Chelsea FC was founded by Stamford Bridge owner Gus Mears | Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
Chelsea Football Club wasn’t the original plan when businessman and sports enthusiast Gus Mears acquired an old sports ground in west London that was home to the London Athletic Club.
At that time, professional football had not caught on in London in the same way it had over the previous decades in the midlands and north of England, where the dominant clubs were based. Until Woolwich Arsenal were promoted to the top flight in 1904, there had never even been a club from the capital in the First Division, let alone one that had been crowned champions.