Chelsea Football Club has been good at celebrating special anniversaries.
The year 2005 saw us reach the major milestone of 100 years-old. What better
way was there to mark the centenary than by becoming champions of England for
the second time in our existence?
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Our golden jubilee had been similarly honoured. The club won silverware in the 1960s,
the 70s, the 90s and at the turn of the new millennium, but 1955 was the year we finished
above all other teams in the League for the first time.It was also Chelsea's earliest
major trophy. The first five decades had seen the club develop into an integral part of
sporting life in England's capital city with famous players and a large, often full stadium.
Chelsea were popular, but achievement fell a long way short of that now enjoyed by the
current team, which began the second 100 years of Chelsea history as the best in the land
and the biggest football story throughout the world.
Even if trophy success proved elusive in the first 50 years, the club had been set up for
the big time from the moment Henry Augustus Mears had a change of heart one Sunday morning
in the autumn of 1904.Of all the decisions that have shaped the history of Chelsea FC,
there can be none more crucial than the one this Edwardian businessman made that particular day.
Gus Mears was an enthusiast for a sport that had taken northern Britain by storm but had yet
to take off in the capital in quite the same way. London at the turn of the century failed to
provide a single team to the Football League First Division.
Mears had spotted the potential for a football club to play at an old athletics ground at
Stamford Bridge, an open piece of land in west London. It was a ground he planned to massively redevelop.
But unforeseen problems had followed, as did a lucrative offer for the land. Mears was on
the verge of selling up and abandoning his sporting dream.
Colleague Frederick Parker, an enthusiastic supporter of the football stadium project attempted
to dissuade him but on the fateful Sunday morning, Parker was told he was wasting his time.
As the two walked on, without warning Mears' dog bit Parker, drawing blood and causing great pain,
but only an amused reaction from Parker.
"You took that bite damn well," Mears announced before telling his accomplice he would now trust
his judgement over others. "Meet me here at nine tomorrow and we'll get busy," he said. Stamford
Bridge was alive once more.
Not that Chelsea FC was in the original plan. The finest sports stadium in London seemed a little
out of place on the edge of well-heeled and arty Chelsea but as history shows, Mears had chosen well.
The proximity to the vibrant centre of town made it perfect as a new venue for football.
Due to financial disagreement, nearby Fulham Football Club, already in existence declined an offer
to abandon the less grand Craven Cottage and move in. So in contrast to the history of so many clubs,
Mears decided to build a team for a stadium, rather than the other way round.
On March 10th 1905, a meeting convened opposite the stadium in a pub now called The Butcher's Hook.
One item on the agenda was a name for the new club. Stamford Bridge FC, Kensington FC and intriguingly,
London FC were all rejected. Chelsea FC was what it was to be - and the story had begun.
John Tait Robertson, a Scottish international was the first player/manager and a squad of respected
players was signed, providing a league could be found to compete in.
The Southern League was the natural choice for our location but they were unwelcoming to these upstarts.
Undaunted, Chelsea simply set our sights higher and went straight for the northern-dominated Football League.
On May 29th 1905, the Football League AGM dramatically elected us to the Second Division.
Parker again proved persuasive as we became the first club ever to make the League without having kicked a ball.
CHELSEA FOOTBALL CLUB FIRST ELEVEN
FAVORITE PLAYER
Name: Frank Lampard
Nationality: English
Date of Birth: 20/06/1978
Height: 6' 0" (184cm)
Weight: 13st 12lbs (88.0kg)
Previous
Clubs: West Ham Utd, Swansea City (loan)
Position: Midfielder
Name: Didier DrogbaNationality: Ivorian
Date of Birth: 11/03/1978
Height: 6' 2" (189cm)
Weight: 14st 5lbs (91.0kg)
Previous
Clubs: Marseille, Guingamp
Position: Striker
Name: DecoNationality: Portuguese
Date of Birth: 27/08/1977
Height: 5' 9" (174cm)
Weight: 11st 7lbs (73.0kg)
Previous
Clubs: Barcelona, Porto
Position: Midfielder
Name: Yuri ZhirkovNationality: Russian
Date of Birth: 20/08/1983
Height: 6' 1" (185cm)
Weight: 11st 11lbs (75.0kg)
Previous
Clubs: CSKA Moscow
Position: Midfielder
Name: Michael Ballack
Nationality: GermanDate of Birth: 26/09/1976
Height: 6' 2" (188cm)
Weight: 14st 0lbs (89.0kg)
Previous
Clubs: Leverkusen, Bayern Munich, Kaiserslautern
Position: Midfielder
Name: John TerryNationality: English
Date of Birth: 07/12/1980
Height: 6' 2" (187cm)
Weight: 14st 3lbs (90.34kg)
Previous
Clubs: Nottm Forest (loan)
Position: Defender
Name: Michael EssienNationality: Ghanaian
Date of Birth: 03/12/1982
Height: 5' 10" (177cm)
Weight: 13st 6lbs (85.35kg)
Previous
Clubs: Lyon, Bastia
Position: Midfielder
