21 January 2012 - Deuce With A Triple

On 21 January 2012, Clint Dempsey became the first American to score a hat-trick in the Premier League, lifting Fulham to a 5-2 win over Newcastle.

A striker/midfielder, Dempsey--nicknamed "Deuce"--was in his sixth year with the London club, having joined them in January 2007 in a deal worth a reported £2M. He quickly established himself as a regular in the starting eleven, making over forty appearances in each of the next five seasons.

Midway through the 2011-12 season, Fulham were struggling in the bottom half of the table while Newcastle were challenging for a European spot. Newcastle won the first meeting 2-1 at St. James' Park back in August. So the odds were stacked against Fulham in the return fixture at Craven Cottage.

The match went according to form in the first half, with the visitors going up 0-1 after a Fulham error led to a 43rd-minute goal from Newcastle midfielder Danny Guthrie. But the hosts roared back in the second half, drawing level with a penalty kick from Danny Murphy in the 52nd minute, then going ahead with a pair of Dempsey goals (59', 65'). Another Fulham penalty, scored by Bobby Zamora in the 68th minute, stretched the lead to 4-1.

Newcastle's Hatem Ben Arfa closed the gap to 4-2 in the 85th minute, but Dempsey completed his hat-trick four minutes later to restore the three-goal lead and end the day at 5-2.

Dempsey went on to score a career high 23 goals in all competitions that season before moving to Tottenham in August 2012 for a reported fee of around £6M.

20 January 1974 - A Match Made In Heaven

On 20 January 1974, English teams played league football on a Sunday for the first time.

The FA, along with several clubs and players, had expressed support for Sunday matches earlier in the season, hoping that the move would help improve declining attendances, but they faced a couple of substantial obstacles. The Sunday Observances Act, for one, barred the selling of tickets on Sundays. In addition, many in the public opposed Sunday football on religious grounds.

But by January 1974, attendances continued to decline, driven in part by a ban on floodlights that stemmed from the worldwide energy crisis, prompting the FA to approve the playing of four third-round FA Cup matches on Sunday, 6 January. In order to get around the Sunday Observances Act, the clubs sold programs, which were used instead of tickets to gain access to the games.

Those FA Cup matches drew large crowds, convincing the Football League to move forward as well using the same admission-by-program scheme. While some clubs--including all First Division clubs--declined to participate, citing religious reasons, that first league Sunday hosted a total of twelve matches, three each in Divisions Two and Three and six in Division Four. Nine of those games reported their biggest crowds of the season.

The first Sunday league goal was scored by Millwall's Brian Clark in their 1-0 win over Fulham. 

Despite the success of Sunday games, opposition remained strong and it took several more years before Sunday football became a regular feature in the league.

15 December 2001 - Ferdinand Hits The Jackpot

On 15 December 2001, Tottenham striker Les Ferdinand scored the Premier League's 10,000th goal, helping to deliver a win for his team and £10,000 to charity.

The milestone goal came during a match against Fulham at White Hart Lane in the Premier League's tenth season. Ferdinand, who had been a prolific scorer at QPR and Newcastle, was in his fifth year with Spurs, but had failed to recapture his previous form. He scored ten goals for Tottenham across all competitions in the 2000-01 campaign, the first time he had cracked double digits for them.

Against Fulham, however, he got off to a quick start, scoring in the 20th minute to put Spurs up 1-0. Thanks to the Tottenham defense--anchored by goalkeeper Neil Sullivan, who kept a clean sheet--it was the only goal they needed, but they got a trio of insurance goals from Darren Anderton (40', from a Ferdinand assist), Simon Davies (71'), and Sergei Rebrov to set the final margin at 4-0.

To commemorate the landmark goal, the Premier League awarded Ferdinand £10,000 for donation to the charity of his choice. He selected two cancer charities, splitting the money evenly between them.

23 September 1986 - Liverpool Takes Ten

On 23 September 1986, Liverpool matched a League Cup record, beating Fulham 10-0 in the first leg of their second round meeting.

