Leslie Compton

Compton was born Woodford, Essex and played football for Middlesex Schools before joining Arsenal as an amateur in 1930. He would spend his entire senior club career at Arsenal, over a period of 22 years, making him one of the club's longest-ever serving players. He made his debut on 24 April 1932 against Aston Villa in a 1–1 draw at Villa Park, two months after he had turned professional. He started out as a right-back, and deputised for Tom Parker in the early 1930s, before George Male was converted to that position and became Parker's long-term replacement. Relegated to reserve team football, Compton only played 13 first-team games in four seasons. By 1935–36 he had started to feature more regularly, playing 12 games that season and 15 the next, but missed out on a First Division winners' medal in 1937–38 as he only managed 9 appearances that season. Despite being down the pecking order throughout the 1930s and missing out on the success that Arsenal enjoyed, Compton stuck with Arsenal and won a Charity Shield winners' medal in 1938–39, playing 19 times that season. However the Second World War then intervened; Compton served in the Army while continuing to play football for Arsenal. Converted to an emergency centre-forward, he once scored ten times in a wartime match against Leyton Orient, which finished 15–2 to Arsenal. He also guested for Chester, scoring a hat-trick against Everton during the 1942–43 season. In June 1940, he was one of five Arsenal players who guested…

Compton also played cricket for Middlesex, often playing as wicket-keeper from 1938 to 1956. He appeared 272 times, scoring 5,814 runs (an average of 16.75), and taking 468 catches and 131 stumpings for the county. Together with his brother, he won the 1947 County Championship title with Middlesex, making them the only brothers ever to have won the national title both in football and cricket. Unlike Denis though, Leslie never played Test cricket for England.

Arsenal

Football League First Division: 1947–48 FA Cup: 1949–50 FA Charity Shield: 1938, 1948