Season by Season: 1937/8

A rare clearance by Liverpool's goalie
in a 6-1 Chelsea win.

Like many a decent season, we started what would be the penultimatepre-war campaign with victory over Liverpool. That man George Mills did thedamage, grabbing three in a 6-1 humiliation of a side that included post-warManchester United legend Matt Busby in its midfield (he would later guest forthe Pensioners during World War Two).

To say it was disappointing was an understatement. Intheir usual way the board had set out to stem the tide with a major signing inthe spring: hard-working centre-forward Joe Payne arrived for a pricy £5,000from Second Division Luton Town. Originally tried out as an emergency striker,he’d notched up 83 goals in 72 games at Kenilworth Road.

Such a destruction set the tone for a great start, witheight wins out of our first 12 games established Chelsea two points clear ofnearest rivals Brentford. The prolific Joe Bambrick was succumbing to injury,but penalty-taking Wilf Chitty was enjoying one of his occasional hiatuses, andscored 11 this season.

With the agile and intuitive Woodley still at his bestbetween the sticks, and recently arrived England star Sam Weaver, with hispioneering long throws, skippering a surprisingly stable squad, the oldinconsistency of football’s Cinderellas was nevertheless close at hand.

“That must be a record: the combined ages of our full-backs is 80!” Fan overheard decrying the veteran Chelsea defence (from Scott Cheshire’s ‘Chelsea: An Illustrated History’) 

A run of just six wins in our last 30 matches saw usslip from two points clear at the top of Division One to tenth. We ended upwith the same points total as the previous year and, ironically, Liverpool.

By the time war interrupted he’d managed a respectable23 in 42 at the Bridge too. On top of his arrival, Leslie Knighton coped withill form and injury by giving rein to one or two bit-parters. These includedflying attacking midfielder Peter Buchanan, a tricky Glaswegian whose pace anddirect runs opened up defences but often lacked the final flourish to create agoal. He earned his sole Scottish cap in 1938.

Another cameo artiste was the ageing defender NedBarkas, hastily recruited from Huddersfield Town, who combined at the back withthe equally vintage Tommy Law – in his twelfth season at the back. Majorrepair was now needed on a creaking squad if Chelsea were to make progress.

In 1937/8...

Facts & figures: New signing Joe Payne had once notched 10 goals inone game for Luton.

League finish: Tenth in Division One.

Cup run: Out in the third round to Everton.

All the rage: The BBC runs its first live TV coverage of a football match: the FA Cup Final between Preston and Huddersfield.

Season by Season: 1938/9

Fred Hanley's groundbreaking signing in Aug 1938

In May 1938, just over a year before war broke out, anEngland side featuring Chelsea goalkeeper Vic Woodley, future Blue Len Goulden and the renowned StanleyMatthews, then just 23, all performed a Nazi salute in front of 110,000fanatics and an array of Hitler’s top brass at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium. 


Thepress at the time were more concerned with England beating the Germans 6-1, buthistory has hollowed the victory with the symbolism of that unnecessarypre-match gesture.

It is impossible not to view the events of Chelsea’s 1938/9 season as anything other than peripheral to far, far more important matters.Talk of a second world war was everywhere, and Germany had already “annexed”Austria at the time of England’s visit. Everyone, including the players,recognised the threat of another European horror story, especially with theGreat War still a raw memory.

Nevertheless football continued to provide a distractionfor the masses, and George Mills’, Joe Payne’s and Dickie Spence’s prowess infront of goal was one of the most enjoyable diversions. Between them they wouldmanaged 42 goals. All the more impressive because, as if recognising thefutility of investing heavily at that time, the Chelsea board had not carriedout the staff overhaul desperately required to shore up Leslie Knighton’sstruggling squad.

The most expensive signing was Alf Hanson (ominouslyrecorded as Adolf in some Chelsea histories), an outside left from Liverpoolnoted for his pinpoint crossing ability, but who weighed in with eight goalshimself. Knighton hailed him as Chelsea’s finest winger for fourteen years.

More interestingly there is the story is Fred Hanley,who arrived at the Bridge in August 1938 and is almost certainly the firstblack or mixed-race professional to be put on Chelsea’s books. The son of aJamaican sailor and a white Merseysider, discovered playing for Skelmersdale,young Fred’s talent excited his manager: 

“I expect much from (Fred) Hanley. I can see him shaping into one of the great personalities ofthe game.” Chelsea boss Leslie Knighton

The youngster was a success for the Londoners at reservelevel but his progress was thwartedwhen the benign Knighton was dismissed in April 1939. One of new manager Billy Birrell’s first acts was to transfer Hanley to Leyton Orient.

Over the course of 1938/9 the Pensioners’ away form inparticular was appalling, with two wins in the entire campaign. As a result, wewere reacquainted with the lower echelons of Division One all season, andavoided relegation (that would have lasted seven long years) by a single point.

As a rare respite, the Pensioners at last again showedan appetite for the Cup. Arsenal, with record-setting goalscorer Cliff Bastinnetting, were beaten at the Bridge 2-1 in front of 58,000, flame-haired JimmyArgue doing the damage on behalf of west London. Fulham were trounced 3-0, andthen Sheffield Wednesday, on the third attempt, succumbed 3-1 at neutralHighbury.

Enjoying the run, in February the BBC’s famous ‘In TownTonight’ made Chelsea FC its main subject, sealing the connection with West Endglamour.

Typically, heartbreakingly, we then contrived to lose0-1 to Grimsby in the sixth round – a week before slamming them 5-1 in theLeague.  Same old Chelsea.

In 1938/9...

Facts & figures: 45,409 watched us lose to Grimsby in theCup; 17,102 turned up for the League win.

League finish: A disappointing tenth.

Cup run: Reached the quarter-finals, losing to Grimsby.

All the rage: Praying for peace, dreading the call-up.