# 1954–55 Chelsea F.C. season

The 1954–55 season was Chelsea Football Club's 50th of competitive football, their Golden Jubilee and their 20th consecutive year in the English top flight. It was also the club's most successful year up to that point, as they won the Football League Championship for the first time.
The success was unexpected; Chelsea had never won a major trophy before and their league positions since the Second World War had ranged from 8th to 20th. They also began this season inauspiciously, and the club were languishing in 12th place after four consecutive defeats in October. Subsequently, results improved and the team lost just three of their next 25 matches, ultimately securing the title with a game to spare. Key to the success were two wins against their principal title rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers and a ten match unbeaten streak during the title run-in. Club captain Roy Bentley finished as top scorer, with 21 goals, and the club attracted an average home gate of 48,307, the highest in the division.
As champions of England, Chelsea were invited to enter the inaugural European Cup. They initially accepted, but later withdrew from the competition under pressure from the Football League, who saw the tournament as a distraction to domestic football.

## Results
### First Division

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 21 August 1954 | Leicester City | A | 1–1 | 38,941 | Bentley |
| 23 August 1954 | Burnley | H | 1–0 | 30,239 | Parsons |
| 28 August 1954 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 3–2 | 52,756 | Bentley, Lewis, Ball (o.g.) |
| 31 August 1954 | Burnley | A | 1–1 | 52,756 | Bentley |
| 4 September 1954 | Cardiff City | H | 1–1 | 42,688 | Lewis |
| 6 September 1954 | Preston North End | H | 0–1 | 36,947 | |
| 11 September 1954 | Manchester City | A | 1–1 | 36,230 | Bentley |
| 15 September 1954 | Preston North End | A | 2–1 | 27,549 | Parsons, McNichol |
| 18 September 1954 | Everton | H | 0–2 | 59,199 | |
| 20 November 1954 | Sheffield United | A | 2–1 | 14,137 | Stubbs, Lewis |
| 25 September 1954 | Newcastle United | A | 3–1 | 45,659 | McNichol, Bentley (2) |
| 2 October 1954 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 3–3 | 67,440 | Parsons, Bentley, Lewis |
| 9 October 1954 | Huddersfield Town | A | 0–1 | 29,556 | |
| 16 October 1954 | Manchester United | H | 5–6 | 55,966 | Armstrong, O'Connell (3), Lewis |
| 23 October 1954 | Blackpool | A | 0–1 | 19,694 | |
| 30 October 1954 | Charlton Athletic | H | 1–2 | 54,113 | Parsons |
| 6 November 1954 | Sunderland | A | 3–3 | 42,416 | McNichol (2), Stubbs |
| 13 November 1954 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 2–1 | 52,961 | Bentley, Lewis |
| 20 November 1954 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 1–1 | 25,913 | McNichol |
| 27 November 1954 | Portsmouth | H | 4–1 | 40,358 | McNichol, Stubbs, Bentley, Blunstone |
| 4 December 1954 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 4–3 | 32,095 | McNichol, Bentley (2), Stubbs |
| 11 December 1954 | Aston Villa | H | 4–0 | 36,162 | Parsons, McNichol (2), Bentley |
| 18 December 1954 | Leicester City | H | 3–1 | 33,215 | Parsons, McNichol, Froggatt/Milburn (o.g.) |
| 25 December 1954 | Arsenal | A | 0–1 | 47,178 | |
| 27 December 1954 | Arsenal | H | 1–1 | 65,922 | O'Connell |
| 1 January 1955 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 5–2 | 30,988 | Sillett, O'Connell, Bentley (2), Higgins (o.g.) |
| 22 January 1955 | Manchester City | H | 0–2 | 34,160 | |
| 5 February 1955 | Everton | A | 1–1 | 50,658 | Bentley |
| 12 February 1955 | Newcastle United | H | 4–3 | 50,667 | McNichol, Bentley (3) |
| 26 February 1955 | Huddersfield Town | H | 4–1 | 35,786 | Parsons, Bentley, Stubbs, Blunstone |
| 5 March 1955 | Aston Villa | A | 2–3 | 24,822 | Parsons, McNichol |
| 9 March 1955 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 4–2 | 7,764 | Sillett (2), Saunders, Bentley |
| 12 March 1955 | Blackpool | H | 0–0 | 55,227 | |
| 19 March 1955 | Charlton Athletic | A | 2–0 | 41,415 | O'Connell, Blunstone |
| 23 March 1955 | Cardiff City | A | 1–0 | 16,649 | O'Connell |
| 29 March 1955 | Sunderland | H | 2–1 | 33,203 | Willemse, McDonald (o.g.) |
| 2 April 1955 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 4–2 | 53,159 | Sillett (pen.), Wicks, McNichol (2) |
| 8 April 1955 | Sheffield United | H | 1–1 | 50,978 | Parsons |
| 9 April 1955 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 1–0 | 75,043 | Sillett (pen.) |
| 16 April 1955 | Portsmouth | A | 0–0 | 40,230 | |
| 23 April 1955 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 3–0 | 51,421 | Sillett (pen.), Parsons (2) |
| 30 April 1955 | Manchester United | A | 1–2 | 34,933 | Bentley |
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Chelsea (C) | 42 | 20 | 12 | 10 | 81 | 57 | 1.421 | 52 | Disqualified from the European Cup |
| 2 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 42 | 19 | 10 | 13 | 89 | 70 | 1.271 | 48 | |
| 3 | Portsmouth | 42 | 18 | 12 | 12 | 74 | 62 | 1.194 | 48 | |
| 4 | Sunderland | 42 | 15 | 18 | 9 | 64 | 54 | 1.185 | 48 | |
| 5 | Manchester United | 42 | 20 | 7 | 15 | 84 | 74 | 1.135 | 47 | |
| 6 | Aston Villa | 42 | 20 | 7 | 15 | 72 | 73 | 0.986 | 47 | |
| 7 | Manchester City | 42 | 18 | 10 | 14 | 76 | 69 | 1.101 | 46 | |
| 8 | Newcastle United | 42 | 17 | 9 | 16 | 89 | 77 | 1.156 | 43 | |
| 9 | Arsenal | 42 | 17 | 9 | 16 | 69 | 63 | 1.095 | 43 | |
| 10 | Burnley | 42 | 17 | 9 | 16 | 51 | 48 | 1.063 | 43 | |
| 11 | Everton | 42 | 16 | 10 | 16 | 62 | 68 | 0.912 | 42 | |
| 12 | Huddersfield Town | 42 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 63 | 68 | 0.926 | 41 | |
| 13 | Sheffield United | 42 | 17 | 7 | 18 | 70 | 86 | 0.814 | 41 | |
| 14 | Preston North End | 42 | 16 | 8 | 18 | 83 | 64 | 1.297 | 40 | |
| 15 | Charlton Athletic | 42 | 15 | 10 | 17 | 76 | 75 | 1.013 | 40 | |
| 16 | Tottenham Hotspur | 42 | 16 | 8 | 18 | 72 | 73 | 0.986 | 40 | |
| 17 | West Bromwich Albion | 42 | 16 | 8 | 18 | 76 | 96 | 0.792 | 40 | |
| 18 | Bolton Wanderers | 42 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 62 | 69 | 0.899 | 39 | |
| 19 | Blackpool | 42 | 14 | 10 | 18 | 60 | 64 | 0.938 | 38 | |
| 20 | Cardiff City | 42 | 13 | 11 | 18 | 62 | 76 | 0.816 | 37 | |
| 21 | Leicester City (R) | 42 | 12 | 11 | 19 | 74 | 86 | 0.860 | 35 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 22 | Sheffield Wednesday (R) | 42 | 8 | 10 | 24 | 63 | 100 | 0.630 | 26 | Relegation to the Second Division |
* ↑ Chelsea were invited to play at the inaugural European Cup but were barred from participation by The FA.

