Robert Exley
It’s often said that Chelsea FC have no history. Stamford Bridge however has a history which pre-dates Arsenal FC. And Chelsea FC for that matter. The Stadium opened in 1877 as an Athletics stadium and the home of the London Athletic Club, who moved there from the Lillie Bridge Grounds which was just a few hundred yards north and the venue for the 1873 FA Cup Final between the Wanderers and Oxford University (where the kick off was rearranged to Midday in order to avoid clashing with the Varsity Boat Race!). In the building of Stamford Bridge, a piece of digging machinery got out of control and pummelled through a nearby house and into a safe just the other side of the wall, meaning that a heck of a lot of coinage found itself buried under Stamford Bridge (something no doubt for Chelsea to dig up, should Abramovich decide to pull out of Stamford Bridge).
In 1896, the lease for the stadium at Stamford Bridge was acquired by Gus Mears and his brother Joseph Theophilus (ironically also known as ‘J.T.’ – yes, seriously!). The Mears brothers were the offspring Joseph Mears – a builder whose company, Mears Builders, is still in existence today. While Stamford Bridge was occupied with Track and Field meetings during the summer months, the Mears Brothers had wanted something to generate revenue at the Stadium during the winter months, with Football being the obvious solution. The Mears brothers however were unable to implement this until they acquired the freehold for Stamford Bridge, which came up in 1904. Chelsea FC are often derided by opposition fans as being a ‘Small club in Fulham’ – statement of which is at the very least geographically correct, as Stamford Bridge is situated off of the Fulham Road and its nearest underground station is in fact Fulham Broadway.
The Mears brothers had approached the existing Fulham Football Club requesting as to whether they would be interested in playing their home games at Stamford Bridge. The chairman of Fulham Football club had been none other than Henry Norris, the mayor of Fulham and subsequently the chairman of Arsenal (as you will see Norris is one of several Arsenal-related figures that would play an important part in the story of Chelsea’s history). Norris had turned down their offer, so the Mears brothers decided on forming their own side to fill the stadium (Norris was also keen on merging Arsenal with Fulham, meaning that in an alternative universe we could have been supporters of ‘Fulham Arsenal FC’ who played their home games at Stamford Bridge with Chelsea FC having never existed!).
The Blues were founded in March 1905 and were immediately admitted to the Football League by the start of the 1905/06 season, after their application to join the Southern League had been rejected as a result of the objections of Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur. Chelsea became London’s second Football League side, after Arsenal who joined twelve years earlier. Rather like the introduction of Roman Abramovich ninety eight years later, in 1905 Chelsea built a side through poaching established players from other clubs, the most notable of which was their goalkeeper and first ever Captain, William ‘Fatty’ Foulke. Unlike the ribbing of Frank Lampard Jnr. a century later, Foulke genuinely was obese, weighing in at over twenty four stone. Foulke was often described as one of the game’s first celebrity players, however was to die just over a decade later as a result of Cirrhosis of the Liver (this here is the Horrible Histories take on the life of ‘Fatty’).
In their first ever season Chelsea finished third in Division Two and then promoted to the first the following season, finishing second. The star purchases also did the trick of attracting the crowds, with Chelsea having the highest average gate in the country between 1907 and the outbreak of the first world war (including a then First Division record of 65,000 for the first ever London derby in the Football League between Chelsea and Woolwich Arsenal in 1907 when Arsenal’s attendances at the time were actually a fraction of this figure). Actual trophy wins however were to allude Chelsea throughout this period, though Stamford Bridge did get to host the FA Cup Final three years in a row between 1920 and 1922 and may possibly have even eventually been the Cup Final’s perennial host had Wembley not been purpose built to host the British Empire Exhibition of 1924.
Chelsea were relegated back to Division Two in 1924, just ahead of Arsenal appointing Herbert Chapman who turned Arsenal into London’s first consistent trophy winning outfit and the capital’s first League Champions in 1931. Chelsea however did return to the top flight that season and did knock FA Cup holders Arsenal out of the competition with a 1-2 defeat at Stamford Bridge. Ironically, the man who Chapman replaced at Arsenal – Leslie Knighton – was to take over as manager at Stamford Bridge in 1933, however was no more successful at Stamford Bridge than he had been at Highbury with Chelsea either fighting relegation or enduring mid-table mediocrity for most of that decade.
Chelsea also had to endure Arsenal winning the title on their ground two seasons running, with a 3-1 win in April 1933 in front of a 72,000 crowd with goals from David Jack and two for Cliff Bastin, with former Newcastle hero Hughie Gallacher netting for the Pensioners. Exactly twelve months later, a 2-2 draw in front of a crowd of 65,000 was enough to secure the title for Arsenal with Alex James and Cliff Bastin among the goals. When Champions Arsenal visited Stamford Bridge the following season Chelsea were to achieve an attendance of 82,905, a club record which remains to this very day.
