe Alexandra in a Fourth Round FA Cup replay. It is also Crewe's record loss.

The fact that the tie had gone to a replay was surprising, since, at the time of the original match, Crewe were sitting 16th in Division Four--83 places below Spurs, who were at the top of the First Division. But Crewe managed to hold the league leaders to a 2-2 draw on 30 January, forcing a replay at White Hart Lane.

There, the hosts wasted no time in establishing their dominance. By the 30th minute, Spurs had a 6-1 lead which they extended to 10-1 by the break en route to the final score of 13-2. Inside forward Les Allen had the day's highest tally with 5, followed by center forward Bobby Smith (4), winger Cliff Jones (3), and inside forward Tommy Harmer (1).

Unfortunately, Spurs were not as prolific in the next round where they lost to Blackburn, 1-3. They got their reward the following season, however, winning a league and FA Cup double (including another Fourth Round victory over Crewe in the FA Cup by the relatively modest score of 5-1).

1 February 1936 - The Floodgates Opened

On 1 February 1936, the sides in the four levels of the English pyramid set a collective League record by scoring (or conceding) a total of 209 goals in a single day. Nine players scored hat-tricks and three players bagged four goals each.

The goals were scored in 44 different matches, for an average of 4.75 goals per match. Highlights included Chester City's 12-0 win over York City and Chesterfield's 5-6 win at Crewe Alexandra, both of which were in Division Three North. In the top flight, Brentford rolled over Wolves 5-0 and West Brom flooded Liverpool 6-1, while the largest margin of victory in Division Two was West Ham's 6-0 win over Bury. The only scoreless League match that day was Aldershot's 0-0 draw with Bristol City in Division Three South.

Division One's last place team Aston Villa delivered the day's biggest upset by beating hosts Derby County, then in second place, by the score of 1-3. The win did little to change Villa's fortunes, however, as they finished second from bottom are were relegated to Division Two.

11 October 1958 - "Now Out Of This Nettle, Danger, Did He Pluck The Flower, Safety."

On 11 October 1958, Tottenham Hotspur defeated Everton 10-4 at White Hart Lane. It was the first match in charge for new manager Bill Nicholson, who had just been appointed that afternoon.

Nicholson got his start with Spurs in 1936 working for the grounds staff. In 1938, he signed a professional contract with them and spent his entire career with the London club, making 214 league appearances before hanging up his boots in 1955.

He joined the Tottenham coaching staff in 1955 and was the first-team coach in 1958 when then-manager Jimmy Anderson was sacked. At the time, Spurs were sixth from bottom of the First Division table. They finished the season at fifth from bottom, but Nicholson eventually turned the club around, winning the Double in 1961.

Nicholson went on to become one of Tottenham's most successful managers, winning two more FA Cups (1962, 1967), two League Cups (1971, 1973), the European Cup Winners' Cup (1963), and the UEFA Cup (1972). He took Spurs to the 1974 UEFA Cup Final, where they lost to Feyenoord, and resigned shortly afterward.

He was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2003 and passed away the following year.

Nicholson's 10-4 debut victory over Everton was a club record at the time, but was broken the next season when Spurs defeated Crewe Alexandra 13-2 in the FA Cup on 3 February 1960.

8 July 1941 - A Beacon Of Stability In An Otherwise Turbulent Profession

On 8 July 1941, Dario Gradi, future football manager and Member of the Order of the British Empire, was born in Milan.

Gradi's father died when he was very young and Gradi, along with his English mother, moved to London after the end World War II. He had an undistinguished spell as a professional footballer, playing for Sutton United and Tooting & Mitcham United before turning to a career in management. His first managerial position was as assistant coach at Chelsea in 1971.

From 1971 to 1983, he coached at several other clubs, including Sutton United, Derby County, and Wimbledon as an assistant coach, then as a full manager at Wimbledon and Crystal Palace.

In 1983, he moved to Crewe Alexandra, a club that had spent the previous two decades toiling in the Football League's bottom division. He led them to promotion in 1989. They were relegated two years later, but were promoted again in 1994 and then advanced to the second-tier Division One in 1997, where they remained until 2002.

Gradi retired from management on 1 July 2007 after 24 years and 1,244 matches in charge of Crewe Alexandra. At the time of his retirement, he was the longest-serving manager in English football. In recognition of his contribution to the game, he was admitted in 2004 to the English Football Hall of Fame.

He is currently Crewe Alexandra's director of football.