Stan Willemse
.png) Stan Willemse, May 1955 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 23 August 1924 | ||
| Place of birth | Brighton, England | ||
| Date of death | 5 August 2011 (aged 86) | ||
| Playing position | Left back | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1946–1949 | Brighton and Hove Albion | 91 | (3) |
| 1949–1956 | Chelsea | 198 | (2) |
| 1956–1958 | Leyton Orient | 59 | (2) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. | |||
Stanley B "Stan" Willemse[1] (23 August 1924 – 5 August 2011)[2] was an English footballer who played as a left-back in the Football League for Brighton and Hove Albion, Chelsea and Leyton Orient.[3]
Born in Brighton,[2] Willemse served in the Royal Marines during the Second World War,[4] and began his football career with Brighton & Hove Albion before signing for Londoners Chelsea in 1949 for £6,000, a sum which helped fund rebuilding work at Brighton's Goldstone Ground.[5] He earned a reputation as a hard-tackling defender whilst with the club, and formed the backbone of the team which won the League Championship in 1954–55, alongside the likes of Roy Bentley, Ken Armstrong, Eric Parsons and Derek Saunders, playing 39 games that season.[4]
Willemse also featured in the representative London XI side which reached the final of the 1955–58 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.[6] He only remained at Chelsea for one more season after that, and signed for Leyton Orient in 1956.[4]
When Chelsea won the title again in the 2004–05 season, Willemse and fellow 1955 title-winner Roy Bentley carried out the trophy at Stamford Bridge for it to be presented to captain John Terry.[7] As of 2005, he was living in Brighton.[4]
On 5 August 2011 he died at the age of 86.[3]
References
- ↑ "Index entry". FreeBMD. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 3 November 2009.
- 1 2 "Stan Willemse". Football Genome Project. Association of Football Statisticians. Retrieved 19 April 2014.
- 1 2 "STAN WILLEMSE 1924-2011". Chelsea F.C. Retrieved 19 April 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 Henderson, Charlie (30 April 2005). "Champions of a different era". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 November 2009.
- ↑ Gardner, Jamie (30 April 2005). "Chelsea's Class Of 1955". Sporting Life. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2009.
- ↑ Ponting, Ivan (27 August 2011). "Stan Willemse: Formidable defender who helped Chelsea to their first League title in 1954/55". Independent. Retrieved 19 April 2014.
- ↑ "Match Reports 07 May 2005, Chelsea 1 – Charlton". Chelsea F.C. Retrieved 19 April 2014.