Chelsea were to start the 1937/38 season with an impressive 6-1 victory over Liverpool at Stamford Bridge. and in October of that season played out a 2-2 draw with Arsenal at Stamford Bridge before the Pathe Newsreel cameras, however finished that season in lowly tenth position. During the War, Chelsea were to make their Wembley debut in the 1944 Football League Cup Final against Charlton, however were to lose that meeting 3-1. This footage a @00.33 shows ‘Genial’ George Allison discussing the game with future American President General Dwight Eisenhower who presented Charlton with their winner’s trophy (George during his journalist days was actually the New York Post’s London correspondent between 1911 and when he took over from Herbert Chapman as Arsenal manager in 1934).
After the Second World War Chelsea (as did Arsenal) faced a touring Moscow Dynamo side at Stamford Bridge which resulted in a 3-3 draw and a cementing of Anglo-Russian relations which would obviously hold Chelsea in good stead post-2003. In 1948 (one year on from India gaining independence from the British Empire) Stamford Bridge played host to the Maharajah Lokendra Singhat at Stamford Bridge, here being put through his paces in a training session with Chelsea forward Tommy Walker. Chelsea however would have to wait until the appointment of former Arsenal forward Ted Drake as manager in 1952 before they were able to join the ranks of English football royalty. Just ahead of Drake’s appointment, Chelsea would progress to the Semi Finals of the FA Cup before being eliminated by Arsenal on both occasions.
In the 1950 semi, Chelsea took a two goal lead over Arsenal at White Hart Lane, with both strikes coming from Roy Bentley. Arsenal got back into the game ahead of half time with a freak Freddie Cox corner which went into the goal direct and Leslie Compton heading in from a corner by his brother Dennis to save the day. Arsenal would go on to win the replay 1-0 after extra time with a goal by Freddie Cox four days later in front of 66,482 fans at White Hart Lane. Two years later, Arsenal’s tie with Chelsea at White Hart Lane would initially be snowed off. When finally played, the sides drew 1-1 in front of 68,084 again at White Hart Lane with Freddie Cox again among the goals. Arsenal’s crowded run in that season saw this tie replayed just 48 hours later, this time Arsenal comprehensively triumphed with a 3-0 win. Freddie Cox was again among the goals, bagging two while Doug Lishman sealed the tie with a third Arsenal goal.
Following on from England’s shock 3-6 defeat to the Hungarians at Wembley in 1953, one year on Chelsea would play a high profile friendly with Hungary’s second side Red Banner FC (later renamed MTK Budapest) which resulted in a 2-2 draw and an amazing three penalties missed by both sides. Twelve months on however, Chelsea would finally have a trophy to their name after fifty years of trying after sealing the 1955 First Division title. Ted Drake’s title win had been even more astounding given the fact that in the four seasons which preceded the title, Chelsea had finished within the bottom four positions of the First Division on three occasions and even started the 1954/55 season with four consecutive defeats, lying in twelve position as late as November and their tally of 52 points one of the lowest ever to win the league under the two points for a win system (something to give Jose hope after his poor start this season).
Chelsea could have been the first English side to compete in UEFA’s newly formed European Champions Cup in 1955/56, however the FA vetoed Chelsea’s participation. Chelsea’s place at the top of English football however was not to last, as the Blues were to finish in the bottom half of the table for the next seven seasons, despite developing the talents of upcoming striker Jimmy Greaves. Chelsea would also suffer a humiliating 1-4 defeat away at Darlington in an FA Cup Fourth Round replay in 1958, followed by relegation to the second tier after finishing rock bottom in 1961/62, though would return at the first attempt a year later.
The 1960s is the first time in their history when Chelsea pushed for honours on a regular basis, with the appointment of Tommy Docherty in 1961 as player-manager, who at the time was a 33 year old playing out the twilight of his career at Arsenal. The Doc began to build the foundations of a young side which included players like Terry Venables, George Graham, Ron Harris and Peter Bonetti. In 1964/65, Chelsea won their first League Cup against Leicester back in the days when the final was a two legged affair and by March were top of the league and in the running for an unprecedented treble. It all began to turn sour however with a trip to Old Trafford against Matt Busby’s Manchester United – the eventual League Champions that season – who ran out 4-0 winners. The Cup was also to be lost in the Semi Final in a 0-2 defeat at Villa Park to a Liverpool side who replayed an away European tie 48 hours earlier, in the days before penalties only winning through on the toss of a coin.
