Kick off! A short history of Chelsea FC and Stamford Bridge…
Kick off! A short history of Chelsea FC and Stamford Bridge…
Chelsea were rather late to the beautiful game, first emerging in 1905, way later than sworn rivals Tottenham (1882) and Arsenal (1886). It was the year Las Vegas was founded, Jules Verne died, Greta Garbo was born, and Albert Einstein laid down the foundation of modern physics in his groundbreaking Annus Mirabilis papers.
Oligarch-owned clubs were still a very long way off in 1905 and, like most teams of that era, Chelsea’s origins were humble. Founded in a pub opposite Stamford Bridge Stadium, Chelsea took a full 50 years to bag the league title, dating from that fateful first away game (a 1-0 loss to Stockport County) to their historic (and somewhat surprising) emergence as real contenders under manager Ted Drake in the 1954-55 season.
As for the stadium, well, it had been home to an athletics club since opening in 1877. Canny businessmen Gus and Joseph Mears acquired it in 1896, but it wasn’t until 1904 that Gus was able to form the team that would be Chelsea. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Give us the stats, stat
Give us the stats, stat
- Chelsea FC’s Stamford Bridge Stadium holds a seated crowd of 40,173 fans, which is pretty dinky by Premier League standards. By comparison, arch-rivals Arsenal and Tottenham can both accommodate more than 60,000 fans in their (admittedly) far more modern homes.
- The highest recorded attendance for a football match at Stamford Bridge was in 1935, when some 82,905 fans pitched up to see Chelsea hold Arsenal to a 1-1 draw. This, of course, was long before the stadium became an all-seater venue. An estimated crowd of over 100,000 are said to have attended a friendly against Dynamo Moscow in November 1945, but no official record of the true number exists.
- Only six players have made more than 500 appearances for the club. In ascending order: César Azpilicueta (508), John Hollins (592), Frank Lampard (648), John Terry (717), Peter Bonetti (729) and unassailable Blues legend Ron Harris, who put in a whopping 795 competitive appearances for the club between 1961 and 1980.
And now for the fun facts…
1. What’s in a name?
We’ve already established that Stamford Bridge wasn’t originally built for Chelsea. In fact, it was the other way around: Chelsea FC were put together specifically to occupy Stamford Bridge. But did you know that neighbours Fulham were offered use of the former athletics stadium (and declined it) first? Well, now you do. With ‘Fulham FC’ already in use (and well established to boot), the newly formed West London team had to come up with a different name. Alternatives suggested before settling on Chelsea included Stamford Bridge FC and the somewhat immodest London FC.
No such qualms existed about Chelsea’s nickname, The Blues, which was already in use by both Birmingham City and the French national football team. But hey, we guess you can’t copyright a colour.
2. The club’s emblem wasn’t always a lion
2. The club’s emblem wasn’t always a lion
The ‘lion rampant’ emblem we know today wasn’t introduced until the 1950s, when incoming manager Ted Drake set out on a drive to drag the club kicking, screaming and indeed roaring into the 20th Century. Before that? A Chelsea pensioner, of course. Hardly the stuff from which Premier League dreams are made. The old dude on the badge also bore more than a passing resemblance to a certain finger-lickin’ colonel, which may or may not have had a bearing on the switch.
The iconic lion with his staff, red roses and footballs was the first crest to make an appearance on a Chelsea shirt, in the early 1960s. And, though this roar-some beast has undergone several makeovers since, he seems set to stick around for many more years to come.
Side note: the club’s anthropomorphic blue-clad lion mascots are known as Stamford and Bridget and can be seen greeting fans at every home match.
3. It’s one of the UK’s oldest football stadiums
As English football has grown from grassroots to the all-conquering commercial colossus we know today, so teams of all stripes have expanded, modernised and generally upgraded their stadiums with a view to more bums on seats and – ultimately – more cash in the club coffers.
Not so Chelsea, who have remained faithful to Stamford Bridge – one of the country’s oldest football stadiums – for more than a century. As for the failure to expand, it’s not for want of trying. There have been many plans to turn the stadium into a world-class 60,000-seater down the years. But building restrictions, local opposition and funding issues mean all have ended tied up in knots of red tape.
Pro-tip: you can take a tour of the stadium with The London Pass®, which includes savings on entry to dozens of top London attractions.
4. It has one of English football’s most famous stands
4. It has one of English football’s most famous stands
Traditionally the favoured location for Chelsea’s most die-hard fans, The Shed End is Stamford Bridge’s south stand, and is so-named for the shed-like canopy that covered the old terrace here. Though it was turned into seating in the 1990s, the name has lived on. There's now a memorial wall for dearly departed Chelsea fans, and club legend Peter Osgood’s ashes were buried beneath the Shed End penalty spot in 2006.
5. Frank Lampard holds the record as Chelsea’s top goalscorer
Super Frank hit the back of the net a whopping 211 times for Chelsea during his 13-year tenure, surpassing previous record-holder Bobby Tambling’s not inconsiderable tally of 202. No other Chelsea player has yet achieved the dizzy heights of the double-century, but a few – including Peter Osgood, Jimmy Greaves, Didier Drogba and Eden Hazard – have scored more than 100.
If you enjoyed our five interesting facts about Chelsea Stadium, you might also get a kick out of the club’s behind-the-scenes tour, available with The London Pass®. You can also get the lowdown on rival Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium here. Football not your bag? Check out our 10 fun facts about London instead!
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