Kevin Connolly
Kevin edited the Arsenal programme from August 1983 to November 1998. At that point he was the second longest serving Arsenal programme editor (he’s been surpassed by the incumbent, Andy Exley). He had previously been a reporter for Arsenal’s local newspaper, the Islington Gazette, and continued in that role until December 1985.
Kevin completely transformed the layout and the editorial content of the programme when he took over, featuring more news items and regular detailed pages about the reserve and youth teams. He certainly was a breath of fresh air and by turning it into more of a magazine, his stewardship often saw the club’s edition winning awards, including the accolade of ‘programme of the year’.
In this era Kevin also wrote the Arsenal handbooks, yearbooks and the well received `The Official Story of Arsenal`s Double Year` about the successful 1997-98 season.
Kevin kept himself to himself which means we have not been able to track down a photograph of him or details of what he did after he left Arsenal
Kevin died in early January 2023
Sources
Arsenal programme
A big thank you to Debs Wakeford for providing the photograph of Kevin.
Copies of our books Royal Arsenal – Champions of the South and Arsenal: The Complete Record 1886-2018 are still available from the publishers.
