21 January 1997 - Shilton Finally Stops

On 21 January 1997, goalkeeper Peter Shilton played in his last match, setting the current League record of 1,005 appearances.

Shilton, who set the England cap record at 125 seven years earlier, started his club career in 1966 with Leicester City, where he soon ousted England's World Cup-winning keeper Gordon Banks. He went on to make 286 appearances for Leicester before leaving for Stoke City in 1974. There, he added another 110 appearances to his total, then moved on to Nottingham Forest (202), Southampton (188), and Derby County (175).

By the time he left Derby in 1992, his career was in decline, but he made another 34 appearances in three seasons for Plymouth Argyle. Between 1994 and 1996, he spent brief periods with Wimbledon, Bolton Wanderers, West Ham, and Coventry, but played in only a single League match for the lot of them.

In 1996, he joined Leyton Orient, where he made his last nine appearances. The final one was a Division Three contest at home against Wigan, but it wasn't a storybook ending for the 47-year old Shilton. The hosts took a first half lead with a goal from Scott McGleish (33'), but surrendered late strikes to Ian Kilford (62') and Graeme Jones (77') to lose 1-2.

1 November 1952 - They Can't Call Him "Jimmy Scarce" Anymore

On 1 November 1952, Gillingham's Jimmy Scarth entered the record books by scoring what was, at the time, the Football League's fastest hat-trick.

The accomplishment came in a Division Three (South) match against Leyton Orient, played at Gills' home ground, Priestfield Stadium. It was shaping up to be a dismal season for Gillingham, who on the day were sitting in 17th place out of 24 teams. Orient were right behind them in the 18th spot, giving the contest the appearance of an early relegation battle.

Scarth had just joined Gillingham that year from Tottenham. Although part of the Spurs side that won the League in 1951, Scarth never fully found his form at White Hart Lane, making only 7 league appearances (and scoring only 3 goals) between 1948 and 1952. Surprisingly, he matched that tally against Orient alone.

Initial reports record his hat-trick as coming in at 2 minutes and 30 seconds, the fastest in Football League history at the time. The record fell in 2004, when Bournemouth's James Hayter scored a hat-trick of his own in 2 minutes, 20 seconds. Subsequent reports claim that Scarth's goals spanned 2 minutes flat, but the League recognizes only the originally reported time.

15 July 1989 - The Death Of Laurie Cunningham

On 15 July 1989, 33-year old former Real Madrid winger Laurie Cunningham died in a car accident in Madrid. He had been the club's first English signing, which was one of many "firsts" throughout his fifteen-year professional career.

Born in London, Cunningham signed his first professional contract with Leyton Orient. He played there for three years before moving to West Bromwhich Albion, where he was joined by Cyrille Regis and, the next year, Brendon Batson to mark the first time an English side fielded three black players at the same time. Cunningham's pace and exciting style of play drew favorable attention and he became the first black player to represent England at any level when he played for the under-21s in a 1977 friendly. Two years later, he became the first black player fielded by the English senior side in a competitive match (Viv Anderson had played earlier for England, but in a friendly).

In the summer of 1979, he made his historic switch to Real Madrid for £950,000. He scored twice in his league debut against Valencia and also played well in both league matches against Barcelona as Real won La Liga and the Copa del Rey that season. The next season, he helped Real reach the European Cup Final, where they lost 1-0. But injuries soon impaired his ability and he went on loan to Manchester United (1982-83) and Sporting Gijon (1983-84) before transferring to Marseille in 1984.

With his pace reduced, he spent the remainder of his career as a wandering journeyman, spending time with Leicester City (1985-86), Rayo Vallecano (1986-87), Wimbledon (1987-88), and Charleroi (1987-88). He returned to Rayo Vallecano in 1988 and scored the goal that secured their promotion to the Spanish First Division for the 1989-90 season. He was looking forward to his return to Spain's top flight when he had the car crash that killed him.