The defending league champions, Liverpool had dominated the competition over the previous years, winning it four straight times between 1981 and 1984. They were looking to return to those winning ways after suffering a third-round loss to Tottenham in the 1984-95 season and elimination by Queens Park Rangers in the 1985-86 semifinals.

They entered the 1986-87 tournament in the second round, where they hosted Fulham at Anfield for the first leg. The match was played on a Tuesday, drawing a small crowd of only 13,498. Those that turned up, however, were treated to a scoring explosion. Ian Rush provided the first in just the eight minute, followed by goals from John Wark (10', 63'), Ronnie Whelan (28'), Steve McMahon (44', 66', 71', 79'), and another from Rush (76').

Steve Nicol provided the final goal in the 83rd minute to set the final margin at 10-0, matching the record for the highest single-game margin of victory in the League Cup, set by West Ham's win over Bury by the same score in 1983.

Liverpool went on to win the second leg 203 and kept up their level of play to advance all the way to the final before falling to Arsenal 2-1.

19 December 2002 - Rowley Rests In Peace

On 19 December 2002, striker Arthur Rowley died at the age of 76. His career total of 434 goals remains an English league record.

Born in Wolverhampton in 1926, Rowley began his professional career in 1944 with West Brom. He failed to settle at the Hawthorns, however, and moved to Fulham in 1948. There, his 19 goals helped the Cottagers win the Second Division, but his scoring touch left him in the top flight and Fulham sold him on to Leicester City in 1950.

He flourished at Leicester, knocking in 28 goals in his first season there. In his second season, he increased his tally to 38, then raised it again the next year to 41. In all, he scored a total of 265 goals in 321 appearances for the Foxes, making him their second all-time leading scorer, behind Arthur Chandler (273 in 419 appearances). His best season was 1956-57, when his total of 44 set a club record for a single season.

In the summer of 1958, Leicester manager Dave Halliday sold Rowley to Shrewsbury as player-manager (an unpopular move among Leicester fans and one that contributed to Halliday's sacking later that year). Rowley continued to score in waves, netting 38 times in his first season there--and setting another club record for single season. By the time he retired from playing in 1965, he was the club's all-time leading scorer with 152 league goals.

He remained with Shrewsbury as manager for another three years and later took charge of Sheffield United (1968-69), Southend United (1970-76), and Knighton Town (1976) before retiring for good.

13 September 2006 - A Big Bid For A Bit Of Best

On 13 September 2006, a shirt worn by George Best in a record-breaking performance sold at auction for £24,000.

The shirt in question was the one worn by Best for Manchester United in a Fifth Round FA Cup match against Northampton Town on 7 February 1970. United won 2-8 with Best providing six of the goals, a record haul for the competition at the time. In 1996, a participant in a newspaper competition won the shirt as a prize, then held on to it for 10 years before putting it up for auction at Christie's, where it was expected to fetch between £20,000 and £30,000. Several bidders attempted to claim it and it eventually went to an anonymous buyer.

The auction included other football memorabilia, including the Fulham shirt worn by Bobby Moore in his last English league match (£3,600) and the 1970 FA Cup winners' medal awarded to Chelsea captain Ron Harris (£13,200). The day's biggest disappointment was the shirt worn by Brazilian midfielder Rivelino in the 1970 World Cup. Although Christie's expected the shirt to go for somewhere between £25,000 and £35,000, it failed to find a buyer.

29 March 2008 - A New Low For Derby County

On 29 March 2008, a 2-2 draw with Fulham guaranteed Derby County's relegation--the earliest such guarantee in the history of the Premier League.

Derby had earned promotion to the Premier League the year before under new manager Billy Davies, who had joined the club in June 2006. But they struggled in the top flight, winning only one match all season (a 1-0 victory over Newcastle on 17 September). They dropped into last place in the fourth week, then rose to 19th before getting pinned to the bottom again in the eleventh week and staying there for the remainder of the season. Billy Davies left the club in November, replaced by Paul Jewell.

They entered the match against Fulham with only 10 points, 17 points shy of safety. With only seven games left, Derby needed a win to preserve any hope of survival. And Fulham were ideal opponents, as they were in the relegation zone themselves, only one spot above Derby.

Derby struck first with a 10th-minute goal from Emanuel Villa, but the visiting Cottagers claimed the lead after a header from Diomansy Kamara (24') and an own-goal from Derby's Dean Leacock (78'). Villa salvaged a point for Derby with a late goal in the 80th minute, but it was too little to save their season. They were 19 points from safety with only six matches remaining, thus ensuring their drop from the top flight. It is the earliest in the season that any team has been mathematically relegated, breaking the previous record set by Sunderland on 12 April 2003.

And it was Derby's last point of the season. They lost all of their remaining games to finish with 11 points, the lowest points total since Stoke City finished with 17 in 1985 and a record low since the league went to three points for a win.

18 March 2010 - Juventus Get Their Fill Of Fulham

On 18 March 2010, Fulham rallied from a 4-1 aggregate deficit to beat Juventus in the Europa Cup, 5-4.

It was only Fulham's second appearance in a UEFA competition, but they beat several more experienced sides on the way to their meeting with Juventus, including group-stage wins over Basel (twice) and CSKA Sofia, plus a knockout round aggregate victory over Shakhtar Donetsk.

They lost their first leg against Juventus in Turin on 11 March, 3-1, presenting an uphill battle for the second leg at Craven Cottage. That hill became a little steeper in just the second minute, as Juventus striker David Trezeguet scored to extend their aggregate lead to 4-1.

Fulham got a lifeline seven minutes later with a goal from striker Bobby Zamora, then caught a break when Juventus defender Fabio Cannavaro received a straight red card for a cynical foul on Zoltán Gera in the 27th minute. Gera made Juventus pay in the 39th minute, scoring from two yards out to narrow the aggregate margin to 4-3. Shortly after the break, Gera brought Fulham level when the referee awarded a 49th-minute penalty for a Juventus handball. Then, in the 83rd minute, with extra-time looming, Fulham substitute Clint Dempsey unleashed an arcing shot from outside the penalty area that flew into the top far corner of the net. It was a remarkable goal and sealed the victory.

Fulham eventually reached the tournament final where they fell to Atlético Madrid.

10 March 1905 - Turns Out, They've Got Quite A Bit Of History

On 10 March 1905, Chelsea FC were founded at the Rising Sun pub in Fulham. They've since become one of England's most successful clubs.

The club's story starts with Gus Mears. In 1904, he purchased the Stamford Bridge ground in Fulham which was, to that point, the home of the London Athletics Club. Mears planned to redevelop the ground into a state-of-the art football facility, with the intent of hosting the area's existing local team, Fulham FC. But Fulham were not interested, so Mears decided to start his own club instead. Meeting at the pub across from the grounds entrance, he chose the name Chelsea after the neighboring borough.

The new club joined the Football League's Second Division that first year, then went on to win their first promotion two years later. They took their first major honor in 1955, winning the league. They added several other trophies through the latter part of the 20th century, including three FA Cups (1970, 1997, 2000), two League Cups (1965, 1998) and two Cup Winners' Cups (1971, 1998).

But their most successful period to date started with 2003-04 season after their acquisition by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich. Since then, they have finished as league champions four times (2005, 2006, 2010, 2015). They've also won four more FA Cups (2007, 2009, 2010, 2012), three more League Cups (2005, 2007, 2015), and won the Champions League (2012).

6 February 1965 - He Brought A Lot Of Experience To The Team

On 6 February 1965, Sir Stanley Matthews made the last of his 704 English league appearances. He was 50 years old.

A talented outside right forward known equally for his sportsmanship and dedication to fitness, Matthews played in England for an incredible 30 seasons. He spent the first 11 of them with Stoke City, joining the Potters in 1931 when they were in the Second Division and helping lead them to promotion in 1933. In 1947, at the age of 32, he moved to Blackpool for a fee of £11,500.

There, partnered with center forward Stan Mortensen, he advanced to the 1948 FA Cup Final, but lost. After finishing as runners-up again in 1951, they finally claimed the Cup in 1953 with a dramatic 4-3 win over Bolton in a match that has been dubbed "the Matthews Final" (even though Mortensen scored three of Blackpool's goals).

