Aussie
Established Member
"The first person in to a tackle never gets hurt"
Wilf Copping was one of the first ever footballers to take this motto into full effect. Despite the attitude Wilf often found himself injured however it is then that the true character of the man shone through. He simply pushed on in situations where it would have been no shame to sit the rest of the game out; this is in the days before substitutions. He was the iron man and the original hard man of English football and still arguably is the best there has ever been.
Wilf was playing on a part time basis and working as a miner when Leeds United signed him as a 19 year old in 1929. He would get his chance at Leeds through injuries and he never looked back. Despite being relegated that season Wilf was excellent for Leeds and the next season he would play a crucial role as they came straight back up to the first division. The following year he continued to take his game to new levels and was rewarded with a England cap in the May of 1933, a one all draw against Italy.
With Arsenal now looking to replace the aging Bob John legendary Arsenal manager Herbert Chapman is supposed to have said "That’s the man for me" and he began negotiations with Leeds United. However sadly Chapman passed away on the 6th of January 1934 and it was left up to George Alison to complete the deal. It took 8,000 Pounds to bring Chapman to Highbury.
Copping came straight into the Arsenal team the following season. While a regular visitor to the physio room Copping would only miss two games for the season after sustaining a serious knee injury against Everton. The Arsenal Keeper Frank Moss injured his shoulder and was forced to switch to the Left Wing with Eddie Hapgood replacing him in goals. Copping then picked up a serious knee injury but refused to leave the field and fought on with a tightly bandaged knee. Amazingly Arsenal got up and won 2-0 a crucial result with Copping seeing out the 90 minutes. However he came close to fainting with the pain when the bandage was removed from his knee and he would miss the rest of the season. However his heroic efforts helped Arsenal win the game and eventually the title by four points.
In the modern day somewhere in between getting the kit on and receiving final words from the manager the majority of the players find the time to have themselves looking very well groomed, hair done and all. For Wilf however it was the opposite. Boxers nose, unshaved, his stubble on his face had a bluish metal look to it hence earning the name the iron man. He looked the hardman and would unnerve opposition players even before getting stuck in. The discussion has always been had down the pub which past Arsenal player would you want in the team today. Brady, George, McLintock, Adams etc are of course the regulars. However one would be tempted to unleash Copping on games against Bolton and the like. He is seen by many as the minder of the Arsenal teams of the 30's. His presence alone on the pitch was enough to scare the opposition enough so they knew they couldn’t take liberties with our stars.
There have been hard men in football before and then there have been the skillful but more likely to duck out of challenge players but its rare that you will find the complete mix of both. Copping was that. His passing was superb and allowed the Arsenal teams of the 30's to turn defense into attack at the blink of an eye. He would never waste the ball and was known for his longs throws which became as lethal as a corner.
These days it’s not rare for Arsenal to field a team where not one member is English let alone have an English international on the pitch. However clearly that wasn’t always the case and Arsenal fielded seven of the players that would play against the current World Champions in Italy in a supposedly "friendly" game however it would become known as "The Battle of Highbury". It turned out to be the type of game where players like Copping flourished. England would eventually come out 3-2 victors in a bad tempered game and had certain Italian players complaining that Copping was playing in a "over vigorous manner". Eddie Hapgood described the game as the dirtiest he had ever played in. That night every English player was given sleeping pills and pain killers. Going through the extensive injury list Copping is just listed as "sore thigh" despite having one leg bandaged from top to bottom.
Copping then won the FA Cup the following year with Arsenal knocking Sheffield United off in the final. In the following two seasons Wilf continued to stamp his dominance on the English game as Arsenal came third and then once again won the title in 1936-37. Then perhaps coming in to his best years in the March of 1939 and after five very successful years at Arsenal he handed in a transfer request to the Arsenal manager Tom Whittaker. He wanted to get his wife and kids back up North before war began and Arsenal lost one of its greatest ever players back to his original club Leeds United.
Wilf reached the rank of Company Sergeant Major and served in North Africa during the war. After the war he became a trainer at various clubs including Bristol City and Coventry. Wilf Passed away in June 1980 but his performances in an Arsenal shirt will never be forgotten. While one of the hardest players going around in over 340 games he never received a booking however that may be a different story in the modern day. Copping recently was nominated as one of the top 100 British footballers of the last century. An accolade well deserved and he will always be remembered by Arsenal fans as one of the most important members of the Arsenal teams of the 30's that took football to a new level.
