Peter Sillett

Southampton

Peter was the son of Charlie Sillett (who was a full-back with Southampton from 1931 to 1938) and inherited his father's skills. He joined the Saints in January 1949 and soon afterwards gained England Youth recognition. Weighing over 13 stone when only 18, Sillett matured quickly into a full-back of some distinction. Southampton were facing mounting debts and, with this fact known to many of the country's top clubs, Sillett, together with his younger brother John, was "induced" to join Ted Drake's Chelsea, for a fee of £12,000. In his two seasons at The Dell, he made 65 appearances in all competitions and scored four goals.

Chelsea

Sillett signed for Chelsea in 1953 and became club's established full-back when fit. A strong defender with a powerful shot, he scored 34 goals for Chelsea, which made him the highest scoring defender in the club's history until being overtaken recently by John Terry, and is acclaimed for scoring what is widely perceived as the 1954–55 title-winning goal. During a match against Chelsea's principal rivals, Wolves on Easter Saturday 1955 in front of a crowd of 75,043, Chelsea were awarded a penalty with that game at 0–0 after Wolves captain Billy Wright had handled the ball in the penalty area. Sillett stepped up to take it and nervelessly smashed the ball past goalkeeper Bert Williams to give Chelsea a 1–0 win and complete a league double over Wolves, one of five goals he netted in the run-in. Chelsea went on to wrap…

Chelsea

First Division championship: 1954–55 FA Charity Shield: 1955