In 1961, the then-46 year old Matthews returned to Stoke, who had fallen back into the Second Division in his absence. He again helped them earn promotion in 1963, making 31 appearances that year. But age began to take its toll at last and he was reduced to 9 appearances in 1963-64 and had not played at all in the 1964-65 season until called upon for the match against Fulham on 6 February.

He took the field at 50 years old--the oldest player to appear in the English top flight--and lifted Stoke to a 3-1 victory. It was his only appearance of the season, after which he became the manager of Maltese side Hibernians.

17 January 1970 - Haynes Makes His Fulham Farewell

On 17 January 1970, Fulham icon Johnny Haynes played his last match for the London club, a 1-1 home draw with Stockport County.

Dubbed "the Maestro," Haynes started his professional career with Fulham in 1952. Before his departure in 1970, he made a club record 658 appearances and scored a then-record haul of 158 goals (later surpassed by Gordon Davies in 1991). Haynes, however, preferred creating goal opportunities to scoring them and was once described by Pelé as "the best passer of the ball I've ever seen." He broke yet another record in 1961 when Fulham made him the first player in England to earn a weekly wage of £100.

Fulham were in the Second Division when Haynes joined the club. He helped them earn promotion to the top flight in 1959 on the heels of his 26 league goals, a career best. But after 9 seasons in the First Division, they suffered back-to-back relegations and played Haynes' last season in Division Three.

After leaving Fulham, he spent five seasons in South Africa before retiring. After his death from a brain hemorrhage in 2005, Fulham renamed a stand a Craven Cottage in his honor and also retired his number 10 shirt. Three years later, the club unveiled a statute of Haynes outside the stadium.

12 November 2004 - To Be Fair, Marlet Was Crap

On 12 November 2004, former Fulham manager Jean Tigana won a legal claim against the club and owner Mohammed Al Fayed entitling him to £2.5 million in compensation.

Tigana (pictured) had taken over at Fulham, then in Division One, in July 2000 and earned promotion to the Premier League in his first season. In his second season, Tigana made some expensive additions to the squad, including goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar (£7 million) and striker Steve Marlet (£11.5 million), in an effort to preserve the club's top-flight status. But by his third season, Fulham were struggling to avoid relegation, due in part to poor performances from Marlet, leading Al Fayed to sack Tigana in April 2003.

Fulham later sued Tigana, claiming he had "grossly overpaid" for van der Sar and Marlet by an approximate total of £7 million (and suggesting he had taken a portion of the excess in kickbacks). Tigana countered with a lawsuit of his own, alleging breach of contract.

The High Court considered Al Fayed's testimony to be unreliable and ruled in favor of Tigana, finding that he had "behaved properly and conscientiously in his dealings with Fulham." The ruling entitled Tigana to an award of over £2.5 million from Fulham in share options and other compensation. 

12 March 1973 - Pelé Comes To London

On 12 March 1973, Pelé and Santos FC visited London for a friendly against Second Division Fulham. And lost 2-1.

Although Pelé had been in England with Brazil for the 1966 World Cup, all of Brazil's matches had been played at Goodison Park, making the Fulham match his first in the English capital. His Santos teammates that day included fellow 1970 World Cup winners Carlos Alberto and Edú.

A season-high crowd of 21,464 turned out at Craven Cottage for the game. Pelé, who was already an established international star, was the center of attention, receiving rounds of applause every time he touched of the ball. But Edú turned in the most impressive performance for the visitors with a combination of speed and style.

Santos went ahead with a penalty kick from Pelé, who slipped the ball past Fulham keeper Peter Mellor, but the Cottagers fought back. Midfielder Alan Pinkney, not generally known as a scorer, provided the equalizer, while striker Steve Earle scored the winning goal. It was a hard-fought victory for the hosts; post-match reports described the Fulham players as looking exhausted, while the Brazilians appeared to have barely broken a sweat.

