Nigel Cox [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia CommonsMany fans of Chelsea FC do not know too much about the club’s history. Some of us became fans within the last ten years or so and for good reason. Others have been fans of the club for decades but still do not know about the club’s transformation through the years. In honor of Chelsea FC’s 110th birthday, here is a history lesson on how the club came about!
Club’s Creation
On 10th March 1905, Chelsea FC was formed at the Rising Sun pub. The club, a brainchild of Frederick Parker, was created to occupy the Stamford Bridge Athletics Ground in Fulham, West London, which was purchased in 1896 by millionaire Henry Augustus ‘Gus’ Mears and his brother Joseph Mears (but they had to wait till 1904 to purchase the freehold after the former owner died) to stage top-class football matches. All three, along with Henry Bowyer (brother-in-law to the Mears), Alfred Janes and his nephew Edwin (who ran the Rising Sun) constituted the founding board of directors of the club.
Next: Early History
Early History
Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports
Their initial plans to join the Southern League (which was then a football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, ‘South Central’ and Midlands of England and South Wales) was rejected due to objections by Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur. As a result, they applied to join the Football League and were accepted into the Division Two on 29th May 1905.
They hired John Tait Robertson, a 28-year old Scottish international half-back, as the club’s first player-manager. He, along with Parker, oversaw the recruitment of several established players from other teams which included goalkeeper William ‘Fatty’ Foulke from Sheffield United), forwards Jimmy Windridge, Bob McRoberts (both from Small Heath) and Frank Pearson (from Manchester City) to name a few. Chelsea FC’s played their first game at the Stamford Bridge in a 4-0 friendly win against Liverpool, thus beginning the club’s early years of wealth, popularity, ambition and glamour.
Next: Pre World War I
Pre-World War I
Credit: Alexdeangelis86
Chelsea FC failed to win any major trophy for its first 50 years. They gained promotion to the First Division in 1907 after Robertson was replaced by William Lewis (the club’s secretary at the time) as manager, but were relegated in the 1909-10 season under David Calderhead, regained promotion the next season and finished as runners-up to Sheffield United in the F.A. Cup in 1915 under the shadows of World War I, the closest they came to success at the time.
Despite the club’s lack of success, it generated massive crowds for games… 67,000 fans witnessed the club’s league game against Manchester United in 1906, 55,000 for the first ever London Derby in the top division against Woolwich Arsenal in 1907 and 77,792 for the fourth round F.A. Cup tie against Swindon in 1911.
Next: Between The World Wars
Between The Wars
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In the years between the 2 world wars, Chelsea FC achieved its highest position in the First Division, finishing 3rd place in 1919-20 season, but was relegated in the 1923-24 season and remained there for 5 years before regaining promotion in 1929-30 season, where they remained for the next 32 years. The club continued its tradition of making expensive signings (Hughie Gallacher, Alex Jackson, Tommy Law, Sam Weaver etc) but were unable to match the massive spending with success on the pitch.
Calderwood stepped down for Leslie Knighton in 1933 (with little change in the club’s fortunes), who later stepped down for Billy Birell in 1939. The club’s status as one of the most supported British team remained as it continued to attract massive crowds to its games… the crowd of 82,905 that witnessed the club’s league game against Arsenal at the Bridge on 12 October 1935 remains a club attendance record and the second highest ever attendance in a league game till date.
It was also the first English club to attend an international club competition when it competed in the “Arts et Techniques dans la Vie moderne” tournament held in Paris in 1937, eventually finishing as runners-up to Bologna FC.
Next: Post-World War II
Post-World War II
Credit: Staff writer Taylor Anderson
On 13th November 1945, not long after World War II, Chelsea FC faced FC Dynamo Moscow, reigning champions of Soviet Union, at Stamford Bridge as part of a series of games played by the Russian side against English clubs in its tour of the United Kingdom to celebrate a return to peace-time. The game ended in a 3-3 draw and was witnessed by an estimated crowd of over 100,000 spectators.
Under Birell, Chelsea FC continued spending big, signing players like Tommy Lawton, Len Goulden and Tommy Walker, yet never going beyond 13th place in the league and narrowly escaping relegation in 1951. The club came closest to winning a trophy when they lost a replay against Arsenal 3-0 after an initial 1-1 draw in the F.A. Cup semi-final in 1952.
Birell resigned not long after, but not before overseeing the development of an extensive new youth and scouting programme along with Dickie Foss, Dick Spence and Jimmy Thompson, which witnessed the emergence of players like Jimmy Greaves, Peter Osgood, Ray Wilkins, Peter Bonetti, Ron Harris etc, players who made up the core of Chelsea’s squad for the next three decades and have remained symbols of the club till date.
Next: Modernisation and League Success
Modernisation and League Success
Credits: https://www.flickr.com/photos/96272618@N08/
In 1952, Ted Drake, a former Arsenal and England striker, was appointed manager and oversaw a massive overhaul of the club’s training programme (introducing ballwork, a novelty in English football at the time) and recruitment policy, opting for lesser known but reliable players from the lower divisions and extending the club’s youth and scouting system.
He also rebranded the club’s public image, changing the club’s nickname from “The Pensioners” to its current one, “The Blues”, as well as changing the club’s crest to “lion rampant”. These changes in the club’s structure and image did not translate to on-pitch success until the 1954-55 season (the year of its golden jubilee) when the club finally won the First Division for the first time.
They achieved this feat with some little known players like Ron Harris, Jim Lewis, Derek Saunders, Charlie Thompson, Frank Blunstone etc. The only true star in the side was the club’s captain and England international, Roy Bentley, who emerged as the top scorer with 21 goals. The season also witnessed the club’s reserves, ‘A’ and junior sides winning their respective leagues.
