The winner Harry Bennett, enters The Bridge at the end of the 1909 Polytechnic Marathon.

And he shows off his winning trophy below!

Match reports from the last time we played Port Vale at The Bridge in November 1928.

www.onevalefan.co.uk

On 01/04/2026 at 18:57, erskblue said:

Match reports from the last time we played Port Vale at The Bridge in November 1928.

www.onevalefan.co.uk

Great find Ersk! 👍Some stuff that could be applied to our games in recent seasons...😂

"Direct methods gain a point" .

'Port Vale's open play just as effective as Chelsea's close passing "

A large crowd of 75,952 packed into The Bridge for a 2-2 draw with Arsenal on 9th October 1937

Henry Barrett of the Polytechnic Harriers won the inaugural 1909 Polytechnic Marathon.

A ‘proper trophy’ he won too!

The route was from Windsor Castle to Stamford Bridge. He won it with a time of 2 hours, 42 minutes and 31 seconds.

This time was a new world record.

Harry Bennett entering The Bridge at the end of the 1909 Polytechnic Marathon.

Ben Howard Baker competed in the high jump and triple jump at the 1912 and 1920 Olympic Games. He was also an international water polo goalkeeper!

In his first season with us we were playing Bradford City at home in November 1921 and the game was goalless. We were awarded a penalty in the 87th minute and Howard Baker, on only his sixth start for the club insisted on taking it.

He scored and it proved to be the only goal of the game.

Later in the season, we were awarded a penalty against Arsenal and he again took on the responsibility. This time he missed and was thereafter relieved of spot-kick taking duties.

He played for England twice at full international level and ten times at amateur level.

Chelsea's squad from 1913, when Nils Middelboe made his Chelsea debut.

Nils Middelboe in action against Derby County in 1913.

We had a four match tour of Germany and the Netherlands in May 1932.

16/05/1932 Chelsea beat Bayern Munich 2-1 in a friendly.

21/05/1932 Chelsea beat Combined Leipzig XI 7-3 in a friendly.

Hughie Gallacher scored six goals in this game against Leipzig!

22/05/1932 Chelsea beat Combined Stuttgart XI 3-0 in a friendly.

26/05/1932 Chelsea lost to Netherlands XI 1-2 in a friendly

16/05/1906 Chelsea beat Deutscher FC 4-0 in a friendly

17/05/1906 Chelsea beat Deutscher FC 6-1 in a friendly

18/05/1906 Chelsea beat Budapesti 4-0 in a friendly

20/05/1906 Chelsea beat Magyar 6-0 in a friendly

22/05/1906 Chelsea beat Ferencvaros 3-1 in a friendly

24/05/1906 Chelsea beat Vienna Cricket FC 3-1 in a friendly

26/05/1906 Chelsea beat Ramblers 7-0 in a friendly

27/05/1906 Chelsea beat First Vienna FC 3-0 in a friendly

Info from the great bounder friardale site.

Not a bad end of first season tour.

I’m sure that would have been a great experience for everyone on the tour.

Considering foreign travel was a very rare experience for most people back then.

1936-5-23 Poland – Chelsea FC 0

In May 1936, Poland hosted the famous Chelsea London team, which played against the Polish national team and Wisła Kraków. They easily defeated the Polish national team 2-0. From left: Henryk Martyna, Fryderyk Scherfke, Ryszard Piec, Spirydion Albański, Jan Wasiewicz, Michał Matyas, Witold Wypijewski, Józef Kotlarczyk, Hubert Gad, Ewald Dytko, and Władysław Szczepaniak. Photo: NAC  

Chelsea London team.

The the captains of both teams and referee Józef Lustgarten.

Henryk Martyna in action.

Under Albański's goal.

RDT/PS

 

Match documentation

Unofficial match

May 23, 1936, Warsaw (Polish Army Stadium), friendly match

Poland – Chelsea FC 0-2 (0-1)

0-1 – Bill Barraclough (21), 0-2 – Dicky Spence (85)

Judged by: Józef Lustgarten (Poland)

Viewers:  20,000

Poland:  Spirydion Albański (1907, Pogoń Lwów) – Wadysław Szczepaniak (1910, Polonia Warsaw), Henryk Martyna (captain, 1907, Legia Warsaw) – Józef Kotlarczyk (1907, Wisła Kraków), Jan Wasiewicz (1911, Pogoń Lwów) Ewald Dytko (1914, Dąb Katowice) – Ryszard Piec (1913, Naprzód Lipiny), Michał Matyas (1910, Pogoń Lwów), Fryderyk Scherfke (1909, Warta Poznań), Hubert Gad (1914, Śląsk Świętochłowice) (55. Jerzy Wostal, 1914, AKS Chorzów), Witold Wypijewski (1907, Legia Warsaw). Coach: Józef Kałuża (1896), Kurt Otto (1900, Germany)   

Chelsea: Vic Woodley – John O'Hare (Scotland), George Barber – Billy Mitchell (Northern Ireland), Allan Craig (captain, Scotland), Harold Miller – Dicky Spence, Harry Burgess, George Mills, George Gibson (Scotland), Bill Barraclough. Manager: Leslie Knighton

Note: According to some sources, the first goal was scored by Gibson

Team Photo from our 1929 South American Tour.

Chelsea v. Corinthians in São Paulo. 4th July 1929. A 4-4 draw.

The captains shake hands before the match.

From 1919. No idea of who is playing. A packed Bridge.

The Penalty Box ‘D’ became a pitch marking in 1937.

We were the first English side to fly to a domestic match. We flew up to play Newcastle on 19th April 1957.

Glanvill, Rick (2006). Chelsea FC: The Official Biography. p. 96.

We beat Newcastle 2-1 on the 19th. (Good Friday).

Flew back to beat Everton 2-1 at The Bridge the next day.(20th) Easter Saturday.

Then we hammered Newcastle 6-2 at The Bridge on the 22nd, which was Easter Monday.

Training on the pitch back in 1952.

On 02/07/2026 at 05:21, erskblue said:

Training on the pitch back in 1952.

I can't make out what that structure at the top of the terrace is ? Looks like numbers in the windows?