Wilf Copping was one of the first ever footballers to take this motto into full effect. Despite the attitude Wilf often found himself injured however it is then that the true character of the man shone through. He simply pushed on in situations where it would have been no shame to sit the rest of the game out; this is in the days before substitutions. He was the iron man and the original hard man of English football and still arguably is the best there has ever been.
Wilf was playing on a part time basis and working as a miner when Leeds United signed him as a 19 year old in 1929. He would get his chance at Leeds through injuries and he never looked back. Despite being relegated that season Wilf was excellent for Leeds and the next season he would play a crucial role as they came straight back up to the first division. The following year he continued to take his game to new levels and was rewarded with a England cap in the May of 1933, a one all draw against Italy.
With Arsenal now looking to replace the aging Bob John legendary Arsenal manager Herbert Chapman is supposed to have said "That’s the man for me" and he began negotiations with Leeds United. However sadly Chapman passed away on the 6th of January 1934 and it was left up to George Alison to complete the deal. It took 8,000 Pounds to bring Chapman to Highbury.
Copping came straight into the Arsenal team the following season. While a regular visitor to the physio room Copping would only miss two games for the season after sustaining a serious knee injury against Everton. The Arsenal Keeper Frank Moss injured his shoulder and was forced to switch to the Left Wing with Eddie Hapgood replacing him in goals. Copping then picked up a serious knee injury but refused to leave the field and fought on with a tightly bandaged knee. Amazingly Arsenal got up and won 2-0 a crucial result with Copping seeing out the 90 minutes. However he came close to fainting with the pain when the bandage was removed from his knee and he would miss the rest of the season. However his heroic efforts helped Arsenal win the game and eventually the title by four points.
In the modern day somewhere in between getting the kit on and receiving final words from the manager the majority of the players find the time to have themselves looking very well groomed, hair done and all. For Wilf however it was the opposite. Boxers nose, unshaved, his stubble on his face had a bluish metal look to it hence earning the name the iron man. He looked the hardman and would unnerve opposition players even before getting stuck in. The discussion has always been had down the pub which past Arsenal player would you want in the team today. Brady, George, McLintock, Adams etc are of course the regulars. However one would be tempted to unleash Copping on games against Bolton and the like. He is seen by many as the minder of the Arsenal teams of the 30's. His presence alone on the pitch was enough to scare the opposition enough so they knew they couldn’t take liberties with our stars.
There have been hard men in football before and then there have been the skillful but more likely to duck out of challenge players but its rare that you will find the complete mix of both. Copping was that. His passing was superb and allowed the Arsenal teams of the 30's to turn defense into attack at the blink of an eye. He would never waste the ball and was known for his longs throws which became as lethal as a corner.
These days it’s not rare for Arsenal to field a team where not one member is English let alone have an English international on the pitch. However clearly that wasn’t always the case and Arsenal fielded seven of the players that would play against the current World Champions in Italy in a supposedly "friendly" game however it would become known as "The Battle of Highbury". It turned out to be the type of game where players like Copping flourished. England would eventually come out 3-2 victors in a bad tempered game and had certain Italian players complaining that Copping was playing in a "over vigorous manner". Eddie Hapgood described the game as the dirtiest he had ever played in. That night every English player was given sleeping pills and pain killers. Going through the extensive injury list Copping is just listed as "sore thigh" despite having one leg bandaged from top to bottom.
Copping then won the FA Cup the following year with Arsenal knocking Sheffield United off in the final. In the following two seasons Wilf continued to stamp his dominance on the English game as Arsenal came third and then once again won the title in 1936-37. Then perhaps coming in to his best years in the March of 1939 and after five very successful years at Arsenal he handed in a transfer request to the Arsenal manager Tom Whittaker. He wanted to get his wife and kids back up North before war began and Arsenal lost one of its greatest ever players back to his original club Leeds United.
Wilf reached the rank of Company Sergeant Major and served in North Africa during the war. After the war he became a trainer at various clubs including Bristol City and Coventry. Wilf Passed away in June 1980 but his performances in an Arsenal shirt will never be forgotten. While one of the hardest players going around in over 340 games he never received a booking however that may be a different story in the modern day. Copping recently was nominated as one of the top 100 British footballers of the last century. An accolade well deserved and he will always be remembered by Arsenal fans as one of the most important members of the Arsenal teams of the 30's that took football to a new level.