### FA Cup

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 8 January 1955 | R3 | Walsall | Stamford Bridge | 2–0 | 40,020 | O'Connell, Stubbs |
| 29 January 1955 | R4 | Bristol Rovers | Eastville Stadium | 3–1 | 35,952 | Parsons, McNichol, Blunstone |
| 19 February 1955 | R5 | Notts County | Meadow Lane | 0–1 | 41,930 | |

## Players Used

| Player | Position | League | Goals |
| Charlie Thomson | Goalkeeper | 16 | 0 |
| Bill Robertson | Goalkeeper | 26 | 0 |
| Ken Armstrong | Right-half | 39 | 1 |
| Stan Wicks | Centre-half | 21 | 1 |
| Alan Dicks | Centre-half | 1 | 0 |
| Ron Greenwood | Centre-half | 21 | 0 |
| John Harris | Centre-half/right-back | 31 | 0 |
| Derek Saunders | Left-half | 42 | 1 |
| Peter Sillett | Right-back | 21 | 6 |
| Stan Willemse | Left-back | 36 | 1 |
| Eric Parsons | Right-wing | 42 | 11 |
| Frank Blunstone | Left-wing | 23 | 3 |
| Jim Lewis | Left-wing | 17 | 6 |
| John McNichol | Inside-Forward | 40 | 14 |
| Roy Bentley (c) | Centre forward | 41 | 21 |
| Les Stubbs | Inside-left | 27 | 5 |
| Robert Edwards | Outside-left | 1 | 0 |
| Peter Brabrook | Forward | 3 | 0 |
| Bobby Smith | Centre forward | 4 | 0 |
| Seamus O'Connell | Inside-Forward | 10 | 7 |