Thomas Baldwin (10 June 1945 – 22 January 2024) 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

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

or forward in

The Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

for

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 ...

, Chelsea,

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

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 ...

and

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

. He was

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the e ...

twice by England at under-23 level.

Career

Baldwin was born in

Gateshead Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...

and played for Wrekenton Juniors before joining

. He turned professional in 1962, and made his league debut in the 3–0 defeat of

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

in April 1965. In September 1966, he scored Arsenal's first ever goal in the League Cup competition, shortly before transferring to Chelsea in part-exchange for

George Graham George Graham (born 30 November 1944) is a Scottish former football player and manager. Nicknamed "Stroller", he made 455 appearances in England's Football League as a midfielder or forward for Aston Villa, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester Unite ...

in 1966. Playing in an attacking role, he scored 17 goals in his first season, including one on his debut against

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

, and played in the 1967 FA Cup Final as Chelsea lost 2–1 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 ...

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 ...

. Baldwin scored 16 goals in each of the next two seasons, but those years finished trophy-less. In 1970, he played in the Cup 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 ...

, this time finishing on the winning side as Chelsea won 2–1 in a replay. The following year, Baldwin helped inspire the side to a 2–1 win over

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 the Cup Winners' Cup final replay in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, but after that his star began to fade. Injuries, loss of form and 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 social activities combined to reduce his opportunities to play, and after spells on loan at

and

, in

non-league football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

with Gravesend & Northfleet, and on non-contract terms at

, he joined the coaching staff at Brentford. He had made a total of 239 appearances for Chelsea, scoring 91 goals. In 1975, Baldwin played for the Seattle Sounders of the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

. In 1976, the Sounders traded the rights to Baldwin to the

Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Vancouver. The Whitecaps compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on March 18, ...

in exchange for Chris Bennett, but Baldwin did not sign with Vancouver.

Nickname

It was thought that Baldwin was known as 'the sponge' for his ability, under pressure, to hold the ball and shield it skilfully from opponents while seeking an opening to set up an attack, but according to his interview on The Chelsea Special podcast, it was because of his ability to soak up alcohol while in the pub with his teammates.

Death

Baldwin died on 22 January 2024 after a long battle with illness, at the age of 78.

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; runner-up: 1966–67

References

External links

*
Chelsea stats and photo
at Sporting Heroes

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baldwin, Tommy 1945 births 2024 deaths Footballers from Gateshead English men's footballers England men's under-23 international footballers Men's association football forwards English Football League players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Arsenal F.C. players Chelsea F.C. players Millwall F.C. players Manchester United F.C. players Ebbsfleet United F.C. players Seattle Sounders (1974–1983) players Brentford F.C. players English expatriate men's footballers English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Brentford F.C. non-playing staff