It’s Friday so once again it’s time for five minute history. Today we’re going to look at one of the hardest defenders of his era. We’re looking at former Chelsea defender, Ron “Chopper” Harris.
When and where did Ron Harris play?
Ron “Chopper” Harris joined Chelsea Football Club as a 15-year-old junior and remained at Chelsea for 21 years. While most of his career was with Chelsea in the First Division, Chelsea spent four of Chopper’s seasons in the second tier of English football.
Harris’ senior team career at Chelsea lasted from 1961 until 1980. He played under seven different managers at Stamford Bridge including Tommy Docherty and Dave Sexton.
While Chopper is most known for his two decades of service at Chelsea, he spent the twilight years of his football career at Brentford and Aldershot where he was employed as a player-coach and player-manager respectively.
Why an article about Ron Harris and not Peter Osgood?
Because I wrote about a striker last week.
Really it’s because Ron Harris was one of the hardest defenders of his era. Chopper acknowledged his reputation in an interview with the Telegraph in 2010;
"“In them days, every team had their kicker. There was Norman [“Bites Yer Legs”] Hunter at Leeds, Nobby Stiles at Man United, Peter [“the bastard’s bastard”] Storey at Arsenal. And me at Chelsea.”"
New rule, any past or present Premier League player that has a nickname like ‘Hatchet Man’, ‘Chopper’, ‘Bites Yer Legs’, ‘The Terminator’, or ‘Anfield Iron’ automatically gets a 5-minute history article.
Next: Harris' Chelsea Career