Peter Osgood remembered: The King’s Chelsea story
To mark the 20th anniversary of Peter Osgood’s death on 1 March, we will be celebrating the King of Stamford Bridge’s Chelsea story in the coming days.
https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/article/peter-osgood-remembered-the-kings-Chelsea-story?lid=f0sfq4ipoppc
Tragically, we lost Osgood, Chelsea’s fifth-highest goalscorer in our history, far too soon. He was just 59.
It is now almost two decades since we bid farewell to a bona fide Blues legend, and his legacy continues to this day. To start a series of articles looking back on Osgood’s time at Stamford Bridge, we profile one of our greatest ever strikers…
From out of the Shed there rose a young star,
Scoring goals past Pat Jennings from near and from far,
And Chelsea won like we all knew they would,
And the star of that great team was Peter Osgood,
Osgood, Osgood, Osgood, Osgood,
Born is the King of Stamford Bridge
Bentley. Greaves. Tambling. Dixon. Zola. Drogba. All great players, among the very finest to represent Chelsea Football Club, each one an era-defining player in west London. But only one man has ever been crowned the King of Stamford Bridge.
What was it about Peter Osgood which elevated him above his peers to such an illustrious standing within the football club? It’s clear he was blessed with immense talent on a football field. As his old manager Tommy Docherty put it, in typically jocular fashion, ‘He was great in the air and had two great feet. He was quick, skilful and brave. But he didn't have a lot after that.’
What Doc didn’t add was that, compared to the other names in the above list, Osgood didn’t score the most goals; others could certainly claim to be more skilful; some led the team to the highest honours in the club game. None, however, connected with the supporters quite like Ossie.
A Chelsea career which produced 150 goals across 380 appearances was accompanied by many more tales away from the football field. Here we focus on stories from the beginning and end of a Chelsea legend's career, and how those early experiences shaped a career and a life which touched so many Blues supporters along the way.
Osgood always seemed destined for a career at the top level of sport. He was an all-rounder as a kid, representing Dedworth Secondary Modern at football, cricket, basketball and tennis. But when he left school at 15 to work in an office in Slough, soon to become a bricklayer under the wing of his father, his football dream seemed to be slipping away.
Though he was excelling for local sides Spital Old Boys and Windsor Corinthians – turning out for one on the Saturday and the other the following morning – and trial opportunities arose with Reading and Arsenal, the side he had followed as a boy, it wasn't until his uncle Bob wrote to Chelsea that he gave himself a chance. With the words of Bob ringing in his ears – "Come on now, you can’t let me down" - he grasped it with both hands.
Ossie himself, in words taken from his final interviews with the club, will tell you all about that experience. Dickie Foss, former Blues half-back and the man running what was already being talked about in football circles as one of the finest youth set-ups in the land, took all of 30 minutes to make his mind up.
‘You had natural ability,’ he told Osgood. ‘You moved well, hit the ball with both feet instinctively. It was the way you played the ball rather than what you did it with it that impressed me.’
Funnily enough, his early performances in the youth and reserve sides were also met with approval by a man whose Chelsea goal tally he would later equal: Roy Bentley.
‘His father was working at Buckingham Palace,’ recalls the man who captained Chelsea to our first championship in 1955. ‘And I was talking to him about this up-and-coming footballer, not knowing he was Peter's father. I used to go and watch the youngsters and you didn’t need to know much to see he had something, and I knew he was going to be great.’
Only 10 months later, The Man From Uncle – as his new team-mates wryly dubbed him – had stepped up into the first team; the latest diamond to shine under Docherty's infectiously enthusiastic management.
‘I’ve always been a great believer that if you’re good enough, you’re old enough,’ said the Doc. ‘People said to me, 'He’s a good player but he’s got no experience.' You can’t just say to a player here’s five years’ experience, though. He’s got to go and play, good and bad, have setbacks and so on.
‘We had a wealth of talent and I thought, "What are they playing in the youth team for? They’re too good for the youth team." So I started bringing them into the first team.’
Doc was repaid by Ossie netting twice on his debut in a League Cup tie against Workington. The next morning, the 17-year-old bought a copy of each newspaper to begin his first scrapbook.
Although he had to wait for another chance, with the Blues going for glory in all three domestic competitions right up until the final weeks of the 1964/65 season, England came calling and handed him a call-up for a youth tournament dubbed ‘the little World Cup’.
Ossie was named the best player in the competition, despite England losing the final to East Germany.
Without his young charge having so much as graced the turf in a First Division match, his manager was already tipping him for the top. ‘I’d like to bet you fellows a year’s wages that my centre forward Peter Osgood could, if he tried a little harder, be England’s centre forward for the 1966 World Cup,’ he told the assembled hacks ahead of the new season.
His big chance to impress Alf Ramsey came in a practice match for the Three Lions – against his Chelsea team-mates! Looking for a tune-up ahead of their match against Wales, but without the services of centre forward Alan Peacock, Ossie was 'loaned' to England.
He duly found the back of the net not once, but twice, and clearly enjoyed getting one over on his mate Peter Bonetti between the sticks for the Blues. 'Pick that one out, Catty.'
