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Born 10th June 1945, Thomas ‘Tommy’ Baldwin played as a midfielder and a forward; he came from Gateshead and, prior to joining the Gunners, he played for Wrekenton Juniors – where he was fondly known as ‘Sponge.’
In 1962 he turned professional and made his Arsenal league debut, against Birmingham City in April 1965. His first goal was Arsenal’s first in the League Cup against Gillingham in September 1966. He played 20 times for the club and scored eleven times. Shortly after the tie against Gillingham he left Arsenal for London rivals Chelsea. He was part of the swap deal that took George Graham (our future manager) the other way.
From 1966 until 1974 he played for Chelsea and made almost 200 League appearances, and scored 73 goals. His first three seasons at this club was when he made the most season appearances. He helped the side win the FA Cup in 1970 and European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1971. He had a win percentage of 42%, and was booked only four times. He was never sent off in his Chelsea career. In 1974 he was part of an exodus as he left Stamford Bridge, as he along with many others were deemed surplus to requirements in the view of manager Dave Sexton.
Other clubs he played for included Millwall, Manchester United and Brentford before hanging up his boots in 1978. Since retiring from the game he has made numerous appearances on radio shows.
