loz Posted July 19, 2009 Share Posted July 19, 2009 Peter Osgood (1964-1973, 1978-1979) Written by Loz in May 2007 On Wednesday, March 1st, 2006 Chelsea lost its favourite son. Peter Osgood died after suffering a heart attack whilst attending his Uncle's funeral. He was only 59 years old. Known to us all as the King of Stamford Bridge and remembered by us all as the face, the style and the class of Chelsea, not just during his playing career but also throughout his life and his close affiliation with the club he adored. Ossie was born in Windsor, and given the full name of Peter Leslie Osgood. As a nipper he played for the Slough and District team often alongside his uncle Bob. It was Bob who contacted Chelsea to ask if they would give Ossie a trial. He joined the Blues as youth player and was only 17 when he made an emphatic debut for the first team on December 16, 1964 by scoring twice in a League cup game against Workington AFC. He had already been tipped for greatness even before making his debut and this break through just confirmed what people already suspected. Ossie was special, and how we would enjoy his gifts over the years. Regular first team football soon followed, in amongst it, a stunning goal scored against Burnley where he ran the best part of 70 yards and left the Burnley players in his wake. So impressive was Ossie in his first two years that there was a considerable backing for a last minute call up into Alf Ramsey's 1966 world cup squad. I guess most England fans remember Ramsey as the man who took us to World Cup glory, I think of him as the fool who denied Ossie an international career. On October 6, 1966 Ossie's leg was broken during a League Cup game against Blackpool. The person who did it was Emlyn Hughes, loveable little Emlyn, butter wouldn't melt etc etc. It wasn't a challenge, it was assault and, just as with Dean Saunders on Paul Elliott, no Chelsea fan should ever forget or forgive. Hughes will always be a w**ker in my eyes. As a result of this Ossie missed out, on an appearance in Chelsea's first ever FA Cup final in 1967, a final we lost to Spurs. As we now know it would only be three years before Ossie got a chance to put things right. Ossie wasn't just famous for his football ability. Ossie was not just the 'King of Stamford Bridge, he was also the 'King of the King's Road'. It was Bond with boots! Fast cars, stunning women, champagne, the finest cloth cut you could imagine and when it came to lasting the pace it has often been said that even Jim 'Bacardi' Baxter couldn't keep up with Ossie when the drinks were flowing (and they often were). Through an introduction by Richard Attenborough Ossie became good 'friends' with Raquel Welch and on the event of his 100th league goal none other than Steve McQueen was in the Chelsea dressing room to congratulate him. Things were also going well for Ossie on the park. In the 67/68 season he played in every game and ended the season as top goalscorer for the club. Two seasons later Ossie's memorable flying header (from a Charlie Cooke assist) got us back into the game at the 1970 FA Cup final replay staged at Old Trafford with David Webb going on to clinch the cup for Chelsea in extra time. Ossie scored in every round of the FA Cup that year. Next up after the FA Cup was the 1971 Cup Winners Cup and once again Ossie was to make his mark on the big stage. In the first game in Athens against Real Madrid Ossie put us one up but Real equalised right at the death after Ossie had gone off injured. In the replay Ossie scored again to add to John Dempsey's opener and although Real hit back we held on to win our first ever European trophy. March 1972 saw us come up against Stoke City in the League Cup final . Once again Ossie was to score in a cup final however this time he was to end up on the losing side (and in all honesty was pretty lucky to still be on the park by the time he scored!) By the following year things were turning sour at Chelsea, a combination of financial pressures and dissatisfaction with Dave Sexton saw many of our prize assets sold off. When it became clear that the board would not sack Sexton, Ossie decided it was time he moved on. He joined Southampton for a then record British fee of £275,000. As well as Southampton Ossie had stints playing for Norwich City and Philadelphia Fury. He came back to the Bridge in December 1978 for £25,000 but didn't feature often before Hurst let him go in 1979. He retired in December 1979. His life after his playing career was almost as eventful as his life during it. He ran a boozer in Windsor, with Ian Hutchinson but that was ill fated and he was declared bankrupt in 1985. He then felt the wrath of Ken Bates and was banned from the Bridge for what Bates perceived as being criticism of the club in the 1990s. The Abramovich era saw that put right and Ossie returned to the ground he adored in his role as a hospitality host on matchdays. We miss you Ossie, we all do, and we will never forget you. "From out of the Shed, Came a shining young star, Scoring goals past Pat Jennings From near and from far. And Chelsea won, And 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!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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