10 Things You Didn’t Know About Chelsea: Who doesn’t want to know more about a 22 stone Goalie?

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West Ham face Chelsea in the late kick-off this Sunday at the Stamford Bridge. Here are 10 facts about our opponents:

1. Chelsea were formed in 1905 in the Rising Sun pub, which is now the Butchers Hook pub on the Fulham Road, opposite the main entrance to Stamford Bridge.

2. Upon election to the league, Chelsea signed one of the most famous footballers of the time; William “Fatty” Foulkes. Foulkes was a goalkeeper who reportedly weighed in at 22 stone and is credited as being the target of the first ever chant of “who ate all the pies.” Chelsea also employed two young fans to retrieve balls for Foulkes, and so creating the first ever ball boys in the English Football League.

3. Chelsea contested the last FA Cup Final before football ceased due to the First World War in 1915. The match at Old Trafford was attended by a huge number of servicemen and was subsequently named the Khaki Cup Final. Chelsea lost the game 3-0 to Sheffield United and would not reach a cup final for the next 52 years.

4. In 1937 Chelsea took part in the Arts et Techniques dans Vie Moderne tournament in Paris against some of the biggest clubs of the time; Austria Vienna, Bologna and Slavia Prague, becoming the first English club to compete in an international tournament.

5. Following Chelsea’s title win in 1955, the club were due to take part in the inaugural European Cup, but their participation was not allowed thanks to the intervention of both the Football League and the FA.

6. Chelsea have won the top flight 6 times, the FA Cup 7 times and the League Cup 5 times.

7. Chelsea are also the first and to date only London team to win the Champions League, when they won the competition in 2012. Chelsea were also the first English team to have won all three of the major European trophies and are one of only five clubs to have completed this illustrious treble along with Juventus, Ajax, Bayern Munich and Liverpool.

8. Former Hammer Frank Lampard is Chelsea’s all-time top scorer with 203 goals for the club.

9. John Terry is the captain to have lifted the Premier League trophy the most times with five.

10. West Ham have played Chelsea 143 times, winning 56, losing 57 and drawing 30. West Ham won the last meeting between the sides; a 1-0 win at the London Stadium in December.