Peter Houseman
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Peter Houseman (24 December 1945 – 20 March 1977) was an English
footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...
who played as a winger. He was best known for his part in Chelsea's
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
-winning side of
1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...
. He later signed for Oxford United. He was killed along with his wife and two friends in a car crash in 1977.


Club career


Chelsea

Born in
Battersea Battersea is a large district in southwest London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and also extends along the south bank of the Thames Tideway. It includes the Battersea Park. Hist ...
, Houseman signed professional terms with Chelsea in 1963, having played for the Chelsea Juniors. He made his debut for the club in the 1963–64 season in a 3–2 win over Sheffield United but made only sporadic appearances in his early years at Chelsea, with manager
Tommy Docherty Thomas Henderson Docherty (24 April 1928 – 31 December 2020), commonly known as The Doc, was a Scottish football player and manager. Docherty played for several clubs, most notably Preston North End, and represented Scotland 25 times bet ...
unconvinced by him. A section of the Chelsea crowd were also unconvinced by Houseman's performances, and sometimes singled him out for abuse. He featured in no more than twelve games per season in his first three years with Chelsea and missed out on the club's FA Cup final loss to
Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...
in 1967. However, an injury to John Boyle helped Houseman gradually establish himself as a regular in the side on the left wing. He was a skilful dribbler and renowned crosser of a ball, often acting as the team's "water-carrier" and providing service for the likes of Ian Hutchinson and Peter Osgood. He did not miss a match during the 1969–70 season. His most significant contribution to Chelsea came in their first ever
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
success in 1970, with Houseman scoring a total of 6 goals in that season's competition. His first 2 goals came when Chelsea faced
Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...
in the fourth round; after a draw at Stamford Bridge, the side travelled to Burnley's home ground,
Turf Moor Turf Moor is an association football stadium in Burnley, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Burnley F.C., Burnley Football Club since 1883. This unbroken service makes Turf Moor the second-longest continuously used ground in Footbal ...
, for the replay and, with eighteen minutes left, were trailing 1–0. Houseman picked up the ball in his own half and dribbled through the Burnley midfield, riding several challenges. He reached the opposition
penalty area The penalty area or 18-yard box (also known less formally as the penalty box or simply box) is an area of an association football pitch. It is rectangular and extends to each side of the goal and in front of it. If any part of the ball is ove ...
and smashed a shot into the top corner to equalise. In
extra time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...
, Houseman provided the cross for Tommy Baldwin to put Chelsea ahead, and then completed the comeback by scoring the third. He scored again in the 4–1 away win at Crystal Palace in the fifth round, and then in the semi-final against
Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...
, with the Second Division side holding Chelsea at 1–1, Houseman again played a key part, crossing for Osgood to give Chelsea a 2–1 lead and then adding two more himself in an eventual 5–1 win, first rifling a low shot after dribbling past four Watford players, then side-footing the ball home after a neat one-two with Ian Hutchinson. Chelsea faced
Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...
in the final, and it was Houseman who scored Chelsea's first equaliser just before half time, his low shot from 25 yards benefiting from the poor pitch to elude Leeds goalkeeper Gary Sprake, though he spent much of the game trying to cover the team's over-stretched defence. The match ended 2–2 and Chelsea won the replay 2–1 at
Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...
to take the cup for the first time in the club's history. Chelsea won the Cup Winners' Cup a year later, with Houseman an ever-present, helping the side overturn a 0–2 quarter-final deficit to beat
Bruges Bruges ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amoun ...
4–2 on aggregate with the first goal and then playing in both finals against
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...
in Athens, with Chelsea winning 2–1 in the replay. Chelsea reached the League Cup final in 1972, though Houseman was denied a
hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...
of cup-winners medals as they unexpectedly lost to Stoke City at
Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in the London Borou ...
. The club declined as a force thereafter, but having won over the critics to become a key member of one of Chelsea's most glamorous and successful sides, he remained with the Blues until their relegation in 1975. Teammate
John Hollins John William Hollins (16 July 1946 – 14 June 2023) was an English football player and manager. He initially played as a midfielder, before becoming an effective full-back later in his career. Hollins played in the Football League, predomina ...
said of him, "Anybody you asked in that team who they wanted as a team-mate, it would be Peter Houseman without a shadow of a doubt".


Oxford United

He left the club in May 1975, to join
Oxford United Oxford United Football Club () is a professional association football, football club based in Oxford, England. The club compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football league system, English football. Founded as Headingto ...
after playing almost 350 games for the Londoners, and scoring 39 goals. His time with Oxford was less successful, with the club being relegated from the Second Division in 1975–76. He made 72 appearances for the club and scored twice.


Death

Houseman was killed along with his wife and two friends in a car crash on the A40 near
Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
in March 1977 whilst driving home from a fund-raising charity event. The accident occurred when a speeding driver, 22-year-old Bartholomew Smith, the son of Tory MP John Smith, veered into Houseman's vehicle, travelling in the opposite direction. Smith was subsequently tried and sentenced to a £4,000
fine Fine may refer to: Characters * Fran Fine, the title character of ''The Nanny'' * Sylvia Fine (''The Nanny''), Fran's mother on ''The Nanny'' * Officer Fine, a character in ''Tales from the Crypt'', played by Vincent Spano Legal terms * Fine (p ...
plus having his
driving licence A driver's license, driving licence, or driving permit is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, car ...
revoked for ten years. An expert witness at the trial claimed that Smith had been driving at "maniacal" speed and was "considerably intoxicated", allegedly after a
Bullingdon Club The Bullingdon Club is a private all-male dining club for Oxford University students. It is known for its wealthy members, grand banquets, and bad behaviour, including vandalism of restaurants and students' rooms. The club selects its members ...
dinner. A
testimonial match A testimonial match or testimonial game, often referred to simply as a testimonial, is a practice in some sports, particularly in association football in the United Kingdom and South America, where a club has a match to honour a player for servic ...
between the 1970 and 1977 Chelsea teams was arranged to raise money for the Housemans' orphaned children, with a crowd of almost 17,000 in attendance. The footballer was a hero in the village of Oakley in Hampshire, where he had set up and coached a youth football team. There is now a youth league named after him in the area. In 2018 Bartholomew Smith was awarded an OBE for services to charity.


Playing statistics

''Totals include 1 Charity Shield appearance in 1970–71.''


Honours

Chelsea *
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
: 1969–70 * European Cup Winners' Cup 1970-71


References


External links


Biography and obituaryPeter Houseman Youth League
{{DEFAULTSORT:Houseman, Peter 1945 births 1977 deaths Footballers from the London Borough of Wandsworth People from Battersea Chelsea F.C. players Oxford United F.C. players English men's footballers Road incident deaths in England Men's association football wingers People from Oakley, Hampshire English Football League players 20th-century English sportsmen