Peter Osgood

At 59 years old, Peter Osgood has this physical status:

Peter Leslie Osgood (20 February 1947 – 1 March 2006) was an English footballer who played during the 1960s and 1970s.

He is best known for his work at Chelsea and Southampton at club level, and he has been capped four times by England in the early 1970s.

Personal life

Leslie Frank Herbert and Ivy Lilian were born at 26 East Crescent, Windsor, Berkshire, and they were married (née Comley). He attended Clewer Green primary school in Hatch Lane, Windsor, and Dedworth secondary modern school. When his uncle wrote to Chelsea on his behalf to gain a hearing, Osgood described himself as a tearaway and not the brightest kid at school (although he was captain at most sports).

Osgood was married three times:

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Playing career

Osgood had a previous lawsuit with Arsenal, but said he ripped the papers up because he was excited playing for Windsor and working on building sites and didn't like traveling. Osgood was signed by Chelsea as a junior in February 1964 and made his League debut as a 17-year-old, scoring both goals in a 2–0 victory over Workington AFC on December 16, 1964. The buzz surrounding the tall, skilful teenager's goalscoring for the club's reserves – 30 goals in 20 games going into that month – was already high, and he soon became a regular first-teamer.

Following an end-of-season tour of Australia during which Osgood scored 12 times in eight games, the centre-forward's next senior match was the 22 September 1965 4–1 victory over AS Roma in the Inter-City Fairs Cup, which was also dubbed "the Battle of the Bridge." A run in the league followed, with seven goals, one of which involved a 60-yard run through a group of Burnley players.

Following his inclusion in the initial 40-man squad announced in April 1966, the teenager was hailed as a potential late call-up for Alf Ramsey's 1966 World Cup squad, but he wasn't included in the final 22.

Emlyn Hughes, a Blackpool player, was severely injured in a match in the League Cup on October 5, 1966, and he missed Chelsea's first-ever Wembley FA Cup final on May 20, 1967. Chelsea lost 1–2 to Tottenham Hotspur. This was a huge disappointment for Osgood, but his abilities were praised by new boss Dave Sexton, who wore the number 4 shirt for the majority of the 1968-1969 season, when he first appeared as a goalscoring center-forward, as he is most well-known. He was given the name "the Wizard of Os."

Overall, Osgood made 289 appearances for The Blues, scoring 105 goals. He was one of only nine players to score in every round of the FA Cup (and, to date, the last to do so), helping Chelsea beat Leeds United in a replayed final against Leeds United in 1970. Chelsea gained equalizer in their second game at Old Trafford thanks to a diving header from Charlie Cooke's chipped pass twelve minutes from full time; his team eventually defeated 2–1.

In 1971, Osgood was part of Chelsea's European Cup winners' Cup team, defeating Real Madrid 2–1 in a replay in Athens, after the original match had ended 1–1, with Osgood scoring Chelsea's goal. Chelsea scored again, his second goal to put Chelsea 2–0 up, as they continued to win 2–1. He scored for Chelsea in a big cup final for the third year in a row – this time the League Cup – but the team lost 1–2 to Stoke City. Chelsea diminished as a major force after, but Osgood's volley against Arsenal in the FA Cup quarter-final was voted BBC goal of the season in 1972–73. Osgood, a young player in the 1960s, loved the trappings of fame, boozy nights out, gambling, and owning a racing greyhound named Railroad Billy.

Following a string of controversies with manager Dave Sexton over his personal life (during which some of his followers voted against him for a lifetime), Osgood and several of his teammates were stripped from the squad and placed on the transfer list. In March 1974, he was sold to Southampton for a club-record £275,000. He won the FA Cup again in 1976 after a 1–0 win over Manchester United during his time on the south coast. He left Southampton in November 1977, just before the club was promoted. In 161 games for the Saints, he has scored 36 goals. He also had a brief loan stint at Norwich City near the end of his career.

Following a rough ride with the Philadelphia Fury in the United States, Osgood returned to Chelsea in December 1978, where he scored only one goal in 23 matches for a team that also included Alan Ball and Johnny Giles. The club was in shamrock and facing a relegation battle on his return to Stamford Bridge. He scored on his debut to put his team ahead, but Chelsea lost 7–2 to Middlesbrough. He stayed with the club for the remainder of the season before retiring in December 1979.

Despite his talent and goalscoring prowess, Osgood's England career was quite short, with England boss Alf Ramsey apparently disapproving of his playboy lifestyle. As a result, he only gained four international caps without scoring. In a 3–1 victory over Belgium in February 1970, Osgood made his England debut in February 1970. He was a member of the 1970 World Cup squad and made two appearances against Czechoslovakia and Romania as a substitute.

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