Although he was only with the Fleet for a short while in the mid-Seventies, flamboyant forward Tommy Baldwin – who died yesterday aged 78 – was one of the most famous footballers of his time to play at Stonebridge Road.
Born in Gateshead in 1945, he joined Arsenal’s youth ranks in the early 1960s and made his league debut for the Gunners in 1965.
It was elsewhere in London that he made his name, however, moving to Chelsea in 1966. He was an FA Cup runner-up the following year but triumphed at Wembley as the Blues beat Leeds United in the 1970 final. The following year he was one of the standout players as Chelsea won the European Cup Winners’ Cup, overcoming Real Madrid in Athens.
He had short spells at Manchester United, Millwall and Seattle Sounders in the USA as his Chelsea career waned after 239 games and 91 goals at Stamford Bridge and he signed for the Fleet in 1976.
His debut came at Telford United who had just appointed Sir Geoff Hurst as player-manager and Baldwin went on to make seven appearances for the Fleet up until January 1977, featuring in two FA Cup ties against Maidstone United. After that he returned to the League briefly with Brentford.
Living close to Stamford Bridge, he worked as a matchday host for Chelsea before a long battle against illness in more recent times.