It wasn't long before he was given an extended run in the Blues starting line-up at the expense of crowd favourite Barry Bridges, who had been involved in the infamous Blackpool incident the previous season and was soon to be heading for the exit door.
After a slow start, he scored a wonder goal in the snow at Villa Park, beating four men and hammering home from a tight angle. Others were beginning to stand up and take notice.
With the Blues enjoying an extended run in Europe for the first time, seeing off Italian giants Roma and AC Milan, envious glances were being cast from Serie A. Milan manager Nils Liedholm, one of the all-time greats, predicted that Osgood would be 'the star of England’s national side.’ Soon, the club received, as Ossie put it, a ‘gigantic offer’ from an Italian club.
He had grown up idolising Jimmy Greaves and, perhaps wary of following his hero's ill-fated decision to leave Chelsea to chase the lira, the idea wasn't even entertained. Besides, the club had just helped him celebrate his 19th birthday by giving him a house near Twickenham.
Before his teenage years were out, however, fate was to deal Osgood a cruel hand. In the space of 18 months, he had gone from being paid £10 as a bricklayer to being rated as one of English football’s brightest talents, but his career soon lay in tatters.
A broken leg, suffered in a challenge with Blackpool's Emlyn Hughes, was to rule him out of the game for a year. As well as the physical scars left by such an injury, the manner of the break affected him mentally.
‘I broke my leg because I was stupid enough to retaliate,’ he said. ‘All I wanted was revenge. I tried to kick a player and came off worse.’
Watching footage of Osgood pre- and post-injury is akin to comparing two different players. In one clip from a game at Anfield, the speed and grace with which this gangly centre forward bursts through banks of midfielders and defenders is startling. After his comeback, he had lost not one, but maybe even two yards of pace, noticeably filling himself out to deal with the bruising centre-halves he faced.
As any great player should, he adapted. After a spell in midfield during the 1968/69 season, his now legendary strike partnership with Ian Hutchinson was struck up in the following campaign. FA Cup glory, of course, was to follow and Osgood was a scorer in every round – a feat which hasn't been achieved since.
For every yard of pace he had lost on the ground, he regained it in his head, aided by a velcro-like first touch and preying on the apprehension of defenders who perhaps began to think twice about giving a clump to a bloke who was now well versed in the dark arts of the game.
'There are men who would chop you down viciously without any trouble, almost as a matter of policy,' he said. 'Intimidate with tackles so late they started last week, go through from behind, hitting ankles and calves, and finally go over the top.'
The above quote was taken from his first autobiography, Ossie The Wizard, which was released in 1969 when he was 22 years old. Osgood painted the picture of an enigmatic character. Beneath the exterior of his trademark swagger seen on and off the pitch were the outpourings of a young man seemingly racked with self-doubt. ‘When I first came into the game, I’m told I’m exciting to watch,’ he wrote. ‘I’m not any more. Languid is more like it.’
Yet he was so single-minded that he was sure he could never change. Tear about the pitch in the manner of John Hollins and his great friend Johnny Boyle? No, his body would not allow that, he insisted. Which, obviously, explains why he once deemed it necessary to enlist the services of a horse to keep up with the pace-setters in one of the countless cross-country runs the players of his era faced.
Although he would never have claimed to lead by example, that didn't prevent this larger-than-life character from taking ownership of the dressing room.
‘He could actually be a bit intimidating when you first came to the club,’ recalls David Webb, the scorer of the winning goal in the 1970 FA Cup final. ‘But it was his way of showing, to be part of the Chelsea team, and any good team has to have it, you had to have that strength within.
'So to get into that little fortress, you had to break through that intimidation. That's why I think he was a great part of the success. People had to be strong characters to get in amongst it.
‘Ronnie [Harris] was the captain who flipped the coin, and Ossie was a strong character and leader – much more so than Ronnie and lots of other people.’
In spite of his standing within the set-up at Chelsea, he believed his lack of on-field endeavour and languid style would prevent him from playing for England so long as Sir Alf Ramsey was in charge. Ever the purist, he wrote, ‘Maybe I lack dedication and my attitude to football is all wrong. All I know is that I feel football is a game primarily of skill.’
There was no shying away from his outlook: he hated training, dressing room japes aside, and despaired of managers who depended on 'players of average ability they know they can rely on' and how it was easier to base tactics on such players rather than ‘a skilled star who may play according only to what mood he’s in.’
But those who watched the beautiful game didn’t subscribe to that theory – Ossie was still the main attraction at Stamford Bridge, along with those other mercurial talents, Charlie Cooke and Alan Hudson.
Celebrity visitors flocked to our west London home to see the King in action. Steve McQueen was there to greet him after he had netted his 100th goal for the Blues and, most famously, Racquel Welch distracted all and sundry at the Bridge when she accompanied the late Jimmy Hill to a game.
‘She walked out with Jimmy Hill and she was waving and shouting to Ossie and he’s going, "Do me a favour, leave it out, I’m playing here",’ recalls John Hollins of the Hollywood star’s visit.
