A list of all of the appearances of this player in football cards in the period 1965/66 to 1979/80 appears at the foot of this page.

1967/68 A&BC Gum
Star Players (black backs), No. 22

1968/69 A&BC Gum
Footballers (yellow backs), No. 36

1969/70 A&BC Gum
Crinkle cut, No. 1

1970/71 A&BC Gum
Footballers (orange backs), No. 5

1970/71 Daily Sketch,
World Cup transfers (unnumbered)

1970/71 FKS
The Wonderful World of Soccer Stars, No. 58

1974/75 A&BC Gum
Footballers (red backs), No. 96

To be honest Chelsea had always been a fairly mediocre side, with the 1954/55 First Division title win being somewhat of an aberration. In the 16 years after the end of WWII (before their relegation to the Second Division in 1962) they had only been in the top 10 twice, one of those times being the title year.

Their 1963 promotion back to the First Division after only one season in the Second began a memorable era for Chelsea who began a run of nine consecutive seasons when they were not outside of the top 10 in the First Division. Peter Osgood's arrival at Chelsea in 1964 coincided with the establishment of a popular and highly rated team.

His first appearance in a football card was in the 1966/67 season when he was featured in both the A&BC Gum Footballers series and the Barratt & Co. Famous Footballers.

The 1967/68 A&BC Gum, Star Players set features Osgood and states "Joined Chelsea from a local club in Windsor, but broke a leg early last season, the day before he was due to make his debut for England's Under 23 team. 10 league games last season, 6 goals".

The 1967/68 FKS card (interestingly using the same base photo as the A&BC Gum card) adds "Hit two goals in his senior debut v Workington in the League Cup in 1965/66. Clever, useful scorer and great individualist".

The 1968/69 A&BC Gum card (again using that same base photo) states that Osgood was 6ft 2ins and 11st 13lbs. This card adds "One of Chelsea's local discoveries. Osgood was introduced into the first team in the 1965/66 season, and after a series of dazzling displays was due to make his England Under-23 debut against Wales at Swansea in October 1966, but broke his right leg in a League Cup tie at Blackpool the night before the game".

The 1969/70 A&BC Gum green back card suggests a form slump: "Made the switch from center-forward to wing-half after a loss of form midway through the 1968-69 season, and immediately settled into his new midfield role".

The 1970/71 A&BC Gum orange back card sets the record straight: "Switched back to a striker role last season after previously playing in midfield, Osgood hit top form last season, and challenged strongly for international recognition".

The team of this era included the likes of Bonetti, Harris, McCreadie, Hollins, Boyle, Cooke, Tambling, Hutchinson, Houseman etc. - great names...

He stayed on the fringe of the England side, gaining only 4 full caps. He went to Mexico with the 1970 team, making appearances as a substitute against Romania and Czechoslovakia, but with no goals.

In 1971 Peter Osgood scored the winning goal in the Cup Winners Cup Final against Real Madrid in Athens, surely one of the highlights of his career.

The good times could not, however, last and Chelsea began a slump in 1972 which saw them relegated back to the Second Division in 1975.

In March 1974 Osgood was transferred to Southampton for a fee of £275,000. He joined a side which included the likes of Terry Paine, Mike Channon and Eric Martin but unfortunately the team was relegated from the First Division in the first season in which the 'three go down' rule was introduced. It was the start of four seasons for the Saints in the Second Division, where Osgood played most of his Southampton games.

The 1974/75 A&BC Gum card catches Osgood between teams, with a Chelsea shirt on but labelled as Southampton. The card states "Was a £275,000 signing in March 1974 from Chelsea... Had a spell at wing-half but mostly centre-forward in his career".

Interestingly, in 1975/76 and 1976/77 Osgood would have been playing against his old Chelsea team-mates in games in the Second Division.

The 1976/77 Topps, Red back set obviously thought he was still a significant player, stating "When in form, Peter is one of the most gifted footballers England has ever produced".

He went on to play almost 200 games for the Saints before his contract was terminated in December 1977. During this period he was loaned to Norwich City for whom he played three league games (no goals).

In 1978 Osgood played briefly in the U.S.A. for the Philadelphia Fury team, alongside John Dempsey, Alan Ball and Johnny Giles. Now that would have been an interesting team... However, Osgood was not a goal-scoring success, notching only a single goal in 22 games.

Osgood retired from playing football in 1979.

Peter Osgood passed away on 1 March 2006 and will be greatly missed by all football fans. As with all of the great players all we can say is 'thanks for the memories'.

1969/70 A&BC Gum
Footballers (green backs), No. 31

1969/70 FKS
The Wonderful World of Soccer Stars, No. 43

1969/70 IPC
My Favourite Soccer Stars
Scorcher, No. 6

1971/72 A&BC Gum
Footballers (purple backs), No. 197

1971/72 FKS
The Wonderful World of Soccer Stars, No. 28

1973/74 FKS
The Wonderful World of Soccer Stars, No. 51

1976/77 Topps Chewing Gum,
Blue/Grey backs, No. 110