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Peter OSGOOD

Peter Osgood - Chelsea FC - League appearances for Chelsea.

Photo/Foto: George Herringshaw

Date: 26 December 1978

Click on image to enlarge

    • POSITION
      Forward
    • DATE OF BIRTH
      Thursday, 20 February 1947
    • PLACE OF BIRTH
      Windsor, England. Died 1st March 2006 (age 59)
  • INTERNATIONAL
  • England
  • CLUBS
  • Chelsea FC
    • Club Career Dates
      1964-1974, 1978-1979
    • League Debut
      Saturday, 25th September 1965 in a 1-1 draw at home to Newcastle United (Aged: 18)
    • Club Career
      (During two spells)
      286 League apps, 105 goals
  • Southampton FC
    • Club Career Dates
      1974-1977
    • League Debut
      Saturday, 16th March 1974 in a 4-1 defeat at Stoke City (Aged: 27)
    • Club Career
      122 League apps (+4 as sub), 28 goals
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Peter OSGOOD - Chelsea FC - League appearances for Chelsea.

Peter Osgood returned to the Blues in in December 1978 after a spell in the USA with Philadelphia.

Sadly he was never able to recapture the brilliance of his first spell at 'The Bridge' and played just

10 more games, scoring two goals, before finally hanging up his boots. Peter is pictured above

during the 0-0 draw against former club Southampton on Boxing Day 1978.

 

Chelsea:   1964-1965     Played   0     Scored   0   goals   (Division 1)
     1965-1966     Played   32     Scored   7   goals   (Division 1)
     1966-1967     Played   10     Scored   6   goals   (Division 1)
     1967-1968     Played   42     Scored   16   goals   (Division 1)
     1968-1969     Played   35     Scored   9   goals   (Division 1)
     1969-1970     Played   38     Scored   23   goals   (Division 1)
     1970-1971     Played   27     Scored   5   goals   (Division 1)
     1971-1972     Played   36     Scored   18   goals   (Division 1)
     1972-1973     Played   38     Scored   11   goals   (Division 1)
     1973-1974     Played   21     Scored   8   goals   (Division 1)
 
Transferred in March 1974
 
Southampton:   1973-1974     Played   10     Scored   0   goals   (Division 1)
     1974-1975     Played   40     Scored   13   goals   (Division 2)
     1975-1976     Played   33     Scored   6   goals   (Division 2)
     1976-1977     Played   30     Scored   5   goals   (Division 2)
 
Norwich City:   1976-1977     Played   3     Scored   0   goals   (Division 1)   (on   loan   11/1976)
 
Southampton:   1977-1978     Played   13     Scored   0   goals   (Division 2)
 
Transferred from Philadelphia, USA in December 1978
 
Chelsea:   1978-1979     Played   9     Scored   2   goals   (Division 1)
     1979-1980     Played   1     Scored   0   goals   (Division 2)
 

  

After football Osgood's life never lacked incident. For a time in the early 1980s he ran a pub in Windsor, the Union Inn, with his old strike partner Ian Hutchinson but it was an ill-starred venture. As one of its favourite sons he was dismayed to be banned from Stamford Bridge, along with many of his 1970s colleagues, by chairman Ken Bates for perceived criticism of the club in the 1990s. In 2003 he was grateful to the Abramovich regime for his rehabilitation, and returned to his role as a hospitality host on matchdays.

 

Osgood was commonly called "Ossie" and also earned the nickname "The King of Stamford Bridge" due to his exceptional skills as a player as well as his personality and status. Osgood was known as a charming and confident man, and on the pitch he had the slight touch of arrogance found in great football players. Few things summarise his status as well as a T-shirt worn by Raquel Welch, one of the greatest movie stars of the era. The T-shirt simply said "I scored with Osgood". To this day, Peter Osgood's status in the London club is unrivalled.

 

His autobiography 'Ossie – King of Stamford Bridge' written with Martin Knight and Martin King was released in 2003 and in 2004 Osgood appeared in a cameo role in the British film The Football Factory.

Prior to his death on 1 March 2006 following a heart attack at a family funeral, he was involved in football related media work and was well known on the after dinner speaker circuit. Three weeks before his death he had enjoyed a standing ovation when presented to the Stamford Bridge crowd at half-time of a match.

 

At Chelsea's first home game after Osgood's death, against local rivals Tottenham, there were many tributes as well as a minute's applause. Many of his former team-mates were in attendance and the matchday programme ran a tribute to him. The atmosphere was one of joyous remembrance, and in keeping with this theme Chelsea ran out 2–1 winners after a closely contested match, thanks to a last minute goal by William Gallas. Fans sang a chant in honour of Osgood to the song 'The First Noel'.

 

In a memorial service on Sunday, 1 October 2006, Peter Osgood's ashes were buried under the penalty spot at the Shed End of Stamford Bridge. Over 2500 fans attended the memorial service and they were joined by former managers, chairmen, players, colleagues and current Chelsea players.[2] In December 2007 in a 4–4 draw against Aston Villa, Andriy Shevchenko scored the first penalty kick at the Shed End since Osgood's ashes were buried there.

 

On 24 September 2010, Chelsea revealed that the Peter Osgood statue had been completed and it was to be situated outside the West Stand. A week later there was a private unveiling of the statue, attended by Osgood's friends and family, and a day later the statue was available for public viewing.

 
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