13 Facts About Cliff Bastin

Clifford Sydney Bastin was an English footballer who played as a winger for Exeter City and Arsenal.

Cliff Bastin made his debut against Everton on 5 October 1929 and was immediately a first-team regular, making 21 appearances that season.

Cliff Bastin's scoring feats are all the more remarkable considering he played on the left wing rather than as forward.

In 2005 Thierry Henry passed each player's totals, and so Cliff Bastin is Arsenal's third-top goalscorer of all time.

Cliff Bastin made his debut at senior level for England against Wales.

Cliff Bastin featured in a notorious match against Germany in Berlin in 1938, when the England team was ordered to give the Nazi salute before the match.

The Second World War intervened when Cliff Bastin was 27, thus cutting short what should have been the peak of his career, although his leg injury would probably have done this in any case.

Cliff Bastin was excused military service as he failed the army hearing test owing to his increasing deafness.

Cliff Bastin played matches in the war-time league to boost civilian morale.

In 1941, Fascist Italy's propaganda broadcast on Rome Radio, contained a bizarre claim that Cliff Bastin had been captured in the Battle of Crete, and was being detained in Italy.

The Italians were unaware that Cliff Bastin was deaf and had been excused service.

Cliff Bastin's injured leg had hampered his performances in wartime matches, and would ultimately curtail his career.

Cliff Bastin outlived him by just over 20 years, dying in April 2012 at the age of 96.