As one might assume, the peerless William Ralph Dean, better known as "Dixie" Dean—a moniker he despises—tops our list. Along with his 60 league goals in one season, his amazing total of 37 hat-tricks is an unrivaled record (1927-28). Among the modern-day players are: Wayne Rooney, who has scored six hat tricks in the English Premier League; Thierry Henry, who has five in France's Ligue 1; and Marco Di Vaio, who has four as a striker for Canada's national team.
Rooney and Henry have each scored three times this season in the English and French leagues, respectively. However, neither player has ever reached four goals in a game.
Di Vaio, on the other hand, has been extremely successful so far this year, scoring four goals in two matches for Canada at the CONCACAF Gold Cup. The Italian striker recently helped his country win the tournament by scoring two goals in a 2-1 victory over Haiti on July 7th in Oakland County (Mich.) County Stadium. It was Canada's first gold medal at the event since 1986.
Dean, who died in 1958 at the age of 36, not only had more than one hat trick in a single season, but also reached 30 goals twice in 1927-28 and 1936-37.
Dixie was the last player to score three hat-tricks in a row, scoring one in each of the final two games of his record-breaking season and another on the first day of the next season. He still holds the single-season record with 14 goals, which he not only achieved in 1895 but also in 1896 when the forward position was not officially recognized by the American Association.
Some people say Dixie's achievements are overrated but nobody can deny that he was one of the most effective strikers in American soccer history. He remains the only player to score at least 10 goals in each of the American Association seasons.
Jimmy Greaves holds the record for most hat-tricks with six. Five players have scored hat-tricks in their only international appearances: Albert Allen, Frank Bradshaw, Walter Gilliat, John Veitch, and John Yates.
Allen scored three goals in a single match for England against Scotland on 15 October 1876. This is the highest number of goals scored by one player in an international match. He later became the first player to be awarded a benefit match by his club. Bradshaw scored four goals during a single match against Ireland on 2 February 1877. Veitch also scored four goals during a single match against Scotland on 16 February 1877. Yates scored three goals during a single match against Wales on 9 March 1877. This is the fourth highest number of goals scored by one player in an international match.
After these five matches, no more hat-tricks were scored by English players until 1896 when Charles Wreford-Brown scored three goals during a single match against Scotland. This is the last occasion when England played without scoring a hat-trick.
Since then, Jimmy Greaves has been able to retain his title as the top scorer for England with six hat-tricks.
We've also thrown in some hat-trick trivia. Up through and including February 14, 2021. In 1930-31, the squad scored twelve hat-tricks in a single season. In 1932-33, five players scored a hat-trick in a single season. Since then, it has only happened twice more - 1969-70 and 2000-01.
The record is now held by Thierry Henry who scored fifteen goals in a single season for our North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur. He did this in 2001-02. Before him, Ian Wright had thirteen in 1996-97. And before him, George Allison, Charlie Cooke, and Jimmy Greaves all had twelve in 1970-71. It's quite a record!
So, we now know that Arsenal have won the League Cup and UEFA Cup/Europa League. We have also learned that Wenger manages to lead his team to victory in the FA Cup too. But what other trophies have they won during their long history?
The answer is: three League titles, two FA Cups, one European title (UEFA Cup/Europa League). That's all! They have never won any other major trophy. Nor have they ever been involved in any major controversies while playing at home.
However, the club does hold the record for the most appearances in the FA Cup without winning the cup.
Copyright © 2020 - 2023 Sportsmanist Inc.
