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But Football Ambassador is much more than a historical document.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.