Afterward, a dispute arose between the two clubs, as Santos believed that Fulham had short-changed them on their percentage of the gate. Any animosity between Fulham and Pelé did not last, though, as he later went on to scout for the club in 2002.

24 February 1993 - Bobby Moore No More

On 24 February 1993, 51-year old England and West Ham United legend Bobby Moore died from bowel cancer.

Moore began his professional career in 1958 with West Ham, where he would stay for just over 15 seasons. Despite having fairly average physical talents, he was gifted with an uncanny ability to read the game and anticipate where the ball was going. That, combined with his impeccable timing, made him one of England's top defenders. He earned his first cap for England at 21, and at 22, became the youngest person to captain the English senior side.

He got his first silverware in 1964, when he led the Hammers to the FA Cup trophy, also earning personal accolades as the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year. He followed by helping West Ham to the 1965 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup with a 2-0 win over 1860 Munich. But he is best remembered for captaining England to the World Cup title in 1966, where Moore set up two of England's goals in the 4-2 win over West Germany in the Final. He would go on to make 108 appearances for England, making him England's most-capped player at the time, though Peter Shilton (125) and David Beckham (currently at 115) would later go on to surpass Moore's total.

Moore left West Ham in 1974 for London rivals Fulham, then in the Second Division. In his first season with Fulham, they met West Ham twice, beating them in the League Cup, but losing to the Hammers in the 1975 FA Cup Final. He also spent some time in the US during the English off-season, playing for the San Antonio Thunder and Seattle Sounders before retiring in 1978.

Afterward, Moore spent a brief period in management before moving on to work as a commentator. He made his last public appearance in the commentators' booth for England's match against San Marino on 17 February 1993, one week before his death.

25 November 2005 - Best In Peace

On 25 November 2005, former Northern Ireland international and Manchester United superstar George Best died in London. His death was caused by complications related to a liver transplant required after years of alcohol abuse.

Best was born and raised in Belfast where, at the age of 15, he was discovered by a Manchester United scout. He joined United's youth academy, then signed a professional contract with them in 1963. He soon became a crowd favorite, with his flashy playing style and long-haired good looks earning him the nickname "the Fifth Beatle" and making him one of football's first international superstars. He helped United to several honors, including the European Cup in 1968, the same year he was named European Footballer of the Year.

Unfortunately, Best's playing career began to suffer as he battled with his alcoholism. He left United in 1974 and started a journey that saw him play for a number of different clubs, including the Los Angeles Aztecs (1976, 1977-78), Fulham (1976-77), Ft. Lauderdale Strikers (1978-79), Hibernian (1979-80), and the San Jose Earthquakes (1980-81). He last played for Tobermore United in the Northern Irish league, for whom he made a single appearance in 1984.

He also earned 37 caps for Northern Ireland between 1964 and 1977, but the side did not qualify for the World Cup during that time.

20 March 2004 - Chelsea Goes Streaking

On 20 March 2004, Chelsea beat Fulham 2-1 in an English Premier League match at Stamford Bridge, starting a home unbeaten streak that would last a total of 86 matches - an English record. 

The last match in that run was a 2-0 league win over Aston Villa on 5 October 2008. Liverpool finally ended Chelsea's home dominance with a 0-1 league win on 26 October 2008, when Liverpool's Spanish midfielder Xabi Alonso scored in the 10th minute off a deflection from Chelsea defender Jose Bosingwa. Just two months later, Chelsea suffered another home defeat in the league, this time a 1-2 loss to London rivals Arsenal.

Arsenal, incidentally, were the last team to beat Chelsea at the Bridge before the start of the streak, with a 1-2 win on 21 February 2004.

11 January 2007 - They Don't Call Them Fulhamerica For Nothing

On 11 January 2007, Fulham announced the signing of Clint Dempsey, who later won back-to-back Player of the Season awards for the club.

Dempsey, then 23, had spent the first three seasons of his professional career with the New England Revolution, scoring 25 goals in 71 league appearances between 2004 and 2006. He had also become an important player for the United States, earning 23 caps during that period. That attracted the interest of Fulham manager Chris Coleman, who brought Dempsey in to play alongside his US teammates Brian McBride and Carlos Bocanegra.

