Peter Houseman

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Click to see Peter's biography in his 1973 Testimonial

Click to see his obituary in a programme for a Special Match played in 1977 to raise money for the victim's dependants.

Peter Houseman at Chelsea

(from Goal 18 October, 1969, No. 63 page 10)

Peter Houseman

Born: Battersea, 24th December, 1945

League Appearences:

Peter's Testimonial

The following is from Peter's Testimonial Programme. The game, Chelsea v Fulham was played at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday, 6 November, 1973.

THE CUP THAT CHEERED OUR 'NOBBY'

For ten years now Peter Houseman has been an integral part of the Chelsea scene. Mainly as a left-flank striker, sometimes from midfield, and occasionally at left-back, he has made notable contributions to the most successful era in our history and more than once he has aptly been described as a "players' player".

So far the high-water mark of his eventful career has been our F.A. Cupwinning year of 1970. In eight ties in that memorable season he was our leading scorer with six goals. The best remembered is that in the Final itself. With less than five minutes left before the interval, 'Nobby' moved on to Ian Hutchinson's side-header and, with the Leeds defence standing off and sensing no danger, he shot hard and low from the edge of the penalty-area to beat Gary Sprake's divethe ball passing under the goalkeeper's body as it crept just inside the right-hand post. What a marvellous fillip just before half-time! As we all remember, it was the first of three Chelsea equalisers in that epic two-match Final.

For Peter's "finest hour" we must surely turn to a dark, damp, misty evening at Burnley's Turf Moor, some ten weeks before that Wembley occasion. Three days


previously, in the first game of this 4th Round F.A. Cup-tie, we had lost a two-goal lead in the final ten minutes here at home.
In the replay we were a goal down with only 18 minutes remaining, when Houseman took hold of the game and firmly steered it in Chelsea's direction.

First, he ran on to Alan Hudson's beautifully judged through pass and shot beyond Peter Mellor's despairing dive from fully twenty yards. Having gained us this reprieve and extra-time, he proceeded to put his seal well and truly on the evening.

Two minutes of this extra period had gone when, finding himself tight-marked by the corner flag, he somehow contrived to curve a gloriously flighted centre tantalisingly out of Mellor's reach and on to the head of Tommy Baldwin, who made no mistake from close range.

Finally, after Burnley had launched a desperate last-ditch counter-attack, Charlie Cooke picked up a weak clearance and slipped the ball to Houseman, who dribbled through a retreating defence and hammered his second goal of the match. So 0-1 became 3-1, and our only real crisis on the 1970 road to Wembley had been averted - largely thanks to tonight's beneficiary.

Peter Houseman shoots for Chelsea

23 January 1971: As FA Cup holders, Chelsea lose 3-0 at home to Manchester City in the 4th round

(Picture from Charles Buchan's Football Monthly April 1971)

As We Remember Peter Houseman

The following pictures and words are from a one sheet official programme for a Special Match played Tuesday, 29 March, 1977. It was between Chelsea 1970 and Chelsea 1977. All proceeds went to the dependents of Peter and Sally Houseman, and Allan and Janice Gillham

Peter Houseman Chelsea

In the early hours of last Sunday week, former Chelsea left-winger Peter Houseman and his wife Sally were killed in a road crash near Oxford. Their friends Allan and Janice Gillham died in the same car-they were on the way home from a fund-raising social-and six young children were orphaned, three from each family.

News of the tragedy stunned everyone at Stamford Bridge, which had been the football home of Peter Houseman from the time he joined Chelsea as a junior from Spencer Park School, Battersea, in the summer of 1962 until, in May 1975, he moved to Oxford United. He was 31.

During his years in Chelsea blue, "Nobby" (as he was known in the dressing-room) played 343 competitive first.team games, most of them on the left wing, and while the goals he scored himself were counted at 39, the number he made-particularly for Peter Osgood and Ian Hutchinson-with those deceptively loping runs and measured crosses were beyond calculation. He earned winner'. medals with us in the 1970 F .A. Cup (scoring our first equaliser in the Final against Leeds at Wembley) and the 1971 European Cup-Winners' Cup.

Throughout his career, Peter's attitude to the game, his sense of sportsmanship, were of the highest order .Modest to the extreme, he was a model professional and a wonderful club man. Away from football, he was a devoted family man, doting on Sally and their sons Matthew (7), Daniel (5) and Nathan (2).

Chelsea's grief at the tragedy of the Housemans Cind their friends is equalled only by our concern for the six children suddenly without parents. We wanted to do all we could to help as soon as we could.

So, these saddest of circumstances bring together again the F .A. Cup-winning side of 1970, managed tonight, as they were then, by Dave Sexton. All proceeds from this match, including programme sales, go to the fund that has been set up for the six children who were orphaned, and Eddie McCreadie will be taking the full Chelsea side to play another match at Oxford before the season is over.

Thank you for supporting so worthy a cause here tonight.

For links on this site see...

Peter's page was suggested by Mike Farrier, see Email Summer 2004

For links on other sites see the following ...

www.phyl.co.uk

Peter has a youth league and recreational grounds named after him, see Peter Houseman - phyl.co.uk for the league and Oakley FC for a history

Click for Soccer headlines at www.bobdunning.net