Ted Drake trod the now well worn path to greatness from Southampton to North London when he joined Arsenal in March 1934 for £6500, scoring on his league debut against Wolves. Three years at Southampton had produced 48 goals in 74 appearances, 143 goals in 185 games would follow for The Gunners, and most celebrated among his feats is his 7 goals at Villa Park in December 1935, still an unequalled feat in top flight football. He scored 6 goals in his 5 England internationals between November 1934, scoring on his debut against Italy, and May 1938, when he scored twice in Paris against France, his other 3 goals being a hat-trick against Hungary at Highbury in December 1936. He scored an astonishing 42 goals in 41 league appearances in 1934-35 including 3 hat-tricks and 4 four goal hauls, and he scored the winner in the 1936 FA Cup Final against Sheffield United. He won the League Championship twice with Arsenal in 1935 and 1938 and the FA Cup in 1936. He continued to play for Arsenal in wartime football scoring 86 goals in 128 games but was forced to retire after being injured in 1945. After the War he spent 5 years as manager of Reading from 1947 to 1952, and 9 years as manager of Chelsea until 1961, winning the League Championship in 1955. In doing so, he became the first person to win the league title both as player and manager. He also played first class cricket for Hampshire from 1931 to 1936. An automatic inclusion in the Heroes list….