Clifford Sydney Bastin (March 14, 1912 — December 4, 1991) was an English football player.

Born in Heavitree near Exeter, Bastin started his career at Exeter City, making his debut for the club in 1928, at the age of 16. Despite only playing 17 games (and scoring 6 goals), he was spotted by Arsenal manager Herbert Chapman in a match against Watford; Chapman was attending to keep tabs on a Watford player, but the 17-year-old Bastin's ability was so evident that Chapman decided to sign him at the end of that season; Bastin would go on to form an integral part of the Arsenal side that dominated English football in the 1930s.

Bastin would play the rest of his career at Arsenal, scoring 178 goals in 395 games; he was Arsenal's all-time top goalscorer until 1997, when his total was surpassed by Ian Wright. In 2005 Thierry Henry passed both Bastin and Wright's totals, thus meaning Bastin is currently (as of October 2005) Arsenal's third-top goalscorer of all time. His record of 150 league goals for Arsenal stood for slightly longer, until it was equalled by Thierry Henry on January 14 2006 and surpassed on February 1. Bastin's scoring feats are all the more remarkable considering he played on the left wing rather than as centre forward; at the time Arsenal's strategy depended heavily on their wingers cutting into the penalty box, and the supply of passes from Alex James was the source of many of his goals. Had his career not been interrupted by the Second World War it is likely that he would have scored many more goals for Arsenal.

Despite his youth, Bastin's play was characterised by a remarkable coolness, and deadly precision in front of goal. He made an immediate impact and was a regular in the Arsenal side through the '30s, earning him the nickname "Boy Bastin", and also became the club's regular penalty taker. With Arsenal, Bastin won the FA Cup twice, in 1930-31 and 1935-36, and the First Division title five times, in 1930-31, 1932-33, 1933-34, 1934-35 and 1937-38. Bastin also finished as Arsenal top scorer twice (1932-33 and 1933-34, with 33 and 15 respectively) though after centre-forward Ted Drake arrived in March 1934, Bastin was no longer Arsenal's number one target man. Nevertheless, Bastin still reached double figures in three more seasons through the 1930s.

Bastin also played for England 21 times, scoring 12 goals. This included the famous "Battle of Highbury", where England defeated 1934 World Cup winners Italy 3-2, and 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 Bastin was 27, thus cutting short what should have been the peak of his career. Bastin was excused military service, as he failed the army hearing test. Thus, during the war, he served as an ARP Warden, being stationed on top of Highbury stadium with Tom Whittaker. He also played matches in the war-time league (but, strangely, not internationals) to boost civilian morale. In 1941, Fascist Italy's propaganda broadcast on Rome Radio, contained a bizarre claim that Bastin had been captured in the Battle of Crete, and was being detained in Italy. The Italians were seemingly unaware that Bastin had played his entire career being almost entirely deaf.

Bastin had injured his right leg in the season before the war, which would go on to hamper his performances in wartime matches, and ultimately curtail his career. After the war was over, Bastin, by now in his thirties, would only play six more times before retiring in January 1947.

After retirement, Bastin returned to his native Exeter and ran a pub. He died in 1991 at the age of 79. A stand at St James Park, Exeter's home ground, is named in his honour.

References

1912 births | English footballers | England international footballers | Exeter City F.C. players | Arsenal F.C. players | 1991 deaths

Cliff Bastin | Cliff Bastin | Cliff Bastin