BACK TO SQUARE ONE

George Allison (below) is remembered for managing Arsenal to two League Championships (known then as the First Division) and an FA Cup in the 1930s. 
He began his career as a journalist, initially joining Arsenal as the editor of the club's matchday programme before becoming a club director. It was in the media rather than management that Allison made his mark, however and in 1927 he became one of the first ever sports' commentators. 

The BBC had just become a public corporation, at the beginning of the year and with their Royal Charter, the club had the right to cover major sporting events. Allison became aware of the opportunity to commentate as the BBC (in its infancy!) use planned to use Highbury, only a couple of miles away from their Alexander Palace Headquarters-the venue of its first historic trial broadcast. Allison, however, did not have the honour of getting behind the "mike" to deliver the first ever commentary. The former Harlequins rugby player, Henry "Teddy" Wakeham, had that privilege!

To accompany the broadcast, that week's Radio Times, along with other newspapers, printed a plan of the pitch divided into 8 numbered squares (example below) and Wakeham described the action, joined by C.A.Lewis, whose job was the call out the pitch numbers where the ball "happened" to be! This system, devised by ground breaking BBC producer, Lance Sieveking, is believed to be the origin of the phrase, "back to square one"! http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/1760579.stm     should tell you more about Lance.

The match commentary was only heard by a select few people in the London region, as was the first FA Cup commentary, delivered a week later between Corinthians (the famed "amateur club") and Newcastle United.  But that season's FA Cup Final was delivered to the entire nation and by then George Allison  was behind the mic, presumably reporting through gritted teeth, as Arsenal were shocked by the underdogs, Cardiff City. Look it up!