4 April 1936 - Walker Beats The Wind

On 4 April 1936, Scotland claimed the British Home Championship with a late penalty kick against England at Wembley. And it took three tries.

Played before a crowd of 93,267, it was the last match of the tournament and the stakes were high; a win for either side would deliver the title, while Scotland could also win it with a draw. The hosts went ahead at the half-hour mark with a goal from striker George Camsell (playing in the seventh of his nine matches for England; he scored in all nine).

England held on desperately to the slim lead, but, in the 75th minute, captain Eddie Hapgood conceded a penalty. Scotland's 20-year old inside forward, Tommy Walker (pictured), volunteered to take the kick. He twice placed the ball on the spot only to see it twice blown away by the wind. With the stadium virtually silent, Walker again placed the ball, then coolly slotted it home.

The match ended as a 1-1 draw to give Scotland their 26th championship and first solely-held title since 1929.

26 October 1938 - England Conquers Europe

On 26 October 1938, Europe put together their first continental XI to challenge England. They lost 3-0.

England had split from FIFA ten years earlier over a dispute about payments for amateur players, but continued to play other nations in a series of friendlies, including a win over World Cup champions Italy in 1934 and a 6-3 pounding of Germany in Berlin during a May 1938 European tour. It is not clear what prompted the formation of that first European XI, but the match coincided with the 75th anniversary of the founding of England's Football Association.

45,000 people turned out to watch the teams at London's Highbury Stadium. England were led by captain Eddie Hapgood (pictured) and his Arsenal teammate Wilf Copping, but the side also included up-and-coming stars like Stoke's Stanley Matthews, who had scored a hat-trick against Czechoslovakia the previous year. Europe, meanwhile were led by Italian national Silvio Piola, who had scored twice in the Azzurri's 4-2 win over Hungary in the 1938 World Cup Final. The side included three other Italians, as well as players from Belgium, France, Norway, and Hungary.

England went up 2-0 by halftime, with goals from George Hall (20') and Thomas Lawton (39'), before Len Goulden finished the day's scoring in the 73rd minute to end the match at 3-0.

14 May 1938 - Hapgood Had The Right Idea

On 14 May 1938, England opened their European tour by defeating Germany 6-3 at Berlin's Olympic Stadium before a crowd of 110,000, including several high-ranking Nazi officials. But the match is best remembered for the political statement made by the English players, all of whom gave the infamous Nazi salute at the start of the match.

The salute was an effect of Britain's appeasement policy at the time, intended to show the Germans that England respected their sovereignty. To the players' credit, when first asked to give the salute, they refused. The request came from a Football Association official who entered the dressing room as the players were preparing for the match and asked them to give the salute during the playing of the German national anthem. According to inside-right Stanley Matthews "The dressing room erupted. There was bedlam. All the England players were livid and totally opposed to this, myself included. Everyone was shouting at once. Eddie Hapgood, normally a respected and devoted captain, wagged his finger at the official and told him what he could do with his Nazi salute, which involved putting it where the sun doesn't shine."

The official left the dressing room, but returned with a direct order from the British Ambassador to Germany, Sir Neville Henderson, who instructed the players to give the salute. Henderson informed them that the political relationship between England and Germany at the time was so sensitive that failure to show deference could be the "spark to set Europe alight."

Faced with the apparent choice between giving the salute and starting World War II, the English players (pictured above, in the white shirts) raised their arms. Less than sixteen months later, England and Germany were at war. The act drew fierce criticism from the British press and still does. The BBC recently called it "one of England's darkest moments in the sport."

17 February 1940 - Highbury Hits The Silver Screen

On 17 February 1940, The Arsenal Stadium Mystery opened in theaters across Britain. Directed by influential English filmmaker Thorold Dickinson, the movie was one of the first to include football in a prominent role.

The story follows Inspector Anthony Slade (played by Leslie Banks) as he attempts to solve the murder of a football player who died from poisoning while his amateur side, the fictitious Trojans, were playing a friendly against Arsenal at Highbury. The movie was actually filmed at Highbury, with several Arsenal players, including forward Cliff Bastin and full back Eddie Hapgood, playing parts. But of all the Gunners players and staff to appear in the film, only manager George Allison (pictured) had a speaking role.

To film scenes of the match between Arsenal and the Trojans, Dickinson shot footage of an actual league match between the Gunners and Brentford, played on 6 May 1939. In order to double as the Trojans, the Brentford players wore a special striped kit for the occasion.

The actual match ended as a 2-0 win for Arsenal. It was the last match for either side before the league suspended football for the duration of World War Two.