Ian Hutchinson's Chelsea 1970 F.A. Cup winner's medal, a 9ct.gold medal inscribed THE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION, CHALLENGE CUP, WINNERS, IAN HUTCHINSON Ia

Ian Hutchinson's Chelsea 1970 F.A. Cup winner's medal, a 9ct.gold medal inscribed THE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION, CHALLENGE CUP, WINNERS, IAN HUTCHINSON Ian Hutchinson (4 August 1948 - 19 September 2002) spent the majority of his career at Chelsea, where he was plagued by injuries, including two broken legs, a broken arm, broken tow and persistent knee trouble. Hutchinson was born in Derby and started his career with non-league Burton Albion before signing for Cambridge United . In July 1968 he joined Chelsea for £5,000 on the recommendation of Chelsea coach Ron Suart who had gone to Cambridge to scout a goalkeeper, but instead recommended Hutchinson to manager Dave Sexton. Hutchinson was a striker noted for his impressive heading ability and for taking long throw-ins, which led to him being dubbed the ''the human windmill.'' On his debut against Ipswich Town he sent in a series of long throws which reached the opposite side of the penalty area, confusing both the opposing defenders and the crowd and one of which an Ipswich defender inadvertently put into his own net. At Chelsea he proved to be the perfect foil for team-mate Peter Osgood. During the 1969-70 season they scored 53 goals between them. Ian Hutchinson is most notable for his part in Chelsea winning the F.A. Cup that same season. In the notoriously physical final against Leeds United, he was often in the thick of the action. In the first match at Wembley his headed flick-on teed up Peter Houseman for Chelsea's first equaliser and he was later floored by a poor challenge from Leeds' Norman Hunter. Leeds took the lead with six minutes to go, but two minutes later Hutchinson, still limping from Hunter's challenge, headed in John Hollins' cross to take the game to a replay. In the replay at Old Trafford and with the game tied at 1-1 going into extra time, Hutchinson launched one of his trademark long throw-ins into the Leeds penalty area and it was headed in by Dave Webb to win the cup for Chelsea. His injury toll meant that he only made a modest 144 appearances for Chelsea during which he scored an impressive 58 goals. He retired in July 1976 aged just 27. Ian Hutchinson died in September 2002 after a long illness.