Seventy Eight years ago yesterday and a few days after Neville Chamberlain's "Peace in our Time" speach following his meeting with Hitler, relieved crowds turned up at Craven Cottage to watch us play Millwall. The record says 49,335 of them. Gates were closed at 3.15pm, some 15 minutes before kick-off, with thousands still outside and it was reported that many people burst through the gates at the Cottage end so the attendance could well have been above 50,000. Even one of Archibald Leitch’s famed crush barriers gave way under the pressure. The interest no doubt also had something to do with the start the team had made to the 1938/39 season; with six wins and two draws in the first nine games seeing us top the table. A week earlier we had beaten Manchester City 5-3 at Maine Road, with centre forward Ronnie Rooke scoring four times. The game itself was a bit of a thriller, worthy of the occasion, and we scored all three goals. Millwall took the lead in the 38th minute when Fulham skipper Mike Keeping headed into his own net. Midway through the second half before we equalised: Viv Woodward heading a John Arnold free kick into the net. Another Arnold free kick set up the winner, scored by wing-half Jim Evans after goalkeeper Pearson had parried the original effort. This win consolidated our position at the top of the table, but it proved to be the season’s peak. Like Chamberlain’s agreement with Hitler, our hopes started to evaporate shortly afterwards and in the end we finished in mid-table.
