Ken Bates, the outspoken and controversial former owner of Chelsea and Leeds, has died at the age of 94, according to ESPN. Across a 48-year presence in English football he was alternately loved and loathed, with a reputation for being anti-establishment, often offensive and frequently in the headlines.
During 21 years as Chelsea chairman Bates rebuilt Stamford Bridge, established the Chelsea Village complex and helped transform the club from a second-tier side into a top-flight force before selling to Roman Abramovich in 2003, according to ESPN. He also formed the Chelsea Pitch Owners to safeguard the ground’s future.
Bates’s eight-year spell as owner of Leeds was less successful, and when he departed in 2013 he had made many more enemies than friends, according to ESPN. Throughout his working life he was accused of shady dealings, engaged in long-running feuds and was involved in numerous settlements both in and out of court.
He served five years on the Football League management committee from 1986 and was an active member of the Football Association executive in the 1990s. In 1997 he was appointed chairman of Wembley National Stadium Ltd to push the stadium rebuild but later resigned, citing a lack of progress and support; he had earlier quit his Football League role after Chelsea were fined £105,000 for alleged illegal payments, according to ESPN. Bates later said the best way to move the Wembley project forward was to shoot the then Minister for Sport, Kate Hoey, the source added.
Born in London on Dec. 4, 1931, Bates was raised by his grandparents on a council estate in Ealing after his mother died and his father absconded. Born with a club foot, he grew up as a QPR fan, moved north and found early success running a quarry business in Manchester before building a wide-ranging business portfolio that included ready-mixed cement, dairy farming, investment in Australian sugar cane and property interests in South Africa, according to ESPN.
Bates campaigned for a greater share of television revenue for lower-league clubs, opposed racism and worked to reduce Chelsea’s hooligan element in the 1980s. He once built an electric perimeter fence around the Stamford Bridge pitch but was refused permission by the local council to switch it on, according to ESPN.
His life in football included chairmanships at Oldham and co-ownership of Wigan before buying Chelsea for £1 in 1982; fewer than 9,000 attended his first game as chairman, while his final match in 2003 was a sellout as Chelsea secured Champions League qualification, according to ESPN. Bates’s legacy remains one of marked achievement entwined with persistent controversy.
