8 September 1888 - And We're Off!

On 8 September 1888, Bolton's Kenny Davenport scored the Football League's first goal when he found the net in the second minute of their opening-day match against Derby County.

It was one of five matches played on opening day of the League's first season. And despite Davenport's heroics (he later scored a second goal), Bolton fell 6-3 in what turned out to be the highest-scoring match of the day. Elsewhere, Everton beat Accrington 2-1, Preston North End beat Burnley 5-2, Stoke lost 0-2 to West Brom, and Wolverhampton drew with 1-1 Aston Villa. 

For a while, people believed that Villa's Gershom Cox got the League's first goal when he found his own net in the 30th minute, but subsequent research into the start times for the various matches gave the honor to Davenport.

7 September 2006 - Barça Gives Back

On 7 September 2006, FC Barcelona reached an agreement with UNICEF to promote the charity by including its name and logo on Barça's shirts, as well contributing 0.7% of the club's total annual revenue to UNICEF for a period of five years.

The move was a significant departure from Barça's past practices, as the club was one of the few in football who had never before included a sponsor on their shirts. In this case, however, it was Barça who was sponsoring UNICEF, rather than the other way around.

Unique at the time, the deal started a minor trend as other clubs soon followed suit. Swedish club Hammarby IF and Danish club Brøndby IF penned similar deals with UNICEF in 2007 and 2008, respectively. And English side Aston Villa sponsored Acorns Childrens Hospice on their shirts starting with the 2008-09 season.

6 September 1913 - Say "Hi" To Highbury

On 6 September 1913, Arsenal defeated Leicester Fosse 2-1 on the first day of the 1913-14 Second Division season. It was the first match played at the new Arsenal Stadium in Highbury.

In that match, Leicester's Tommy Benfield scored the first Highbury goal, while George Jobey was the first Arsenal player to score there.

Highbury was designed by renowned architect Archibald Leitch and was built at a cost of £125,000. Leitch's original design included only one stand on the east side, with banked terraces on the other three sides. The stadium was redesigned twice--once in the 1930s and again in 1992. The earlier renovations added the West Stand and roofing over the North Terrace, while the later renovations converted the stadium into an all-seater in the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster.

The last match at Highbury was played on 7 May 2006, a 4-2 Arsenal Premier League victory over Wigan, as the Gunners moved to a new stadium for the 2006-07 season. Over the course of its service, Highbury hosted 2,101 competitive Arsenal matches and 12 England matches.

It also featured prominently in two films--The Arsenal Stadium Mystery (1939) and Fever Pitch (1997).

5 September 1993 - A Monumental Victory

On 5 September 1993, Colombia humbled Argentina by the score of 0-5 in a World Cup qualifying match at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires.

Colombia entered the match brimming with confidence. They were one point ahead of Argentina in the group standings and had just beaten the Albiceleste 2-1 three weeks earlier in Barranquilla, ending Argentina's 33-match win streak. The confidence proved well-placed, as, in the 41st minute, Colombian midfielder Carlos Valderrama sent a through ball to fellow midfielder Freddy Rincón, who then rounded the Argentinian keeper and tapped the ball into the empty net.

After the break, Argentina attacked in an effort to get an equalizer. As the Albiceleste pushed forward, Colombia took advantage of the exposed holes in the back and scored four more goals--another from Rincón (62'), two from striker Faustino Asprilla (49', 64'), and one from striker Adolfo Valencia (84').

After the match, Argentina's manager Alfio Basile was quoted as saying "I never want to think about that match again. It was a crime against nature, a day when I wanted to dig a hole in the ground and bury myself in it." The loss was Argentina's first home loss in a World Cup qualifier and their last one for 16 years. Brazil finally snapped that streak with a 1-3 win on 5 September 2009.

4 September 2007 - Put Another Way, That's 6.25 Ronaldos

On 4 September 2007, Deloitte announced that English transfer spending for the 2007 summer window exceeded £500 million, up from £300 million the previous summer. The figure includes spending for the Premier League and all three levels of the Football League. 

