Top two pictures were taken in 1913. The bottom one was taken in 1912.

 

 

 

Edited July 17, 20233 yr by erskblue

Team photo prior to the 1913-1914 season.

Back row (left-right): Foord, Whitley, Logan, Molyneux, Bridgeman, Bettridge, Denoon, McLeod, Turnbull.

Middle row: Wright (trainer), Walker, Easery (assistant trainer), Hunter, Steer, Taylor, Sharp, Macfarlane, Ford, Andrews, Brown (assistant trainer), Clark (groundsman).

Front row: Douglas, W.Brown, Calderhead, Marshall, Downing, Freeman, Fairgray, Harrow, H.Livesey.

Seated on ground: Whittingham and J.Brown. (Photo by Popperfoto via Getty Images/Getty Images)

 

 

George Hilsdon wearing the colours of England poses for a team portrait in 1908 .

George Hilsdon was born in London in 1885 and signed for Chelsea from West Ham United in 1906, at the age of 19 as an inside-forward, he soon converted to leader of the attack where his powerful shooting won him the nickname "Gattling Gun George" after he had scored five goals in his first League appearance for Chelsea, against Worksop which is still a club record.

His 27 goals in his first season at Stamford Bridge was instrumental in the team winning promotion to the First Division for the first time. With 8 international caps to his credit he eventually returned to West Ham after six eventful seasons and he played for the Hammers until the outbreak of World War I.

At Chelsea, where his testimonial match on Easter Monday 1912 raised £180, his memory is perpetuated by the model of a footballer decorating the weather-vane, originally at the north end of the ground, now placed on the East Stand. (Photo by Chelsea FC via Getty Images)

 

 

Baseball at The Bridge in the 1920s

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 22, 20232 yr by erskblue

September 1909 and the Notts County goal under attack at The Bridge.
A 2-2 draw. Played on Wed 1st Sept with a 5.15 pm kick off ! Crowd given as 12,000.
These details taken from the great bounder.friardale site.

 

Sheff Utd at The Bridge. Sept 1912. A 4-2 win for is in front of 40,000.

Harold Halse scoring with a header v Sunderland in Dec 1913.

The match ended in a 1-1 draw in front of a crowd of 30,000.

Anothe photo of the 1-1 draw v Sunderland in December 1913.

On 12/07/2023 at 21:25, erskblue said:

After 1937 as can make out the D on the edge of the penalty areas.

That's always been my favourite picture of the Bridge 

 

Inter Varsity Match taking place in 1929.

21 hours ago, The Rising Sun said:

That's always been my favourite picture of the Bridge 

Not actually sure which is my favourite picture of The Bridge.Need to have a think.

 

Taken in 1935. A Walham Green Greyhound Meeting is in progress.

States this photo was taken in 1933. 

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These three pictures above are taken from the great www.corbychelsea.com site.

Hope nobody minds!

20 hours ago, erskblue said:

 

Taken in 1935. A Walham Green Greyhound Meeting is in progress.

On one of the stairways reading up to the top of the west terrace there was one step that was higher than the rest , EVERY one used to trip up it.

As kids we used to watch from the top at  the mass of fans trudging up and all along the line of that one step you would see bodies lurching forward.

That counted as pre match entertainment back then.😁🤣

No matter how many times you walked up it , it always caught you out.

It must have been the middle stairway looking at that picture.

20 hours ago, erskblue said:

 

Taken in 1935. A Walham Green Greyhound Meeting is in progress.

The dog kennels were at the back of the North terrace towards the east stand . . But what is that long white building behind the terrace with 3 turrets ? Is that where the kennels were ? I seem to remember some small pokey structures ? There's some large vehicles parked near it ..

20 hours ago, erskblue said:

Not actually sure which is my favourite picture of The Bridge.Need to have a think.

That picture was on the front of our old programs as I've mentioned before. I just love that huge west terrace.

6 hours ago, The Rising Sun said:

The dog kennels were at the back of the North terrace towards the east stand . . But what is that long white building behind the terrace with 3 turrets ? Is that where the kennels were ? I seem to remember some small pokey structures ? There's some large vehicles parked near it ..

Re the long white building with the 3 turrets. I hadn’t even noticed it !  I’ll try and find out.

Just now, erskblue said:

Re the long white building with the 3 turrets. I hadn’t even noticed it !  I’ll try and find out.

Cheers Ersk , I've looked at loads of old pictures and never noticed it before, I was actually looking for the kennels !

The great Finnish distance runner Paavo Nurmi running in the four miles invitation record race at the British Games at The Bridge, 25th May 1931. He failed to beat the four mile World record by fifteen seconds. He often ran holding a stopwatch in his hand and he could very well be checking it in the photo above. 

Edited August 3, 20232 yr by erskblue

Greyhound racing The Bridge.

Looks like 'The Shed' is packed.

Charles Booth 1889 map. Showing ‘The London Athletic and Cricket Grounds’… 😀

And to the north, Lille Bridge Athletic Grounds.

On 02/08/2023 at 18:24, erskblue said:

 

Inter Varsity Match taking place in 1929.

On 02/08/2023 at 18:24, erskblue said:

 

Inter Varsity Match taking place in 1929.

No long white building with three turrets shown in this picture, nor the greyhound scoreboard. So far I’m assuming it was greyhound kennels. The greyhound racing at The Bridge started in 1933, so this would make sense. I’ll try and find out some more information on this later.

Edited August 4, 20232 yr by erskblue

13 hours ago, erskblue said:

No long white building with three turrets shown in this picture, nor the greyhound scoreboard. So far I’m assuming it was greyhound kennels. The greyhound racing at The Bridge started in 1933, so this would make sense. I’ll try and find out some more information on this later.

Cheers mate 

 

This OS Map dated 1951. Courtesy of Old Maps. The ‘white turreted structure’ is shown.

In 1928 Stamford Bridge applied for a license to stage Greyhound Racing, but it was instantly declined by the FA, stating that no football league ground would have links with the sport. Instead, the stadiums owners turned to Motorcycle Dirt Track Racing for extra income, but the sport lasted for just four seasons only before the idea was dropped in 1932. But by 1932 Chelsea Football Club were in financial trouble with debts having spiralled to around £12,000.

Concerns meant that the club had to look for other ways to improve its financial status, and against all Football League regulations, the Football Clubs committee turned to Greyhound Racing. 

Stamford Bridge staged its first greyhound meeting on the 31st of July 1933, with attendances increasing at every meeting, sometimes in the excess of 10,000. This instant success of Greyhound Racing with its extra financial income certainly helped the Chelsea financial situation.

Edited August 6, 20232 yr by erskblue