Before Highbury: Powell of Woolwich Arsenal and one of the earliest Arsenal cards – if not the earliest
The Object
This illustrated, shield-shaped football card depicts Powell of Woolwich Arsenal and dates to the early 1890s, a period when Arsenal was still establishing itself as a professional Football League club.
Issued by J. Baines of Bradford, the card belongs to the earliest phase of football collecting, before the widespread introduction of mass-produced tobacco cards and before footballers were routinely marketed as collectibles. Its distinctive die-cut shield format and explicit reference to Woolwich Arsenal place it among the earliest Arsenal-related player cards known to collectors.
On current evidence, this card is very likely the earliest surviving card to depict a named Arsenal player.
Unlike later football cards, Baines issues were produced as promotional novelties, sold in penny packets of “Cricket & Football Cards” and never intended to survive beyond their moment. Arsenal-specific examples from this period are exceptionally scarce.
Woolwich Arsenal in the 1890s
During the late nineteenth century, Woolwich Arsenal occupied a unique position in English football.
Founded in 1886 by workers at the Royal Arsenal munitions factory, the club developed within an environment shaped by industrial labour, military discipline, and organised amateur sport. In 1893, Woolwich Arsenal became the first southern club admitted to the Football League, marking a significant moment in the national expansion of professional football.
At this time, Arsenal were still based in southeast London, playing at the Manor Ground, and forging their identity long before the move to Highbury or the adoption of the shortened club name.
Surviving artefacts from this formative period are scarce. Most contemporary material takes the form of team photographs, programmes, or press illustrations. Named player cards explicitly referencing Woolwich Arsenal are rarely encountered.
Football, the Army, and Regimental Teams
In the 1890s, regimental and works teams formed one of the strongest competitive tiers in English football.
Army football was well organised, physically demanding, and widely respected, and professional clubs frequently recruited standout players from regimental sides. Woolwich Arsenal itself emerged from this institutional sporting world.
Powell followed this pathway. Serving with the South Staffordshire Regiment, he played football at regimental level before being spotted while appearing against Royal Arsenal. In December 1892, Woolwich Arsenal formally bought him out of Army service and signed him as a professional player.
This transition — from regimental football to League competition — reflects the broader shift taking place within the sport as football moved from amateur and institutional roots into organised professionalism.
The Subject: Powell of Woolwich Arsenal
Contemporary records identify the player as Joseph Joshua “Joe” Powell, born in Bristol, England, in 1870.
Powell was appointed club captain during Woolwich Arsenal’s inaugural Football League season in 1893–94, placing him at the centre of the club’s earliest competitive identity. Playing primarily at right back, he was a regular presence during Arsenal’s formative League years.
His life ended tragically. Following a severe injury sustained during a match in November 1896, Powell died in Plumstead, London, on 29 November 1896, aged just 26. His death stands among the earliest recorded cases of a professional footballer losing his life as a result of injuries sustained while playing.
The Baines Shield Card Format
The card itself belongs to a formative moment in the history of sports collecting.
Produced by J. Baines of Bradford, the shield format was designed as a visually striking promotional object rather than a conventional card. Each example was individually printed and die-cut, with survival rates inherently low.
The explicit naming of Woolwich Arsenal and the identification of the player elevate this card beyond generic sporting imagery, anchoring it firmly to a club, a period, and an individual at the very beginning of Arsenal’s professional history.
Why This Matters to Collectors
This card is not important because it depicts a globally famous player.
It matters because it captures Arsenal at its point of origin — before Highbury, before modern professionalism, and before football cards became a mass-market phenomenon.
For collectors of:
• early Arsenal history
• pre-tobacco football cards
• British sporting ephemera
• institutional and regimental sport
this shield card represents a rare survival from the earliest chapter of one of football’s great clubs.
Another example of this card is known, but in significantly poorer condition. Survival at this level is unusual for an artefact of such age and fragility.
Availability
This Powell of Woolwich Arsenal shield card is available via CardHawkUK.
If you have further information relating the player, the card or anything relevant please send to info@cardhawkuk.com and we would be delighted to add to the post – and credit you accordingly
