Chelsea Football Club has announced the death of former striker Bobby Tambling at the age of 84.
Tambling was Chelsea’s record goalscorer for 45 years, finishing his career with 202 goals. Frank Lampard passed that tally in 2013.
He was also part of the 1965 League Cup winning side that delivered the club’s first knockout trophy.
A family spokesperson said he died peacefully, surrounded by his wife Val and children Jamie, Frankie and Adelaide.
"We are heartbroken to announce the death of Bobby. He died peacefully, surrounded by his beloved Val, Jamie, Frankie and Adelaide.
"Football was his life and Chelsea was his forever home. There was no place he was happier than being at Stamford Bridge talking football with the fans," the family said.
The family thanked staff at CareChoice Home in Montenotte for their care during Tambling’s battle with dementia.
Born on Hayling Island off the south coast, Tambling came through Chelsea’s youth system under Dickie Foss.
He scored prolifically for the juniors from age 15 and made his first-team debut at 17 in February 1959.
The London derby against West Ham ended 3-2, with Tambling, Barry Bridges and 18-year-old Jimmy Greaves all scoring.
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He became a regular from late 1960 and took on the task of replacing Greaves after his move to Italy.
Tambling often played as an inside-forward alongside Bridges, and later on the left of a three-man attack.
At 5ft 8½in he relied on pace and a powerful left foot, and scored many goals by driving at goal and shooting early.
His most prolific season came in 1962/63 when he scored 35 goals in 40 league games to help Chelsea win promotion back to the First Division.
He captained that side, the youngest promotion-winning captain in the Football League at the time.
The late footballer was top scorer again on Chelsea’s return to the top flight and scored five goals in a 6-2 win at Aston Villa in 1966/67, a club record he shares.
Tambling scored six times in seven League Cup games in 1964/65, including the first leg of the final against Leicester, as Chelsea won their first knockout trophy.
He also scored in the 1967 FA Cup final at Wembley, Chelsea’s first post-war appearance at the stadium, though Tottenham won 2-1.
He left Chelsea in 1970 after 370 appearances and 202 goals, and his total of 164 league goals remains a club record.
He won three England caps and scored once against France, and after leaving Chelsea, he played in Ireland before settling in Cork, but returned to Stamford Bridge regularly in later years to meet fans in the hospitality areas.
Lampard, who broke his goals record, wrote the foreword to Tambling’s 2016 autobiography Goals in Life.
"Bobby is a gentleman of football and Chelsea Football Club. If you want an ambassador, someone who shows what the club means and who transcends the generations, he is the man," Lampard said.
Chelsea said the club sends condolences to Val, the family and friends.
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