Amongst the great library of league games contested at The Hawthorns over 125 years, there is one that doesn’t exist. 

On September 2 1939, Albion entertained Tottenham Hotspur in what was the third game of the new Second Division season. The campaign had begun with a 2-1 win away at Swansea Town, then a 3-3 draw at Coventry City, a decent enough start to things. 

Tottenham arrived in town to kick things off at the season, boasting a couple of significant names in their side. One was Bill Nicholson, who made manager Sours to the 20^th century’s first double in 1960/61, the other was Vic Buckingham, who would manage Albion’s ‘Term of the Century’. Vic would have beaten his old teammate to the punch in 1953/54 had it not been the sudden selection of Ronnie Allen and Johnnie Nicholls for an England game that took them out of the Wolves derby late in the season, but we digress… 

Spurs were in front after a minute through Morrison, who enjoyed putting the ball in the Albion net so much that he did it again a minute later. The frenetic start continued when the Throstles got a goal back in the third minute of the game, Eric Jones getting his side back into the game.  

The chaos continued because it was 3-1 to Spurs after 11 minutes, Buckingham setting up Dix to score, but from there, despite plenty of attacks from both sides, there were no more goals before the break.  

On the hour, Eric Jones got the hosts right back into things with a fine effort, but 10 minutes later, Morrison completed his hat-trick for Spurs to extend the lead once again. Jones did likewise for the Albion in the 82^nd minute, but that was how the goal ended, 4-3 to Tottenham. 

There were, of course, external reasons why the game was played in such feverish fashion, for football doesn’t exist in isolation. War was coming and, the following morning, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain announced that this country was at war with Germany. Unlike in 1914, league football was suspended for the duration almost immediately, and the 1939/40 season was struck from the record.