It was a massive vindication of the club’s extensive youth and scouting network. Unfortunately, Chelsea FC were prevented from featuring in the inaugural European Champion’s Cup the following season as the Football League and F.A. deemed it to be less important than the domestic league and thus persuaded the club to withdraw from the competition.
The club was unable to build on the success of the 1954-55 season, largely due to a mix of aging players and inexperienced youngsters. Things came to a head when the one of the club’s most valuable player at the time, Jimmy Greaves (who scored 122 goals in four seasons), was sold to A.C. Milan in June 1961. Results slumped and Drake was eventually sacked later that year, to be replaced by player-coach Tommy Docherty.
Next: Hollywood Blues
Hollywood Blues
Published on Wiki Commons by Andrew
The 60s witnessed a period of football and glamour at Stamford Bridge as superstars like Lord Richard Attenborough (the club’s life president until his death in 2014), Michael Caine, Steve McQueen etc, regularly attended games at the Bridge, establishing the club as one of the biggest in English Football. The glamour off the field was matched on it as the team developed a style of play based on high energy, quick passing football with innovative tactics (which included the use of overlapping full-backs).
Unfortunately, it didn’t translate to much success as the club suffered relegation in 1962, but regained promotion the next season under Tommy Docherty (who employed a regime of strict discipline) and began the 1963-64 season with a squad he called his “little diamonds”, with players like Bobby Tambling, Ron Harris, Peter Bonetti, Terry Venables (products of the youth team), Eddie McCreadie, Marvin Hinton (shrewd signings for minimal fees) etc.
The club secured the League Cup in the 1964-65 season (beating Leicester City by 3-2 over two legs) but suffered a 2-0 semi-final loss against Liverpool in the F.A. Cup before losing the league to Manchester United with four games to go during a period that witnessed disciplinary issues between Docherty and several of his key players. The period also saw Chelsea suffer several other near misses in the league and cup competitions, including their Inter Cities’ Fairs Cup semi-final loss to Barcelona in 1966 and their 2-1 F.A. Cup final loss to Tottenham Hotspurs in 1967.
Docherty was sacked 10 games into the next season, amidst bad results and dressing room unrest over player bonuses, and was replaced by Dave Sexton, who helped stabilize the team and lead the team to two consecutive top six league finishes in 1967-68 and 1968-69 seasons. In 1969-70, he finished the league in 3rd place and secured the F.A. Cup after defeating Leeds United in the final by 4-3 over two legs. He then led the team to its first major European trophy the following year, defeating Real Madrid in the UEFA Cup Winner’s Cup final in a replay by 2-1 after the first leg ended in a 1-1 draw.
Next: Decline and Battle for Stamford Bridge
Decline and Battle for Stamford Bridge
The period between 1972 and 1983 was probably the darkest in Chelsea’s history, both on and off the pitch. It was marred by disciplinary issues between Sexton and several key players, notably Osgood and Hudson, although they did manage to set a goals record in the 1971-72 Cup Winner’s Cup, a 21–0 aggregate win over Luxembourg side Jeunesse Hautcharage (a record which stands till date).
After consecutive bottom-half finishes in the league between 1972 and 1974, Sexton was sacked early in the 1974-75 season and was replaced by Ron Stuart, who oversaw the club’s relegation at the end of that season. Eddie McCreadie took over and returned the club to the First Division in 1976-77 season, but later resigned due to a contract dispute with chairman Brian Mears and was replaced by Ken Shellito, who again resigned midway through the 1978-79 season and was replaced by Danny Blanchflower.
He then led to the team to relegation to the Second Division at the end of that season, where they would remain till the 1982-83 season, a season where they narrowly escaped relegation to the Third Division with 2 games to go.
The period also witnessed the club go through massive financial problems brought on by the club’s attempt to build the stadium’s East Stand, which coincided with the world oil crisis of 1973 followed by another in 1979. This put the club in debt of up to 4 million pounds by 1977 and ensured that the club were unable to sign any players between 1974 and 1978. Brian Mears eventually resigned as chairman in 1981 and with the club in serious financial debt, it was sold a year later to Ken Bates for 1 pound. But SB Properties, the company that owned the freehold to Stamford Bridge, was not included in the sale.
Brian Mears and Charles Gerald John Cadogan (8th Earl Cadogan, also called Lord Chelsea) sold their combined 70% stakes in SB Properties to Marler Estates, who began a campaign to get Chelsea FC evicted from Stamford Bridge so it could be sold off and redeveloped. In March 1986, after years of legal and public battles between Marler and Bates over the future of Stamford Bridge, Marler’s plans to redevelop the stadium without Chelsea was approved by the Hammersmith and Fulham Council, but was later rescinded when the Labour Party took over in May 1986.
In December 1987, Bates’ plans to redevelop the stadium was approved by the council, but the club were eventually faced with an eviction order at the end of the 7-year lease in 1989 (which was agreed by Bates on his purchase of the club in 1982). Fortunately, Bates was able to reunite the freehold with the club after agreeing a deal with Royal Bank of Scotland (creditors to Cabra Estates, who bought Marler in 1989 but were later bankrupted in the property market crash of 1992).
He then created Chelsea’s Pitch Owners, a non-profit organisation owned by the fans, which in 1997 purchased the freehold of the stadium, the club’s naming rights and the pitch to ensure that property developers could never again try to purchase Stamford Bridge.
Facts and dates from Chelseafc.com and Wikipedia
Photos by @cfcunoffical. On Twitter and at CFCUnofficial.com
Next: Top 5 Chelsea FC Cult Heroes