Bobby Tambling, RIP
Sorry to hear that Bobby Tambling has died, aged 84, although, to be fair, that’s an age many of us would be happy to reach.
I suspect that few if any people reading this will have heard of him but he was one of the first footballers I took an interest in as a young boy.
You see, he scored Chelsea’s late consolation goal when they lost the FA Cup final, 2-1, to Spurs in 1967, and it was partly as a result of that match that I decided to support the west London club who were the underdog that day and continued to experience fluctuating fortunes for decades - including multiple relegations in the Seventies and Eighties - before the intervention of a certain Russian oligarch in 2003.
Truth is, Tambling’s best days were a bit before my interest in football really kicked in. Nevertheless, I was aware of his status at Chelsea where he made his debut, aged 18, in 1959 (the year I was born), effectively replacing the great Jimmy Greaves who had moved to Italy. In 1962, after Chelsea were relegated to the old Second Division, Tambling was appointed captain by manager Tommy Doherty, whereupon his young team bounced straight back up.
Back in the First Division Tambling was the club’s top scorer in 1963/64. He still holds the club record for scoring the most goals in a single league game (five against Aston Villa in 1966), and he was the club’s all-time top scorer for decades (with 202 goals in 370 games) until his record was beaten by Frank Lampard in 2013.
When I think back to the Sixties, Tambling is the first Chelsea player who comes to mind. I even had a poster of him on my bedroom wall, but by the end of the decade he was struggling to get in the side. Only one substitute was allowed in those days and he didn’t even make the 1970 FA Cup final squad of twelve players, which must have been a huge disappointment.
A few months later he joined Crystal Palace, but he ended his career in Ireland, playing for Cork Celtic and, briefly, Shamrock Rovers and Cork Alberts. He was also, for a time, manager of Cork City. Interestingly, he moved to Ireland not for footballing reasons but because, according to his Wikipedia entry, he was a ‘committed Jehovah’s Witness’ who ‘volunteered for evangelical duty in County Cork’.
He returned occasionally to Stamford Bridge where there is a corporate box named after him, but he spent the rest of his life in County Cork and is reported to have died in a care home in the Montenotte area of the city following a long illness. By coincidence, I stayed in the Montenotte Hotel in Cork a couple of years ago, oblivious to the fact that one of my childhood heroes lived nearby.
Bobby Tambling, born September 18, 1941, died June 3, 2026.
Update: Crosshaven AFC, another local side Tambling managed in Co Cork, have posted a lovely statement on social media:
It is with the heaviest of hearts that Crosshaven AFC announce the passing of our dear friend and former manager, Bobby Tambling -- a true Chelsea legend and an even more wonderful human being.
His passion for football was absolutely infectious. Whether he was talking tactics, working on set pieces, or telling stories from his playing days (sometimes for the tenth time), you couldn't help but hang on every word.
Bobby leaves an enormous hole in all our lives. We are all better, kinder, and richer for having known him.
His warmth, his wisdom, his humour and his love will stay with us forever. To his loving family, his close friends, and his adoring Chelsea family -- we send our deepest, most heartfelt condolences.
We have all lost a true legend, and a very special man.
See: Bobby Tambling, Chelsea’s former record goal scorer, dies aged 84 (ESPN)
