{"id":50889,"date":"2024-11-16T18:37:46","date_gmt":"2024-11-16T18:37:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/?p=50889"},"modified":"2024-11-16T19:25:25","modified_gmt":"2024-11-16T19:25:25","slug":"arsenal-star-suspended-involved-with-betting-organisation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/?p=50889","title":{"rendered":"Arsenal Star Suspended – Involved With Betting Organisation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Proven Innocent Not Good Enough For The FA<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

\"\"In the mid-1920s a legendary Arsenal player was suspended by the Football Association in a bizarre episode that went on to play a part in four Arsenal directors, including chairman Henry Norris, being banned from the game for life.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In October 1924 the Athletic News reported that Jock Rutherford\u2019s name was being used on a betting coupon issued by Turf Betting Limited (TBL). This contravened the Football Association\u2019s rule 42 regarding active players being involved in gambling.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Athletic News 17 October 1924<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Two weeks later it was reported that Rutherford had issued a writ against TBL for using his name without his permission. Under normal circumstances the FA would have suspended Rutherford from playing pending an investigation, however as he had started legal action they accepted that it was likely he hadn\u2019t actually been involved with TBL.<\/p>\n

At the end of May 1925 Jock decided that, at the age of 40, his playing days were over and announced his retirement from the game and had decided to become a licenced victualler (i.e. running an off\u2011licence) in addition to owning his newsagent shop in Gillespie Road.<\/p>\n

Less than two months later Arsenal signed Charlie Buchan from Sunderland and Jock started to have second thoughts about his retirement. He fancied another season, forming a right-wing partnership with the 33 year-old Wearside legend, so he asked Arsenal\u2019s new manager, Herbert Chapman, if he would re-sign him. Despite his advancing years, Chapman was aware of Rutherford\u2019s age-defying vigour and was more than happy to oblige.<\/p>\n

Then the problems started.<\/p>\n

The FA refused to grant Rutherford\u2019s playing registration due to the ongoing dispute with TBL. On 9 August Arsenal chairman Sir Henry Norris stepped in and made a statement saying that the FA\u2019s actions were unfair:<\/p>\n

\"\"
Daily Chronicle 10 August 1925<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Norris\u2019s words fell on deaf ears and Rutherford\u2019s registration remained unsanctioned by the FA.<\/p>\n

The following month Jock sold his newsagent in Gillespie Road that he\u2019d owned since he joined Arsenal in 1913, and moved to Seaford on the south coast. This might have been seen as him deciding to quit the game but he confirmed that: \u201cI hope to be playing for The Arsenal again very shortly.\u201d This, despite him reaching the grand old age of 41 on 12 October.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Jock playing golf at Sleaford with his two sons (John jnr and Bernard)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Rutherford\u2019s day in court finally came on 29 October. It was an open and shut case as TPL\u2019s representative confirmed in a letter dated 2 October 1924 that they agreed that Rutherford\u2019s name shouldn\u2019t have been used on the coupons. Why the FA hadn\u2019t accepted this, heaven knows. He was awarded \u00a350 damages and costs (which would play a major part in a much bigger story 18 months later).<\/p>\n

\"\"
Daily Chronicle 30 October 1925<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So, that was it, all sorted. Except, it wasn\u2019t. Despite his vindication, as demanded by the FA, by 9 November they still refused to process his playing registration stating that their investigation was still ongoing.<\/p>\n

On 14 November, Rutherford\u2019s name appeared in the line-ups for the Arsenal game against Bury. It wasn\u2019t Jock, though. It was his son John (junior) who made his solitary appearance for the first team.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Arsenal v Bury programme (click on picture to read whole programme)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On 12 December 1925, an entry appeared in Arsenal\u2019s cashbook showing a payment of \u00a3147 8s 2d to Rodgers, Gilbert & Co, the solicitors that represented Rutherford in the court case against TPL. It appears that the costs awarded to Rutherford were not sufficient to pay his legal fees. Rutherford didn\u2019t have the money to pay the outstanding fees so the Arsenal directors agreed to pay them. Following an investigation by the FA in 1927, it was deemed that this payment was contrary to the rules of the FA and was one of the charges that the club was found guilty of, resulting in life bans being given to four directors<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Back to 1925 and the FA\u2019s investigation into Jock continued to rumble on. A decision was due on 12 December but that date came and went. Finally, on 11 January 1926, the FA came to a decision. The committee in charge of the investigation recommended that his playing registration be sanctioned forthwith but even then it was not straightforward. An amendment to the report proposed that he should be banned from playing and\/or managing in England sine die<\/em>, which went to a vote and was, thankfully, rejected.<\/p>\n

Five days later, Arsenal fans were treated to the Rutherford-Buchan right-wing combination in the 3-2 home win against Manchester United in which Buchan scored. Jock assisted one of Jimmy Brain\u2019s goals and also hit the post.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Click on image to read full programme<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Having been run through the mill for more than a year, it\u2019s a pity that Jock only played three more games for Arsenal\u2019s first team. In his final game against Manchester City on 20 March 1926 he was 41 years and 159 days old making him the oldest player to play in an Arsenal first team game, a record that still stands today and is unlikely to be beaten. Even then he wasn\u2019t finished as he joined Clapton Orient in August 1926, retiring at the end of the 1926-27 season and coming out of retirement again in 1928 to play for Tunbridge Wells Rangers. When he eventually retired for good he ran an off-licence at 19 Calabria Road which is now a caf\u00e9 named La Maison Highbury<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

