Legends
Bobby Tambling
- Name
- Bobby Tambling
- Years at Chelsea
- 1959–1970
- Position
- Forward
- Honours
- League Cup: 1964–65
- Second Division promotion: 1962–63 (captain)
- 202 goals in 370 games
- Club-record 164 league goals
Bobby Tambling, from Hayling Island, made his debut in February 1959 aged 17 and scored in a 3–2 win over West Ham. It was the first of many. When he left eleven years later, nobody had scored more goals in a Chelsea shirt.
His numbers: 202 goals in 370 games, including 164 in the league, still a club record, and eight hat-tricks. In 1962–63 he captained the side that won promotion from the Second Division, scoring 35 league goals. He passed Roy Bentley’s record and held it until May 2013.
He won the 1965 League Cup, scoring in the first leg of the final, his only winner’s medal with the club. He also scored in the 1967 FA Cup final defeat by Tottenham.
The afternoon that defines him is 17 September 1966 at Villa Park: Chelsea beat Aston Villa 6–2 and Tambling scored five of them. In 1970 he moved to Crystal Palace for £40,000.
When Lampard overtook him on 11 May 2013, a record of almost fifty years changed hands; Frank later wrote the foreword to his autobiography. Bobby died on 3 June 2026, aged 84. For generations of fans he was, and remains, Chelsea’s gentleman goalscorer.
Sources
- Chelsea FC — Bobby Tambling 1941–2026 (debut, 202 goals, five at Villa Park, 1963 promotion, death)
- Chelsea FC — All-time record goalscorers (when Lampard passed his record)
- Wikipedia — List of Chelsea F.C. players (370 apps / 202 goals)
- Wikipedia — Bobby Tambling (1965 League Cup, 1967 FA Cup final, move to Crystal Palace)
- Wikimedia Commons — Bobby Tambling and Barry Bridges.jpg (photo: John Dobson, CC BY-SA 2.0)
