Tommy Docherty

Club

Born in Shettleston Road in Glasgow's east end, Docherty began his playing career when he joined junior football club Shettleston. The turning point in his playing career came in 1946 when he was called up for national service in the Highland Light Infantry. While completing his national service, Docherty represented the British Army at football. On demobilisation, he was offered a contract with Celtic in 1947. Docherty later said that Jimmy Hogan, the club's coach, was his greatest influence. In November 1949, after spending over two years with Celtic, he moved to England and joined Preston North End. With them he won the 1951 Second Division title and got to the 1954 FA Cup final. Altogether Docherty made close to 300 appearances for the club. He left Deepdale in August 1958 to join Arsenal for £28,000 (£570,000 today). With them he made 83 appearances, scoring once. He then went to play for Chelsea where he brought an end to his playing career in 1962.

International

At Preston, Docherty received the first of his 25 full Scotland international caps. His solitary goal came in a 7–2 defeat by England in 1955. He was part of the Scotland squads that played at the 1954 and 1958 FIFA World Cup finals which were held in Switzerland and Sweden, respectively.

Chelsea

In February 1961, Docherty was offered the post of player-coach of Chelsea. Less than twelve months later, upon Ted Drake's departure and with the club facing relegation from the top flight, Docherty took over as manager. He was unable to keep the club in the First Division and the team was relegated at the end of the 1961–62 season. During his first year in charge he sold many of the club's older players and brought in new ones such as Terry Venables, Bobby Tambling, Peter Bonetti and Barry Bridges. He also changed the club's home colours, switching from white shorts to blue shorts, the combination that remains as of 2022. The team, nicknamed "Docherty's Diamonds", achieved promotion back to Division One in their first attempt and finished fifth the following year. In 1964–65, Chelsea won the League Cup in April with an aggregate win over Leicester City, but in the FA Cup were beaten 2–0 in the semi-final by eventual winners Liverpool. In that season the club finished third in the league which is the best performance since 1954–55, the season Chelsea won their first league title. Docherty led Chelsea to the FA and the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup semi-finals a year later, before reaching the FA Cup final in 1967, which they lost to Tottenham Hotspur. He resigned in October 1967. The core of the team Docherty had put together, including Peter Osgood, Charlie Cooke, Ron Harris, Bonetti and John Hollins, went on to win the FA Cup and Cup Winners' Cup under Docherty's…

Docherty married his first wife, Agnes, in December 1949, after he left his native Scotland to sign for Preston North End. They were married for 27 years until Docherty announced his affair with Mary Brown in 1977. Docherty and Agnes had four children together: Mick (himself a former professional footballer and manager), Thomas Jr., Catherine and Peter. After marrying Mary Brown, he had two more children – daughters Grace and Lucy – who were born during the 1980s. Agnes died in September 2002 at the age of 73. In 2008, Tommy Docherty Jr. released a book, Married to a Man of Two Halves, which was based on memoirs and newspaper cuttings which he had discovered when clearing out his mother's house after her death. Tommy Docherty died on 31 December 2020, aged 92, following a long illness.

Player

Preston North End

Football League Second Division: 1950–51 FA Cup runner-up: 1953–54

Manager

Chelsea

Football League Cup: 1964–65 FA Cup runner-up: 1966–67 Manchester United

Football League Second Division: 1974–75 FA Cup: 1976–77; runner-up: 1975–76 Scotland

British Home Championship: 1971–72 (shared)

Individual

Scottish Football Hall of Fame: 2013