Copies of our books\u00a0Royal Arsenal \u2013 Champions of the South<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Arsenal: The Complete Record 1886-2018<\/a>\u00a0are still available from the publishers.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Proven Innocent Not Good Enough For The FA In the mid-1920s a legendary Arsenal player was suspended by the Football…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p87inb-deN","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":35551,"url":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/?p=35551","url_meta":{"origin":50889,"position":0},"title":"Referee Beaten Unconscious by Arsenal fan","author":"arsenalcollection","date":"26 January 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The\u00a0Arsenal Crowd at Woolwich Referee JB Brodie knocked insensible by Woolwich Arsenal fan Manor Ground closed for 6 weeks If you cast your mind back to last season there was a lot of media talk about a pitch invasion in the FA Cup tie between, our opponents in the final,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Games"","block_context":{"text":"Games","link":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/?cat=649"},"img":{"alt_text":"Brodie Athletic News 10 Nov 1902 a","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Brodie-Athletic-News-10-Nov-1902-a-201x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":35560,"url":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/?p=35560","url_meta":{"origin":50889,"position":1},"title":"Arsenal Chairman Given Lifetime Football Ban","author":"arsenalcollection","date":"27 April 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"But not when most people think Sir Henry Norris. Depending on which team you support, Sir Henry was either Arsenal\u2019s saviour or the scourge of Tottenham. Even to some Arsenal fans he is thought of as a villain. Many of the negative stories about Sir Henry have been shown to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Directors"","block_context":{"text":"Directors","link":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/?cat=651"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sir Henry Norris","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/HNorris.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":35426,"url":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/?p=35426","url_meta":{"origin":50889,"position":2},"title":"How Arsenal’s Name Changed – Arsenal","author":"arsenalcollection","date":"28 April 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Andy Kelly and Mark Andrews In the fifth part of our series we look at a subtle change to The Arsenal's name that took place much earlier than many people believe. The Arsenal didn't manage to play any games under their new monicker before the Football Association suspended competitive\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"1919-20\"","block_context":{"text":"1919-20","link":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/?tag=1919-20"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/1919-12-06-Chelsea-H-FL-01.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/1919-12-06-Chelsea-H-FL-01.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/1919-12-06-Chelsea-H-FL-01.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":35425,"url":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/?p=35425","url_meta":{"origin":50889,"position":3},"title":"How Arsenal’s Name Changed – The Arsenal","author":"arsenalcollection","date":"23 April 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Andy Kelly and Mark Andrews We continue our series of Arsenal's name changes by explaining what happened following the move to Highbury. In this part, the word \"Woolwich\" is replaced with the word \"The\". In 1913 Woolwich Arsenal left South London and moved to Islington. The Islington Daily Gazette\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/1914-04-18-Clapton-Orient-H-FL-1914-04-20-Chelsea-H-SEL-02-Copy.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/1914-04-18-Clapton-Orient-H-FL-1914-04-20-Chelsea-H-SEL-02-Copy.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/1914-04-18-Clapton-Orient-H-FL-1914-04-20-Chelsea-H-SEL-02-Copy.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/1914-04-18-Clapton-Orient-H-FL-1914-04-20-Chelsea-H-SEL-02-Copy.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/1914-04-18-Clapton-Orient-H-FL-1914-04-20-Chelsea-H-SEL-02-Copy.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/1914-04-18-Clapton-Orient-H-FL-1914-04-20-Chelsea-H-SEL-02-Copy.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":35423,"url":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/?p=35423","url_meta":{"origin":50889,"position":4},"title":"How Arsenal’s Name Changed – Royal Arsenal","author":"arsenalcollection","date":"17 April 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Andy Kelly and Mark Andrews In this series we explain when and why the football club now known as Arsenal changed its name. 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Why?\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Dial Square"","block_context":{"text":"Dial Square","link":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/?cat=656"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/1892-09-03-Gainsborough-Trinity-H-FR.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/1892-09-03-Gainsborough-Trinity-H-FR.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/1892-09-03-Gainsborough-Trinity-H-FR.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":35424,"url":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/?p=35424","url_meta":{"origin":50889,"position":5},"title":"How Arsenal’s Name Changed – Woolwich Arsenal","author":"arsenalcollection","date":"20 April 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Andy Kelly and Mark Andrews In part 3 of our series we look at the events that led to Royal Arsenal Football Club morphing into Woolwich Arsenal Football Club. During the 1892-93 season the relationship between most of the Royal Arsenal committee and the club's landlord, George Weaver, began\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 1 comment","block_context":{"text":"With 1 comment","link":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/?p=35424#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Woolwich Arsenal Football And Athletic Company Limited Certificate of Incorporation 26 April 1893","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/1893-26-Apr-Cert-of-Incorp.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=50889"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50889\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50933,"href":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50889\/revisions\/50933"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=50889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=50889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=50889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}