Fulham paid New England a reported £2 million to sign Dempsey, making him the Premier League's most expensive American. He paid a near-immediate dividend with a goal against Liverpool that May that kept Fulham from being relegated.

In five and half seasons at Craven Cottage, he constantly improved his goal tally and was the club's top scorer in 2010-11 and 2011-12, with 13 and 23 goals, respectively, earning him Fulham's Player of the Year award for both seasons. His total tally reached 60 goals in 225 appearances, including 50 in the Premier League, a record for an American player.

In the summer of 2012, he moved to Tottenham in a £6 million deal, but stayed there for only one season before returning to MLS with the Seattle Sounders. In December 2013, he rejoined Fulham on loan from Seattle.

6 December 2011 - Keeping It In The Club

On 6 December 2011, Clint Dempsey became the Premier League's highest-scoring American with his match-winner against Liverpool.

Dempsey moved to the Premier League in January 2007 to play for Fulham, joining his compatriots Brian McBride and Carlos Bocanegra. He went on to make ten appearances that season, scoring a single goal. By the following season, he began to feature regularly, scoring six goals in 36 league appearances, though the club escaped relegation that year only by virtue of goal differential.

He continued to feature for them over the next three seasons, scoring 7, 7, and 12 goals as the club finished seventh, twelfth, and eighth. By the time they hosted Liverpool in December 2011, Dempsey had raised his league goal total to 36, matching the record for an American in the Premier League, which, coincidentally, had been set by McBride.

With the match scoreless deep into the second half, Liverpool's Jay Spearing received a straight red card in the 72nd minute, giving the hosts a man advantage for the remaining eighteen minutes. And they needed almost all of them, with Dempsey finally breaking the deadlock with an 85th-minute goal that also broke McBride's record.

Dempsey proceeded to raise his Premier League total to 50 before moving to Tottenham for the 2012-13 season, then added another seven before returning to the US in 2013 to play for Seattle.

10 November 2012 - A Rebuttal To The "Draws Are Boring" Crowd

On 10 November 2012, a missed Arsenal penalty in stoppage time helped Fulham preserve a dramatic 3-3 draw at the Emirates.

The teams opened the day occupying the seventh and eighth spots in the table. They were level on points, with Arsenal taking the higher position by virtue of a better goal differential. Playing in front of a crowd of just over 60,000, the Gunners staked an early claim to what looked to be an easy three points after first-half goals from new signings Olivier Giroud (11') and Lukas Podolski (23') gave them a 2-0 lead. But Dimitar Berbatov, playing in his first season for the Cottagers, closed the gap with a 29th-minute goal, then provided the assist for Alex Kacaniklic's equalizer in the 40th minute.

In the 67th minute, Berbatov put Fulham ahead with a penalty kick after Arsenal midfielder Mikel Arteta fouled Bryan Ruiz in the box, but Giroud headed home two minutes later to restore the balance.

Level at 3-3 in stoppage time, Arteta had an opportunity to atone for his earlier mistake. In the fourth minute of added time, the referee awarded a penalty to Arsenal for a handball by Sascha Riether. Arteta stepped up to take the shot, but was denied by Fulham goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, who stretched low to his left to knock the ball away.

29 October 1970 - The Famous Mister Ed

On 29 October 1970, record-setting goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar was born in the Dutch town of Voorhout.

He started his professional career with Ajax in 1990 and became a regular starter in the 1992-93 season. He remained there for nine years, winning four league titles and the 1995 Champions League Final, keeping a clean sheet against defending champions AC Milan.

Leaving Ajax in 1999, he spent time with Juventus (1999-2001) and Fulham (2001-05) before joining Manchester United in the summer of 2005. In six seasons at Old Trafford, he won four league titles and another Champions League trophy. During the 2008-09 season, he kept a clean sheet for a world-record 1,311 minutes. He retired in 2011 after becoming the oldest player to win the Premier League (at the age of 40 years and 205 days).

Along the way, he also earned 130 caps for the Netherlands to finish as their all-time leader in appearances.