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.

21 January 1997 - Shilton Finally Stops

On 21 January 1997, goalkeeper Peter Shilton played in his last match, setting the current League record of 1,005 appearances.

Shilton, who set the England cap record at 125 seven years earlier, started his club career in 1966 with Leicester City, where he soon ousted England's World Cup-winning keeper Gordon Banks. He went on to make 286 appearances for Leicester before leaving for Stoke City in 1974. There, he added another 110 appearances to his total, then moved on to Nottingham Forest (202), Southampton (188), and Derby County (175).

By the time he left Derby in 1992, his career was in decline, but he made another 34 appearances in three seasons for Plymouth Argyle. Between 1994 and 1996, he spent brief periods with Wimbledon, Bolton Wanderers, West Ham, and Coventry, but played in only a single League match for the lot of them.

In 1996, he joined Leyton Orient, where he made his last nine appearances. The final one was a Division Three contest at home against Wigan, but it wasn't a storybook ending for the 47-year old Shilton. The hosts took a first half lead with a goal from Scott McGleish (33'), but surrendered late strikes to Ian Kilford (62') and Graeme Jones (77') to lose 1-2.

1 November 1952 - They Can't Call Him "Jimmy Scarce" Anymore

On 1 November 1952, Gillingham's Jimmy Scarth entered the record books by scoring what was, at the time, the Football League's fastest hat-trick.

The accomplishment came in a Division Three (South) match against Leyton Orient, played at Gills' home ground, Priestfield Stadium. It was shaping up to be a dismal season for Gillingham, who on the day were sitting in 17th place out of 24 teams. Orient were right behind them in the 18th spot, giving the contest the appearance of an early relegation battle.

Scarth had just joined Gillingham that year from Tottenham. Although part of the Spurs side that won the League in 1951, Scarth never fully found his form at White Hart Lane, making only 7 league appearances (and scoring only 3 goals) between 1948 and 1952. Surprisingly, he matched that tally against Orient alone.

Initial reports record his hat-trick as coming in at 2 minutes and 30 seconds, the fastest in Football League history at the time. The record fell in 2004, when Bournemouth's James Hayter scored a hat-trick of his own in 2 minutes, 20 seconds. Subsequent reports claim that Scarth's goals spanned 2 minutes flat, but the League recognizes only the originally reported time.

15 July 1989 - The Death Of Laurie Cunningham

On 15 July 1989, 33-year old former Real Madrid winger Laurie Cunningham died in a car accident in Madrid. He had been the club's first English signing, which was one of many "firsts" throughout his fifteen-year professional career.

Born in London, Cunningham signed his first professional contract with Leyton Orient. He played there for three years before moving to West Bromwhich Albion, where he was joined by Cyrille Regis and, the next year, Brendon Batson to mark the first time an English side fielded three black players at the same time. Cunningham's pace and exciting style of play drew favorable attention and he became the first black player to represent England at any level when he played for the under-21s in a 1977 friendly. Two years later, he became the first black player fielded by the English senior side in a competitive match (Viv Anderson had played earlier for England, but in a friendly).

In the summer of 1979, he made his historic switch to Real Madrid for £950,000. He scored twice in his league debut against Valencia and also played well in both league matches against Barcelona as Real won La Liga and the Copa del Rey that season. The next season, he helped Real reach the European Cup Final, where they lost 1-0. But injuries soon impaired his ability and he went on loan to Manchester United (1982-83) and Sporting Gijon (1983-84) before transferring to Marseille in 1984.

With his pace reduced, he spent the remainder of his career as a wandering journeyman, spending time with Leicester City (1985-86), Rayo Vallecano (1986-87), Wimbledon (1987-88), and Charleroi (1987-88). He returned to Rayo Vallecano in 1988 and scored the goal that secured their promotion to the Spanish First Division for the 1989-90 season. He was looking forward to his return to Spain's top flight when he had the car crash that killed him.