7 February 1925 - Makes The Mata Deal Seem Tame By Comparison

On 7 February 1925, Albert Pape traveled to Manchester as a Clapton Orient player, but ended up scoring against them as a United player.

The forward had been with Orient since the start of the season, scoring 11 goals in 24 appearances. In February, he was with the team as they were preparing to make the trip up to Old Trafford. But before they left London, Orient boss Peter Proudfoot received a phone call from United manager John Chapman with an offer for Pape. The teams agreed to a fee of £1,070. Then, when the train arrived in Manchester, Pape met with United officials to agree to personal terms.

He joined his new team just a few minutes before kick-off and got off to a good start, scoring the third goal in United's 4-2 win.

Although one newspaper later called the deal "one of the greatest transfer hustles of all time," Pape made only 18 appearances and scored five goals as a United player before moving to Fulham at the start of the 1925-26 season.