Weird Stuff

[So Called Dave]

Back in the 70s, things happened that just never happen now. There was a home game against Ipswich where Alan Hudson hit a wide shot that went into the goal through the side netting and it was given, contributing to a 2-1 win I believe. Then there was a Cup Winners Cup tie where the opposition had a bloke in glasses and another with only one arm. The aggregate score was 21-0 then Chelsea got knocked out on away goals in the next round. There was another game around Christmas where all the goalies were unavailable and David Webb played the entire game between the sticks. Chelsea won 2-0 against Ipswich I seem to remember.  

[zinc alloy]

Much more interesting times because we still remember them. Boring footballers discussing politics is what we have now.

[Fruit Bat]

On 27/09/2023 at 16:35, So Called Dave said:

Back in the 70s, things happened that just never happen now. There was a home game against Ipswich where Alan Hudson hit a wide shot that went into the goal through the side netting and it was given, contributing to a 2-1 win I believe. Then there was a Cup Winners Cup tie where the opposition had a bloke in glasses and another with only one arm. The aggregate score was 21-0 then Chelsea got knocked out on away goals in the next round. There was another game around Christmas where all the goalies were unavailable and David Webb played the entire game between the sticks. Chelsea won 2-0 against Ipswich I seem to remember.  

They’re surprisingly few books from that generation of footballers- considering they didn’t earn too much dough in their playing days and it could have brought them a few welcome quid spreading memories and tales. Alan Hudson did one which was a bit chip on his shoulder- Ossie had one retrospectively with King and Knight. 

 

[Fruit Bat]

Football memoirs  worth reading from pros who who grew up the hard way and could spin a yarn.... Steve Claridge’s offering. Gary Nelson my Left Foot-!Robin Friday “ The Best Footballer you’ve never heard of”

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Andy North]

I remember the Amercan marching band that sat in the old North East stand. I think they may have started playing during the match on a few occasions.

[Richard P]

Footballers having steak and chips as a pre match meal in the 70s and then running round ( or not) for 90 mins!!

[The Rising Sun]

On 29/09/2023 at 18:35, Fruit Bat said:

They’re surprisingly few books from that generation of footballers- considering they didn’t earn too much dough in their playing days and it could have brought them a few welcome quid spreading memories and tales. Alan Hudson did one which was a bit chip on his shoulder- Ossie had one retrospectively with King and Knight. 

 

"The Bonnie Prince"  Charlie Cooke book with Martin Knight is a good read. There's thanks to the late Ron Hockings inside, I used to travel on some of his away trains back in the day.

[The Rising Sun]

Brian Moore wondering if the Chelsea ball boy arguing with the linesman caused him to miss an offside at The Bridge.

He was arguing about a previous decision the linesman had made !

[Fruit Bat]

On 05/10/2023 at 18:31, The Rising Sun said:

"The Bonnie Prince"  Charlie Cooke book with Martin Knight is a good read. There's thanks to the late Ron Hockings inside, I used to travel on some of his away trains back in the day.

The legend that is Ron Hockiings. Was he a married man?  Wedding anniversary- romantic Wednesday night in Bolton cause we’re playing their in the Milk Cup

[Fruit Bat]

On 05/10/2023 at 18:34, The Rising Sun said:

Brian Moore wondering if the Chelsea ball boy arguing with the linesman caused him to miss an offside at The Bridge.

He was arguing about a previous decision the linesman had made !

Probably my favourite commentator. Catchphrase “‘And a goal.....”

Gillingham fan apparently 

[Fruit Bat]

Total superfan. Probably seen more games than he’s has hot dinners. Expert on British Rail sandwiches apparently 

[The Rising Sun]

19 hours ago, Fruit Bat said:

Probably my favourite commentator. Catchphrase “‘And a goal.....”

Gillingham fan apparently 

And his commentary when Ronald Koeman was about to take a free kick v England

"He's going to flick one, he's going to flick this, he's going to flick it ...and... it's in "   great perception, ( better than the England defence) his voice getting louder and louder and then followed by about a minute of complete silence from him .

Kenneth Wolstanholme when we played Villa in the 60s , a Chelsea player bamboozles their defender.  Ken......." oh you cheeky monkey !"

We won 6 something that day.

[The Rising Sun]

22 hours ago, Fruit Bat said:

The legend that is Ron Hockiings. Was he a married man?  Wedding anniversary- romantic Wednesday night in Bolton cause we’re playing their in the Milk Cup

Dunno if he was married , but I know he must have missed a few games cos I saw him on the " snow train" in France once when we were on a skiing trip during the season.

I've got an old supporters club pamphlet thing that he produced , he apologised for missing some insignificant reserve game or other away to Millwall at the Old Den. 