Chelsea’s season was to finally implode spectacularly against Burnley, as the Doc had Chelsea set up camp on the eve of the game in Blackpool with Terry Venables, George Graham, Eddie McCreadie, John Hollins, Marvin Hinton, Barry Bridges, Bert Murray and Joe Fascione all dropped from the side and sent home for breaking a curfew after a night’s drinking on the town. Chelsea went on to receive a 2-6 hammering at Turf Moor, which all but ended their title hopes. For Chelsea under the Doc, there would be a Semi-Final defeat the following season and an FA Cup Final defeat in the first ever all-London FA Cup Final in 1967, won by Tottenham 2-1.
In the league too, throughout the 1960s Chelsea were consistently finishing in the top half of the table. Arsenal also failed to score a victory against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge for the rest of the 1960s after the Blues returned to the top flight in 1963. Even at Highbury, Arsenal would only defeat Chelsea the once over the same period. To make matters worse, with the fashionable Kings Road nearby Chelsea also began to steal Arsenal’s thunder as London’s glamour club. During the 1930s Arsenal attracted Babe Ruth, Buster Keaton, Jean Harlow and Mary Pickford who all took in a game at Highbury, however by the 1960s Stamford Bridge played host to Michael Caine, Steve McQueen, Raquel Welch, Terence Stamp and Richard Attenborough.
Despite this, on the Doc’s departure amid dressing room unrest in 1967, Chelsea again turned to Highbury for his replacement with Bertie Mee’s assistant Dave Sexton taking over at the helm at Stamford Bridge (ironically, Sexton would take over from the Doc again a decade later at Old Trafford). However, as seen from this episode of LWT’s often overlooked Cult 1970s Comedy Drama and Delboy ancestor ‘Budgie’, the Doc wasn’t the only Scotsman in this corner of West London trying to lay down his own brand of discipline. And clearly, from this episode you can see that Stamford Bridge attracted the clientele of cynical mercenaries and dubious businessmen even then! Under Sexton however, the balance remained in Chelsea’s favour as shown by this 0-3 defeat for Arsenal at Stamford Bridge in September 1969 with two goals for Alan Birchenall and Arsenal old boy Tommy Baldwin.
At the end of that season Chelsea would secure their first ever FA Cup beating Leeds United, drawing 2-2 in the first game (Wembley’s first ever drawn final after forty seven years!) but prevailing 2-1 in the replay at Old Trafford (the latter game with twenty eight and a half million viewers is still the most watched FA Cup Final ever). On entering the 1970s however, the balance would slowly tip back towards Arsenal’s favour. However earlier in the double season, Chelsea would inflict a 1-2 defeat on Arsenal at Stamford Bridge (@54.42) . Later that season Chelsea would win their final major trophy for another twenty six years, beating Real Madrid in the final of the European Cup Winners Cup back in the days when European finals were replayed, drawing 1-1 in the first match and winning the replay 2-1.
Arsenal however would finally take all three points at Stamford Bridge after nearly a decade of waiting in October 1971, with a 2-1 win secured with two goals from Ray Kennedy. Another sign of Chelsea’s decline came in February 1972, with their FA Cup exit after losing a 2-0 lead to Orient, who pulled off a 3-2 win at Brisbane Road. In January 1973, Arsenal would pull of a second win at Stamford Bridge in as many years, with a 1-0 win secured with another goal for Ray Kennedy (you’ll notice that this footage ends with Chelsea forward Bill Garner spelling out his name to the referee booking him, which was kind of ironic as Garner would go into the teaching profession on retirement and was a PE teacher at the bog standard Essex comprehensive attended by yours truly!). Arsenal would return to Stamford Bridge just a couple of months later in the FA Cup Quarter Final which ended in a 2-2 draw with Match of the Day’s goal of the season scored by Chelsea’s Peter Osgood. Arsenal however would go on to win the replay at Highbury.
You’ll notice from both 1973 games at Stamford Bridge that the stand opposite the camera resembles a building site, as Chelsea’s audacious plans for a 50,000 all seated stadium got under way. However, though oil would come to Chelsea’s rescue thirty years later, in 1973 it was to be Chelsea’s downfall as the OPEC cartel of oil producing nation’s quadrupled the price of a barrel of crude oil and inflicted the first global recession of the post-war era, meaning that from the rebuilding project Chelsea built just one new stand which was seriously over budget. The knock on effect of Chelsea’s financial woes hit the first team, with Chelsea relegated to the second tier at the end of 1974/75. Before Chelsea’s demotion Arsenal would secure one last win, with a 3-1 victory secured with goals from John Radford and two for Ray Kennedy. Chelsea’s relegation was all but confirmed by defeat to a Tottenham side also battling a relegation scrap at White Hart Lane on the penultimate Saturday of the season.
As will be seen tomorrow, this led to a yo-yo period for Chelsea who were to be relegated three times over the next thirteen seasons, failing to win another major trophy until the late 1990s.
