Former Chelsea and Leeds owner Ken Bates dies at 94

Ken Bates, who has died aged 94, was one of the most colourful, controversial — and highly significant — figures in the modern football era.

Bates was best known for his ownership of Chelsea over more than two decades of turbulence and success. He bought the club for £1 in 1982 before selling to Roman Abramovich in a £140m deal in July 2003.

His football career began as chairman of Oldham Athletic in the 1960s. He later became owner and vice-chairman of Wigan Athletic in the early 1980s before purchasing Chelsea.

After selling the Blues to Abramovich, Bates became principal owner of Leeds United in January 2005, another stormy reign that ended when he left the club in July 2013.

A self-made millionaire from haulage and ready-mix concrete, Bates was never shy of confrontation or an explosive quote. He also served on the Football Association (FA) executive committee and emerged as a highly influential figure in the rebuilding of Wembley Stadium. He was appointed chairman of Wembley National Stadium Limited in 1997 but resigned four years later, claiming he had not been supported and that progress was too slow.

It was at Chelsea and Stamford Bridge where Bates came to nationwide prominence. He took on a fallen giant in danger of extinction, inheriting debts of £1.5m but intent on turning the club's fortunes around.

Chelsea faced bankruptcy when Bates walked in, but by the time he ceded control to Abramovich they had become a powerful force at home and abroad. Under his ownership, the club won:

• The FA Cup (twice)
• The League Cup
• The European Cup Winners' Cup (1998)
• The Uefa Super Cup

The winning goal in that Cup Winners' Cup final against Stuttgart was scored by Gianfranco Zola, one of many European superstars to arrive at Chelsea during Bates' transformation of the club. From counting the pennies in his early years, Chelsea developed enough stardust to attract the likes of Ruud Gullit, Marcel Desailly and Gianluca Vialli — player-manager that night — to Stamford Bridge.

It was all a far cry from when Bates took over, but even then his acumen enabled him to provide funds for Chelsea to buy players of the calibre of Pat Nevin, Kerry Dixon and David Speedie, propelling them towards being a top-flight force once more.

Successful, but Never Far from Controversy

Bates was never far from controversy, especially in the mid-1980s when he erected a 12ft 12-volt electric fence around Stamford Bridge to prevent pitch invasions. The Greater London Council refused permission to switch it on, citing safety grounds.

In 1991, Chelsea were fined £105,000 for alleged illegal payments to players. Bates resigned from the Football League management committee.

He regarded one of his most significant achievements at Chelsea as securing Stamford Bridge as the club's home before developing it into a luxury all-seater stadium with a 40,000-plus capacity. This came after a long-running legal battle with property developers Marler Estates, which owned a substantial part of the stadium's freehold. He then started the Chelsea Pitch Owners scheme, sharing out ownership of the