Do you remember the bearded bloke with a shopping bag who went to every game, reserves , youth etc ? He got an award on the pitch . My mate reckoned he missed one game cos although he could see the stadium it was across some stream , and he couldn't figure out how to get across it !

[Boyne]

A bit different. On the tube to the game against Villa we were discussing the price of stuff back in the late sixties and early seventies. We mentioned buying a bag of chips for six old pennies and getting into Saturday morning pictures for a shilling. There was a young guy on the train listening in and you could tell from expression what he was thinking I.e. who are these old geezers.

Edited October 7, 2023 by Boyne

[Backbiter]

On 29/09/2023 at 19:00, Fruit Bat said:

Football memoirs  worth reading from pros who who grew up the hard way and could spin a yarn.... Steve Claridge’s offering. Gary Nelson my Left Foot-!Robin Friday “ The Best Footballer you’ve never heard of”

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've read Nelson's and the Robin Friday one. Both very good. The latter was co-written by Oasis bassist Paul McGuigan.

Edited October 7, 2023 by Backbiter

[Boyne]

Following the posts about Ron Hockings. This was posted on here in November 2009.

Tribute to Ron Hockings

Written by Geezer in November 2009

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll244/loz1905/RonHockings.gifWhen talking about Chelsea legends it's only natural that we turn our thoughts to the many great players and managers who have graced ourselves with their presence in the name of Chelsea Football Club, it is after all these guys who formed our history on the football pitch.

So at a time when certain parts of the country questions whether or not Chelsea does actually have any history it seems only right that I draw your attention to a Chelsea legend responsible for capturing the history of our club - the late great Ron Hockings.

Ron Hockings was an extraordinary man who took it upon himself to write a diary of every match he attended and how ironic it should be that the first match he attended should be against the very team whose fans question our history - Liverpool. The date was January 4th 1947 and Chelsea won 3-1.

But it wasn't only first team matches which Ron would attend for he also attended reserve matches (Football Combination in the old days) and youth team matches (South East Counties league). During the course of his 59 years following Chelsea he would attend 1,483 home games and 1,220 away games. In total he attended 4,356 games as he also followed England around the globe and indeed watched many other matches as well during the course of his work. In the 1979/80 season alone he would attend 104 games including all 42 of Chelsea's 2nd division matches.

So what of the man himself? Well despite being so attached to Chelsea Football Club Ron had a long and happy marriage of 50 years to Jean and they had two children, Peter and Jacqueline. In fact, legend has it that on their first date Ron actually took Jean to watch a Chelsea match! Ron was also very famous for his love of a cup of tea that was quite often accompanied by a 'roll-up' and for a few years he was a steward in the old East stand.

Ron had followed Chelsea through good and bad times and had been one of the lucky ones to see Chelsea win the league title in 1955. Then came season 2004/05. Chelsea were going great guns in the league but in December 2004 Ron was diagnosed with lung cancer. Despite going to numerous specialists it became apparent to his family that Ron was going to delay any treatment until the end of the season such was his belief that this was going to be Chelsea's season. How fitting it was then that on 30th April 2005 Frank Lampard would score the two goals to ensure Chelsea won the Premiership trophy and even more appropriate that Ron should be invited on to the Stamford Bridge pitch during the final home game to join in the celebrations.

I was fortunate enough to be one of the subscribers to Ron's final piece of work '100 Years of the Blues' and although I never had the pleasure of actually meeting Ron I did have the pleasure of being in touch with him by email during this period. Although tinged with sadness I still cherish the last e-mail he wrote to me where he said 'please get me a programme, I miss it so much'. Ron passed away three weeks later.

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll244/loz1905/Ninety.gifThe funeral was a remarkable and fitting affair lasting 90 minutes with a half time for oranges! The congregation wore Chelsea shirts and a very rousing rendition of 'Blue is the Colour' was sung by one and all as the coffin was carried in. Ron also had a little known obsession for music and chose three tracks for his service from Led Zeppelin, King Crimson and Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Ron's work down the years includes:

- Statistical History of Chelsea Football Club 1905-85

- Statistical History of Chelsea Football Club 1905-86 2nd edition

- Statistical History of Chelsea Football Club 1905-88 3rd edition

- Chelsea FC Player Who's Who 1905-89

- European Cup 1st and 2nd edition

- South American Cups since 1893

- Nations of Europe Vol 1 & Vol 2

- 100 Years of the Blues

If any Liverpool fans happen to read this I urge you to read Ron's work and you will realise that, as a result of this remarkable man, Chelsea Football Club does actually have a history.

