Tommy Baldwin
Personal information
Full name Thomas Baldwin[1]
Date of birth (1945-06-10) 10 June 1945
Place of birth Gateshead, England
Position(s) Midfielder, forward
Youth career
Wrekenton Juniors
Arsenal
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1962–1966 Arsenal 17 (7)
1966–1974 Chelsea 187 (73)
1974 → Millwall (loan) 6 (1)
1974 → Manchester United (loan) 2 (0)
Gravesend & Northfleet
1975 Seattle Sounders 15 (5)
1977–1978 Brentford 4 (1)
Total 231 (88)
International career
1968 England U23 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Thomas Baldwin (born 10 June 1945) is an English former footballer who played in The Football League for Arsenal, Chelsea, Millwall, Manchester United and Brentford.[2] He was capped twice by England at under-23 level.[3] It was thought that Tommy 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,[4] 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.[5]

Career

Baldwin was born in Gateshead and played for Wrekenton Juniors before joining Arsenal.[2] He turned professional in 1962, and made his league debut in the 3–0 defeat of Birmingham City 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 in 1966.[6][7] Playing in an attacking role, he scored 17 goals in his first season, including one on his debut against Manchester City,[8] and played in the 1967 FA Cup Final as Chelsea lost 2–1 to Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley.[9]

He scored 16 goals in each of the next two seasons, but those years finished trophy-less.[8] In 1970, he played in the Cup Final against Leeds United, this time finishing on the winning side as Chelsea won 2–1 in a replay.[10] The following year, Baldwin helped inspire the side to a 2–1 win over Real Madrid in the Cup Winners' Cup final replay in Athens,[11] but after that his star began to fade. Injuries, loss of form and disagreements with manager Dave Sexton over his social activities combined to reduce his opportunities to play,[12][13] and after spells on loan at Manchester United[14] and Millwall, in non-league football with Gravesend & Northfleet, and on non-contract terms at Brentford, he joined the coaching staff at Brentford.[2][8] He had made a total of 239 appearances for Chelsea, scoring 91 goals.[15] In 1975, Baldwin played for the Seattle Sounders of the North American Soccer League. In 1976, the Sounders traded the rights to Baldwin to the Vancouver Whitecaps in exchange for Chris Bennett, but Baldwin did not sign with Vancouver.[16]

References

  1. ↑ "Tommy Baldwin". Barry Hugman's Footballers.
  2. 1 2 3 "Tommy Baldwin". UK A–Z Transfers. Neil Brown. Retrieved 5 December 2009.
  3. ↑ Courtney, Barrie (27 March 2004). "England – U-23 International Results- Details". RSSSF. Retrieved 5 December 2009.
  4. ↑ Chelsea Football Club The Full Statistical Story 1905 - 1986 by Scott Cheshire and Ron Hockings. ISBN 0-9511640-0-7
  5. ↑ https://chelseaspecial.podbean.com/e/tommy-baldwin/ The Chelsea Special - Published 13 November 2019
  6. ↑ "Tommy Baldwin". Arsenal Player Database. Arsenal F.C. Archived from the original on 16 September 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2009.
  7. ↑ "New recruits at home and abroad". The Times. 1 October 1966. p. 5. Baldwin is thrown in free with the cheque, leaving one with the feeling that it is Chelsea who have come out of the deal best—a promising young player plus £50,000 all for the man, Graham, who cost Chelsea only £6,000 from Aston Villa three seasons ago.
  8. 1 2 3 "Tommy Baldwin Chelsea FC". Football Heroes. Sporting Heroes Collections. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  9. ↑ Green, Geoffrey (22 May 1967). "Orthodox wingers sharpen Spurs mobility". The Times. p. 13.
  10. ↑ "1970 FA Cup". Chelsea F.C. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  11. ↑ Green, Geoffrey (22 May 1971). "Now Chelsea add to prize list". The Times. p. 15. Chelsea decided on a 4–2–4 pattern of play with Baldwin brought in as a second striker to help Osgood in the middle. In the first half this made a sharp difference, upsetting the Spaniards and helping Chelsea to achieve a mastery.
  12. ↑ "Now Hutchinson back in training after injury". The Times. 20 January 1974. p. 8. Tommy Baldwin, also out of the first team for much of the season, came out of plaster yesterday. Baldwin suffered a recurrence of achilles tendon trouble after missing several games with a thigh injury.
  13. ↑ "Sexton stays as Chelsea manager says chairman". The Times. 5 March 1974. p. 7. This season [Sexton] has had disciplinary problems and there has been little peace in the camp since he dropped Osgood, Alan Hudson, Tommy Baldwin and Peter Bonetti for the New Year's Day game.
  14. ↑ Smith, Martin (15 December 2007). "Tommy Baldwin recalls fun days at Chelsea". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 5 December 2009.
  15. ↑ Players Appearances Ba-Bd
  16. ↑ Chris Bennett: Canadian utility man
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