Baldwin, Tommy (1966-1974)

Tommy Baldwin (1966-1974)

Written by Lofty in June 2007

Tommy Baldwin was born on Sunday, 10th June 1945 in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England. He signed for Arsenal in 1962, and made his league debut against Birmingham City in April 1965.

Tommy scored 7 goals in 17 games for Arsenal before he was spotted by Tommy Docherty, who signed him for Chelsea in September 1966 as part of the deal that took George Graham to Arsenal.

During his first season at Chelsea, Tommy scored 17 goals, including one on his debut, the 4-1 win against Manchester City on October 1st 1966. He went on to play at Wembley in the 1967 FA Cup Final against Tottenham, and scored 16 goals in each of the next two seasons. However, he was on the winning side against Leeds in the 1970 Cup Final, admitting that he relished the physical side of the game:

"We kicked them and they kicked us"

Tommy also played a major part in the following season's European Cup Winner's Cup win.

As Charlie Cooke said of Tommy:

"It was soon apparent that he was the perfect foil for Ossie, who was coming into his own and getting better and more confident with every game. Tommy was as sharp as a tack and a tireless worker who took a lot of close-marking pressure off Ossie, and his contribution to Ossie's development has often been overlooked."

And as Ossie himself said, following the victory over Real Madrid:

"we work well together".

Many in the media thought that Tommy's nickname 'Sponge’ derived from his non-stop running. However, the nickname was actually in recognition of his ability to absorb alcohol. As Charlie Cooke once said when asked to recall a few 'low-class parties'

"No, Tommy Baldwin's your man for them!"

During his time at Stamford Bridge, between 1966 - 1974, Tommy made 187 appearances for Chelsea, scoring a total of 74 goals.

However, in 1974 he left Chelsea, one of several Chelsea legends deemed surplus to requirements by manager Dave Sexton. The latter part of his career was blighted by injuries, and following short spells with Millwall, Manchester United, Gravesend, Seattle and Brentford, Tommy finally retired from the game in 1978.

At the time of writing, Tommy lives in Fulham, and enjoys a game of golf. He still keeps in touch with the club and is a regular guest on radio sports shows.

Often overlooked, Tommy Baldwin's contribution to Chelsea FC is fondly recalled in the following classic Shed anthem: