Football Ambassador: The Autobiography of an Arsenal Legend - Softcover

Hapgood, Eddie

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9780955921124: Football Ambassador: The Autobiography of an Arsenal Legend

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0955921120 ISBN 13: 9780955921124

Publisher: GCR Books, 2009

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A well-known photograph taken in 1937 shows our father, Eddie Hapgood, in a group of Arsenal players gathered around a television camera before the first televised game of professional football. Football footage, replayed countless times across our screens today, has changed modern expectations. In comparison, the black and white photographs of the great players of our father's era can seem static and the pre-war game a nostalgic memory.
Now we hope that this new edition of Football Ambassador will play its part in recreating the unique drama and achievement of the very different era when our father played. In the 1930s, the game had more physical contact than today, pitches lost their grass as the season progressed, and a player had to be strong just to head a waterlogged, laced-up leather football. There were no substitutes, so physical endurance and courage were at a premium. Yet, even in these difficult and demanding conditions, artistry of the highest level flourished. In these pages, the reader will also learn about the context for many footballing myths from the man who created them, whether leading the England team out in Rome in front of Mussolini, or resisting the order to give the Nazi salute in 1938 at the infamous Olympic Stadium in Berlin, where he led England to a 6-3 victory over Germany.
But Football Ambassador is much more than a historical document. Today, we can buy any number of football autobiographies. Football Ambassador, published in 1945, was the first. It is a remarkable account of the brilliant career of a slightly built Bristol boy who grew up to be the model footballer of his age and, in the judgement of many, the game's first modern footballer, a master of skill and tactics, a proven leader who was tough and brave. He tells his story with an energy and humour that reveals the qualities that made his fans and us, his family, love and admire him at home, in everyday life, and as the captain of Arsenal and England.
To our father, being a footballer meant being true to a whole code of honour - of loyalty and integrity, of striving for excellence, of overcoming physical challenges and pain by dedication and determination. His autobiography, Football Ambassador, tells some of the stories of a life lived by this code.

Tony, Lynne and Michael Hapgood

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From the Back Cover:

Signed by Herbert Chapman from Kettering Town for �950, Eddie Hapgood, the part-time milkman, joined Arsenal in 1927 and made a total of 440 appearances in both league and cup before retiring in 1944. In addition he captained England for 34 of his 43 international caps.

Football Ambassador was the first football autobiography and was written at the end of a long and successful career for both club and country.

Hapgood tells the story of his career, introduces the great players of his era and recounts his experiences with Arsenal and England with both honesty and a touch of humour.

Eddie Hapgood remains sixteenth on Arsenal's all-time appearance list, a central figure in the side that dominated English football in the 1930's, a true gentleman and an Arsenal legend.

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