In celebration of a true Chelsea legend I'd like you all to join me in raising a cup of tea to the great man that is Ron Hockings.

Bluebeard's Comments on Ron

Ron Hockings lived in Bexhill, about half a mile from me. I didn't know him at all, but then I met Ron a couple of times, while I was working as a meter reader. We got chatting about Chelsea and he took me up into his loft, which was more of a Chelsea shrine. Memorabilia everywhere, and a collection of Chelsea programmes that left me drooling!

He was a lovely man, with a wealth of stories about following Chelsea down the years. He preferred a cup of tea to alcohol, but nevertheless was great company. The last time I saw him he was telling me about his trip over to Tromso and the people he met there.

I bought his book "90 Years Of The Blues" off of him at his home, and got annual updates for a few years. I'd highly recommend the book to anyone who has spent a fair amount of years following the Blues, even though it's basic match stats, it's like a walk down memory lane.

[Backbiter]

Did he ever do guided tours of the Bridge? Because I think he might have done the one I went on about 20 years ago..

[The Rising Sun]

22 hours ago, Boyne said:

A bit different. On the tube to the game against Villa we were discussing the price of stuff back in the late sixties and early seventies. We mentioned buying a bag of chips for six old pennies and getting into Saturday morning pictures for a shilling. There was a young guy on the train listening in and you could tell from expression what he was thinking I.e. who are these old geezers.

There was a bloke who walked around the terraces selling bags of peanuts shouting " peanuts for sixpence" . We used to sing " one two, three,  four , can you hear the Tottenham  roar, ..."peanuts for sixpence " . Then fall about laughing 😂 I'm grinning as I write this !

[The Rising Sun]

I saw Ron at Southampton  ( I think) away , he looked very ill , and he said something along the lines of " I'm not going to miss this season " . Didn't really click what he meant but it was apparent after he passed.

Never saw him angry or annoyed about anything, probably the calmest Chelsea fan I ever came across.

 

[Fruit Bat]

On 08/10/2023 at 16:34, The Rising Sun said:

There was a bloke who walked around the terraces selling bags of peanuts shouting " peanuts for sixpence" . We used to sing " one two, three,  four , can you hear the Tottenham  roar, ..."peanuts for sixpence " . Then fall about laughing 😂 I'm grinning as I write this !

Some of my earliest match going days Circa 74 in the benches- there was a vendor who walked on the cinder bit ever though the dog track was long gone- who’d chuck peanuts into the crowd, and you’d throw the change back at him. Might have been Percy Daltons peanuts but was only 8 or 9 so was unreliable witness

[Fruit Bat]

On 08/10/2023 at 16:34, The Rising Sun said:

There was a bloke who walked around the terraces selling bags of peanuts shouting " peanuts for sixpence" . We used to sing " one two, three,  four , can you hear the Tottenham  roar, ..."peanuts for sixpence " . Then fall about laughing 😂 I'm grinning as I write this !

Years later, last days of The Shed you had those fellas selling the vacuum packed burgers- they had big white containers carried on shoulder straps- real vulcanised rubbish. Still preferable to the stuff sold on those portable stands you saw on Fulham Broadway. Remember a horse called Dark Ivy perishing in The Grand National. Me mate said to one of these bods “ Can I have a Dark Ivy burger with onions mate”

 

[Nitro]

Anyone remember Nobbins? An appeal for money in the programme that was requested to be put in collection buckets after our home matches in appreciation of a good performance. Circa mid 1970s when Chelsea was crippled with debt from the then new East stand, came from boxing terminology.

[Boyne]

After the 5-3 win over Fulham.

[Fruit Bat]

Sammy Nelson from Arsenal hit the back pages by dropping his pants and mooning after scoring, even though he had a jock strap on; half mooning?

Played a few games for the district team  at 15/16. All the lads who were on Schoolboy forms with pro clubs wore jock straps, also rans like meself donned  Y- Fronts. 

Got me old man to buy me a pair, thinking it might magically make me a better player...no dice..

 

 

[Richard P]

2 hours ago, Fruit Bat said:

Sammy Nelson from Arsenal hit the back pages by dropping his pants and mooning after scoring, even though he had a jock strap on; half mooning?

Played a few games for the district team  at 15/16. All the lads who were on Schoolboy forms with pro clubs wore jock straps, also rans like meself donned  Y- Fronts. 

Got me old man to buy me a pair, thinking it might magically make me a better player...no dice..

 

 

Dave Beasent first season we tried to get him to moon,  think he showed a bit of his arse vs pompey last game of season away. Someone threw a I think it was called a “where’s Willie” toy cock on the pitch and Beasent picked it up and had it sticking out of his shorts!!