It wasn’t only celebs who were smitten by Ossie; he was a Shed End idol and man of the people, always generous in his time for those who paid their hard earned to cheer him on.
‘The 1960s and ‘70s were the best time in the world to live and Ossie enjoyed football and life,’ said Ken Shellito, whose boots were cleaned by Osgood during his traineeship. 'He would always give time to people, signing autographs for kids and spending time with fans in the bar. He knew they paid his wages.’
Bobby Tambling, too, remembers the generosity extending further than simply giving up his time. ‘When we were way in Europe, Ossie would make sure if there were any players’ tickets left over that they got to those supporters travelling,’ said the club’s second-highest scorer of all time. ‘He had a feeling for the fans.’
When the Blues faced Real Madrid in the 1971 European Cup Winners’ Cup final, which went to a replay, the one-day gap between the matches saw Osgood and several team-mates pass the time drinking by the pool at the Hilton in Athens, with fans joining them throughout the day.
Of course, he scored the winner the next day – big games brought the best out of him, and his cup final record of four goals in five games is bettered only by Didier Drogba.
Unfortunately, that was the last glorious moment of his Chelsea career. Although he was named Player of the Year in 1973, his time in west London was coming to an end. Tensions had risen in the dressing room, particularly between Osgood and manager Dave Sexton. In March 1974, he waved goodbye to Stamford Bridge.
The latter part of his career took in spells with Southampton – where he enjoyed another memorable FA Cup triumph, this time over Manchester United and his old mate The Doc – Norwich City and the Philadelphia Fury, before he returned for another fling with his first love.
His second stint in west London was short and, on the outside, seemingly not so sweet. Those who were privy to the inner sanctuary of the dressing room, however, speak of Osgood’s influence at a time when Chelsea’s star had fallen dramatically.
‘He was a very strong character – he wouldn't suffer fools,’ said Tommy Langley, who grew up idolising the striker before going on to call him a team-mate.
‘If he didn't think you were up for certain things, he would let you know. "You've got to practice this, work on that..." He was a nice guy, but he certainly let you know if he felt you could improve on something. But that's what older players should do with the younger guys.’
His last game as a Chelsea player took place on 8 September 1979, when 17,182 supporters turned up at the Bridge to see us lose to Birmingham City. Osgood was replaced by defender Gary Chivers in the second half and turned on manager Danny Blanchflower after the match, telling the press the club needed a gaffer closer in age to the players.
The board duly appointed Blanchflower’s assistant, Geoff Hurst, as the new caretaker. Nine years earlier, he had shared a room with Osgood for the World Cup in Mexico. Now, his first decision was to drop his old pal, who responded a few days later by refusing to play in Peter Bonetti’s testimonial. The subsequent £100 fine imposed by the club proved to be the straw that broke the camel’s back.
‘He phoned and asked for his cards to be sent to his home,’ declared England’s 1966 World Cup hero.
At the age of 32, Osgood hung up his boots and bought a pub in Windsor, The Union Inn, which he ran with Hutchinson. ‘I look after the catering and Os runs the bar,’ said his old partner in crime. In light of that evidence, perhaps it should come as no surprise that the pair were later made bankrupt!
He briefly returned to football, coaching kids at Butlins and then receiving an offer from Alan Ball to work with Portsmouth’s youngsters. Fortunately for Ossie, his old pal vetoed his decision not to offer a contract to one player: Darren Anderton, who went on to play a key role in England’s run to the semi-finals of Euro ’96.
However, his second calling in life was as an after-dinner speaker and host, primarily with Chelsea, although he was absent for a period before being welcomed back into the fold.
In 2010, four years after his sudden passing at the age of 55, the club unveiled the most fitting of tributes to one of its favourite sons: a statue, the first of any Chelsea player, erected at Stamford Bridge in front of the West Stand.
There is also a time capsule buried underneath the statue which contains, among many items, a copy of the 1970 FA Cup final replay programme, a replica 1970 team shirt and a poem, selected by Peter's widow, Lynn, from the many entries to a competition on the official Chelsea website.
Hundreds of Blues supporters, current and former players, and friends attended the ceremony. The memories shared that night left everyone in attendance in little doubt – the legacy of Peter Osgood will remain one of the fondest chapters written in the history of this great football club.
For Ossie – by Daniel Clarke
A young boy stands among the crowd,
Fifty thousand sing aloud.
Sun sets and rises and thirty years on,
He takes his seat next to his son.
He tells him of a man he did not know,
Compares him to today's hero,
Blessed with talent he strived for success,
Before a time of greed and excess.
The papers print a name and a face,
But his people saw an idol of passion and grace.
For many a year he served the crest,
With the pride of the lion upon his chest.
His dreams, chased often, but realised by few,
Chasing silver, draped in blue.
For all the honours his successors have known,
His legacy has been etched in stone.
He lit the path and led the way,
Set the bar for the stars of today.
Gone he may be, but forgotten never,
For the story of The King will live forever.
A version of this article was first published in 2016.
We will continue to tell stories of the legendary Peter Osgood in the lead up to the 20th anniversary of his passing on Sunday. You can read and watch more on 'The King of Stamford Bridge' Peter Osgood here.
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