Peter Osgood
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Peter Leslie Osgood (20 February 1947 – 1 March 2006) 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 was active during the 1960s and 1970s. He is best remembered for representing Chelsea and
Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
as a forward at club level, winning the
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 ...
with each, and was also capped four times by
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
in the early 1970s.


Personal life

Osgood was born at 26 East Crescent,
Clewer Clewer (also known as Clewer Village) is an ecclesiastical parish and an area of Windsor, in the ceremonial county of Berkshire, England. Clewer makes up three wards of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, namely Clewer North, Cle ...
, Windsor, Berkshire to Leslie Frank Herbert and Ivy Lilian (née Comley). He attended Clewer Green primary school in Hatch Lane, Windsor, and Dedworth secondary modern school. Osgood described himself as a tearaway and as not the brainiest kid at school (although he was captain at most sports) and was working as a bricklayer and playing football for Windsor when his uncle wrote to Chelsea on his behalf to secure a trial. Osgood was married three times: *to Rosemary Heather Snow on 19 December 1964, with whom he had two children, Anthony and Mark. They married in Windsor Registry Office on a wintry Saturday morning. On the same afternoon he played for Chelsea against Peterborough, scoring a hat-trick in a 6–1 victory. *to Philippa Cooke-Smith on 17 October 1980. *to Lynette Ann Finlay on 1 June 1987, with whom he had one son, Darren.


Playing career


Chelsea

Osgood had a previous trial with Arsenal, but said that he tore the papers up because he was happy playing for Windsor and working on building sites, and didn't fancy the travel. Osgood was signed in February 1964 by Chelsea as a junior and made his debut as a 17-year-old in the League Cup, scoring both goals in a 2–0 win against Workington AFC on 16 December 1964. The buzz surrounding the tall, skilful teenager's goalscoring for the club's reserves – 30 goals in 20 games going into that month – was already immense, and he soon became a regular first-teamer. Following an end-of-season tour of Australia during which Osgood scored 12 times in eight games, the centre-forward's next senior match was the 22 September 1965 4–1 victory over
AS Roma Associazione Sportiva Roma (''Rome Sport Association''; Italian pronunciation: Help:IPA/Italian, ) is a professional Association football, football club based in Rome, Italy. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma has participated in the top tier ...
in the Inter-City Fairs Cup (a violent encounter dubbed "the Battle of the Bridge"). A run in the league followed, bringing seven goals, including one involving a 60-yard run past a number of
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 ...
players. The teenager was soon hailed as a possible late call-up for
Alf Ramsey Sir Alfred Ernest Ramsey (22 January 1920 – 28 April 1999) was an English association football, football player and Manager (association football), manager. As a player, he represented England national football team, the England national ...
's 1966 World Cup squad, having been included in the original 40-man squad announced in April 1966, but he was not included in the final 22. A broken leg suffered in a challenge by
Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...
's
Emlyn Hughes Emlyn Walter Hughes (28 August 1947 – 9 November 2004) was an English footballer. He started his career at Blackpool in 1964 before moving to Liverpool in 1967. He made 665 appearances for Liverpool and captained the side to three league ti ...
in the League Cup on 5 October 1966 seriously curtailed his progress, and he missed Chelsea's first-ever
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 ...
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 ...
final on 20 May 1967. Chelsea lost to Tottenham Hotspur 2–1. This was a major disappointment for Osgood, but after he returned from the injury his abilities were recognised by new manager
Dave Sexton David James Sexton (6 April 1930 – 25 November 2012) was an English football manager and player. He was notable for managing Chelsea to their first European trophy. Playing career Son of former professional boxer Archie Sexton, he st ...
playing him often as a midfielder, notably wearing the number 4 shirt for most of the 1968– 69 season (reference page 70 'Ossie – King of Stamford Bridge' written with Martin Knight and Martin King ), but it is as a goalscoring centre-forward that he is best remembered. He was given the nickname "the Wizard of Os". In total, Osgood made 289 appearances for ''The Blues'', scoring 105 goals. He was one of only nine players to score in every round of the
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 ...
(and, to date, the last to do so), helping Chelsea to victory in a replayed final against
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 1970. He scored Chelsea's equaliser in the second game at
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with a diving header from Charlie Cooke's chipped pass twelve minutes from full-time; his side eventually won 2–1. In 1971, Osgood was part of the Chelsea team which lifted the
European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...
, defeating
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2–1 in a replay in
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after the original tie had finished 1–1, with Osgood scoring Chelsea's goal in that game. In the replay he scored again, the second goal to put Chelsea 2–0 up, as they went on to win 2–1. In 1972, he scored for Chelsea in a major cup final for the third consecutive year – this time the League Cup – though they lost 2–1 to Stoke City. Chelsea declined as a major force thereafter, but Osgood continued to score regularly; hi
volley
from outside the area against
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
in the FA Cup quarter-final was voted BBC goal of the season in 1972–73. As a young player in the 1960s, Osgood enjoyed the trappings of fame, boozy nights out, gambling and owned a racing greyhound called Railroad Billy.


