CHELSEA F.C.
Chelsea F.C. was a dream of businessman Henry Mears in 1904, also having a site already in mind, which was an old athletic ground at Stamford Bridge. A colleague and friend of Mears called Fredrick Parker became interested in this dream and on March 14 1905, the dream became reality when the club was born.
After some unwelcome signs toward the Southern League, Chelsea headed to the Northern League and became the first club to enter a Division without kicking a ball. So it was in the Second Division they started and after two seasons they were promoted to the First Division. The crowds were always there for Chelsea and some great support was always behind the team.
Early and distinctive figures at the club were –
Willie ‘Fatty’ Foulke, Chelsea’s first goalkeeper weighing in at 22 stone.
Centre forward called George Hilsdon nicknamed ‘Gatlin Gun’ because of his firing power. Jimmy Windridge scores the first hat trick for Chelsea.
Nils Middelboe known as ‘The Great Dane’ the clubs first foreign player.
There was a relegation early in the 1910’s but soon back into the top League. An FA Cup semi-final with Manchester United in 1915 but lost 3 – 0
Relegation was to suffer the club once again in 1924 and stayed in Second Division until the end of season 1929/30 when they were promoted back again into the top Division.
After a short spell of disappointing results there was a glimmer of hope with a run at the FA Cup in 1932 but got knocked out against Newcastle United in the semi-final. After the break from normal competition due to the war, Chelsea was at Wembley in 1944 in the Football League South Cup Final but losing to Charlton. Winning the same Cup 12 months later against Millwall.
An historic occasion called Dynamo Day started at the Stamford Stadium after the war ended to bring back the glory of football. Moscow Dynamo and Chelsea were to open the competition and an unconfirmed record crowd is said to have been at the stadium reported to be over 100,000 but a confirmed 74,500 when the gates were closed. A draw followed with a score of 3 – 3
