Some facts you may not know from Chelsea's 110-year history

On 10 March 1905, a few men met at The Rising Sun pub at the Fulham road and Chelsea Football Club was formed. Since a team named Fulham already existed, the name of the Metropolitan Borough of Chelsea was decided over London FC, Kensington FC and Stamford Bridge FC. Blue shirts along with white shorts and dark blue socks were chosen as the colours for the team.

Chelsea were denied entry in the Southern League due to objections from Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur, so they instead applied for admission to the Football League, and the rest is history. Some really big history.

The club has spent 90 years in the top flight and have won the league on 4 occasions, the most recent being under Carlo Ancelotti. On its 110th birthday, we bring to you some known and some lesser known facts about The Blues.

• John Robertson was Chelsea’s First Manager in 1905. He was a Player-manager who eventually managed to score 7 goals in 36 appearances.
• Chelsea lost its first official match as a team 1-0 to Stockport County, Second Division on 1 September 1905. It was an away game.
• Chelsea won their first match at home 3 days later at home against Liverpool 4-0.
• Chelsea, jointly with Arsenal, were the first clubs to play with numbered shirts - on 25 August 1928 in their match against Swansea City.
• Chelsea were the first English team to qualify for the UEFA European Cup, winning the 1954/55 1st Division title (though Chelsea were not allowed to participate by the FA).
• In 1930, Chelsea featured in one of the earliest football films – The Great Game. Former Chelsea centre forward, Jack Cock starred in the film and several scenes were shot at Stamford Bridge, including the pitch, the boardroom, and the dressing rooms. Guest appearances were given by the then Chelsea players Andrew Wilson, George Mills, and Sam Millington.
• Chelsea's official highest home attendance is 82,905 for a First Division match, against Arsenal on 12 October 1935. However, over 100,000 attended a friendly match against Soviet team Dynamo Moscow on 13 November 1945.
• Chelsea's highest appearance maker is Ron Harris, who played in 795 first-class games for the club between 1961 and 1980.
• 'The Liquidator' by the Harry J Allstars is heard before kick-off in home games. Chelsea claim to be the first team to have used the song at a football match in 1969.
• The club's 21–0 aggregate victory over Jeunesse Hautcharage in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1971 is a European record.
• Chelsea became the first English club to name a completely foreign starting lineup in a Premier League match against Southampton in December 1999.
• Chelsea had an exceptional 2004/05 season where they achieved the English record for the highest points total (95), the fewest goals conceded (15), the highest number of Premier League victories in a season (29), the highest number of clean sheets (25)
• In May 2007, Chelsea became the first team to win the FA Cup at the new Wembley Stadium. They were also the last to win it at the old Wembley.
• Chelsea became the first English club to score 100 league goals in a season. They achieved it in the title winning 2009/10 season.
• Chelsea hold the record for the longest streak of unbeaten home games – 86 games between 20 March 2004 and 26 October 2008.
• Chelsea became the first London based club to win the UEFA Champions League in 2012.
• Chelsea are also the first English club to win all four European trophies.
• Chelsea's mascot is a lion taken from their club logos and named Stamford the Lion. In July 2005, the costume was stolen from Stamford Bridge.
• Stamford Bridge has been home to the Blues since its first day and is the oldest stadium in the league.
• Chelsea’s anthem “Blue is the colour” reached number five in the UK Singles Chart in 1972 when it was released.
• Canadian Rock star Bryan Adams, an ardent Blue’s supporter dedicated his song "We're Gonna Win" from the album 18 Till I Die to the club.
• Chelsea Football Club showed losses for nine straight years from the time Russian owner Roman Abramovich took over.
• Chelsea broke the British transfer record by signing Fernando Torres for £50m from rivals Liverpool in January 2011.
• Frank Lampard is Chelsea’s highest goal scorer with 211 goals whereas Drogba is the highest European scorer with 36 goals.