Southampton, Norwich and return to Chelsea

Following a series of disagreements with manager
Dave Sexton David James Sexton (6 April 1930 – 25 November 2012) was an English football manager and player. He was notable for managing Chelsea to their first European trophy. Playing career Son of former professional boxer Archie Sexton, he st ...
over his lifestyle (during which supporters picketed Stamford Bridge to demand he stay) Osgood, along with several of his teammates, was dropped from the squad and placed on the transfer list. He was sold to
Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
in March 1974 for a club-record £275,000. During his time on the south coast, he won the FA Cup again in 1976 after a 1–0 victory over
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
. He left Southampton in November 1977, shortly before the club were promoted. He scored 36 goals in 161 games for the Saints. Towards the end of his career, he also had a brief loan spell at
Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...
. Osgood signed a US $90,000 contract with the Philadelphia Fury on 12 December 1977. High taxes were the primary reason for his departure from England. He returned to Chelsea in December 1978 following a disappointing stint in the United States with the Fury where he scored only one goal in 23 matches for a team which also included Alan Ball and
Johnny Giles Michael John Giles (born 6 November 1940) is an Irish former association football player and manager best remembered for his time as a midfielder with Leeds United in the 1960s and 1970s. After retiring from management in 1985, Giles served as ...
. On his return to Stamford Bridge, the club were in deep decline and facing a
relegation Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...
battle. He again scored on his debut to put his team ahead, though Chelsea still lost 7–2 to
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...
. He stayed with the club for the rest of the season before retiring in December 1979.


England

In spite of his talent and goalscoring prowess, Osgood's England career was surprisingly limited, with England manager
Alf Ramsey Sir Alfred Ernest Ramsey (22 January 1920 – 28 April 1999) was an English association football, football player and Manager (association football), manager. As a player, he represented England national football team, the England national ...
apparently disapproving of his playboy lifestyle. As a result, he only won four international
caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...
, without scoring. Osgood made his
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
debut in February 1970 in a 3–1 win over
Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
. He was a member of the 1970 World Cup squad, making two appearances against
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
and
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
as a substitute.


Retirement

In 1981, Osgood opened a pub in Windsor, the Union Inn, with his old strike partner Ian Hutchinson. In the 1990s, Osgood and many of his 1970s colleagues were banned from Stamford Bridge by chairman Ken Bates for perceived criticism of the club. Osgood returned to his role as
hospitality Hospitality is the relationship of a host towards a guest, wherein the host receives the guest with some amount of goodwill and welcome. This includes the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. Louis de Jaucourt, Louis, ...
host on matchdays in 2003. 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. 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 A standing ovation is a form of applause where members of a seated audience stand up while applauding, often after extraordinary performances of particularly high acclaim. Standing ovations are considered to be a special honor. Often they are ...
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 Tottenham (, , , ) is a district in north London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, ...
, there were many tributes as well as a minute's applause. Many of his former teammates were in attendance and the matchday programme ran a tribute to him. Chelsea ran out 2–1 winners after a last-minute goal by
William Gallas William Eric Gallas (born 17 August 1977) is a French football coach and former professional association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football), defender. He played most of his footballing career in France and Engl ...
. Fans sang the chant in honour of Osgood to the tune of '
The First Noel "The First Nowell" (or Nowel), modernised as "The First Noel" (or Noël), is a traditional English Christmas carol with Cornish origins most likely from the early modern period, although possibly earlier.. It is listed as number 682 in the Ro ...
'. 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 2700 fans attended the memorial service and they were joined by former managers, chairmen, players, colleagues and current Chelsea players. In December 2007 in a 4–4 draw against
Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...
,
Andriy Shevchenko Andriy Mykolayovych Shevchenko (, ; born 29 September 1976) is a Ukrainian former Manager (association football), football manager and Football player, player. Shevchenko is considered one of the greatest Striker (association football), strik ...
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.


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 The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...
: 1970–71 Southampton *FA Cup: 1975–76


References


Bibliography

* * *


External links

*
BBC Obituary


{{DEFAULTSORT:Osgood, Peter 1947 births Sportspeople from Windsor, Berkshire 2006 deaths English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Chelsea F.C. players Norwich City F.C. players Southampton F.C. players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Philadelphia Fury (1978–1980) players England men's international footballers England men's under-23 international footballers 1970 FIFA World Cup players English Football League players English Football League representative players English expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Footballers from Berkshire 20th-century English sportsmen