Manchester United spent the most at £51 million, with Liverpool a close second at £50 million. Tottenham was a surprising third at £40 million, while newly-promoted Sunderland was fourth at £35 million.

More than half of Manchester United's fees--£30 million--went to Porto in exchange for midfielder Anderson and winger Nani. They also signed midfielder Owen Hargreaves from Bayern Munich for £17 million.

Liverpool's major signing was striker Fernando Torres, whom they prised from Atlético Madrid for an undisclosed fee believed to be over £20 million, making Torres the most expensive signing in England that summer. They also pulled winger Ryan Babel from Ajax for £11.5 million and midfielder Yossi Benayoun from West Ham for £5 million.

Tottenham's most expensive purchase was striker Darren Bent, whom they acquired from Charlton Athletic for £16.5 million. Spurs also brought in midfielder/back Younes Kaboul from Auxerre for £7 million and left back Gareth Bale from Southampton for £5 million.

Sunderland brought keeper Craig Gordon in from Hearts for £9 million, striker Kenwyne Jones from Southampton for £6 million, striker Michael Chopra from Cardiff City for £5 million and midfielder Kieran Richardson from Manchester United for £5.5 million.

The results on the pitch for those four clubs were mixed. United won its second consecutive Premier League title, with Anderson, Nani, and Hargreaves each playing significant roles. Liverpool finished fourth, with Torres contributing 15 League goals.

Spurs, on the other hand, failed in their push for a top-4 finish, ending the season in 11th place. Darren Bent lasted only two season at White Hart Lane before transferring to Sunderland in the summer of 2009 for an initial fee of £10 million, with clauses that could raise the value to £16.5 million.

Sunderland achieved their primary goal of avoiding relegation, finishing 15th, and have remained in the Premier League since.

3 September 1906 - Now At 108 Years And Counting

On 3 September 1906, Everton pummeled Manchester City 9-1 at Goodison Park, setting a record scoreline for both sides.

It was only the second match of the season in Division One and City must have hoped for an improvement over their 1-4 home loss to Arsenal in the first week. Everton, meanwhile, had drawn 2-2 away to Middlesbrough in their first match, thus giving no indication of the juggernaut side that was to face City on the second matchday.

Still, Everton were a known quality side as the reigning FA Cup champions, having defeated Newcastle 1-0 in April 1906 (Everton's Cup-winning side is pictured). And the win over City was no fluke for the Toffees, who went on to finish in Division One's third place. City ended the season fourth from the bottom.

The 9-1 result remains Everton's largest margin of victory in the League and City's most lopsided League defeat.

2 September 1929 - Apparently, We Once Called It "Football," Too

On 2 September 1929, the Eastern Professional Soccer League (otherwise known as the Eastern Soccer League, or ESL) launched its second—and last—season.

The ESL was created as the result of a schism between the older American Soccer League and the United States Football Association. For financial and scheduling reasons, the ASL had objected to playing in the USFA-sponsored National Challenge Cup and boycotted the tournament. In response, the USFA suspended the ASL and helped launch the Eastern Professional Soccer League as a replacement.

The new league included eight teams, three from the former ASL (Bethlehem Steel FC (pictured, from 1924), Newark Skeeters and New York Giants), four from the Southern New York Soccer Association (New York Hispano, New York Celtics, Philadelphia Centennials and IRT Rangers), and one new team (New York Hakoah).

For the second season, Centennials and Celtic had dropped out and were replaced by Victoria Hungaria and Newark Portugeuse.

The ESL managed to play only half of its new season before financial pressures--including the October 1929 stock market crash--took their toll on the sport nationally. In November 1929, the ASL reconciled with the USFA and the Eastern Professional Soccer League was dissolved.

At the time, Bethlehem Steel were at the top of the standings and were thus declared champions.