5 of the best homegrown players in Chelsea’s history

#2 Ron Harris

Ron Harris (left) celebrates Chelsea's 1970 FA Cup triumph

If there is one player whose name is synonymous with Chelsea then it’s Ron Harris. Widely known by his nickname ‘Chopper,’ Harris was an uncompromising central defender who won the FA Youth Cup with Chelsea in 1961 and went on to make nearly 800 senior appearances for the club in all competitions during a 19-year career at Stamford Bridge.

He came up through the ranks with his elder brother Allan Harris and was a vital presence in the aforementioned League Cup, FA Cup and European Cup Winners’ Cup triumphs from the mid-1960s through to the early 1970s.

Harris was particularly decisive in the infamous 1970 FA Cup final against Leeds United. He put in plenty of rough challenges, including a well-remembered lunge in the replay that took out Leeds’ playmaker Eddie Gray, but it was also his quick-thinking that caught the Leeds defence napping in the build-up to Ian Hutchinson’s late equaliser in the original match.

A club living legend, Harris has a suite named after him at Stamford Bridge.