Arsenal fan's search for every Highbury Stadium match since 1940s
Can you help Peter Mackay in his search? - Credit: Peter Mackay
An Arsenal fan is hoping to sub-in help from the community in documenting every match played at Highbury Stadium over more than half a century.
Peter Mackay is not only recording Arsenal games, the music tour manager is also hoping to obtain the date, teams and score of other matches played in the grounds, such as school tournaments and competitions in particular industries, such as the Hotel and Restaurant Cup.
His collection started about 15 years ago, when he inherited his cousin's Arsenal programmes from the '60s and '70s.
"I had them and I thought I might as well fill in some seasons that are missing and then I was bitten by the bug and I started collecting," the 61-year-old said.
Since then, he has spent some £30,000 and has amassed 150 A4 binders to hold his collection - "and they are only the rarer ones".
Peter has shelves with 150 binders of Arsenal programmes. - Credit: Peter Mackay
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As work dried up during lockdown, Peter decided to catalogue his programmes. In doing so, he started to fill in all the missing information and find every game played at the former Arsenal ground since the war.
This includes matches where programmes were not printed.
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"I don't want to see gaps," Peter said. "And what else am I going to do at the moment? There's no work at the moment to occupy me so I might as well do this.
"It's nice to have a hobby, everyone should have a hobby that's nothing to do with what they do [for a living]."
Peter was born in Islington and has travelled all over the world in his work as a tour manager, but is now settled in Dorset.
He has exhausted many avenues of research and is now hoping a member of the public might have information which could help.
"It would be good to publish a book but I don't really have a plan for it [all the information]," Peter said. "I can't imagine it would be a bestseller.
"It's a labour of love for me at the moment."
Anyone with information which might help Peter should email arsenalalways@me.com
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