Record loss: Today in history: Wolves devour Chelsea

On 26 September 1953, Wolves handed Chelsea a record loss, beating them 8-1 at Molineux.

Wolves were making a run at the league title after finishing third the previous season. Chelsea, who finished nineteenth, were looking to solidify their place in the top flight, but lost their last three games before facing Wolves and were again settling into the lower portion of the table. They arrived at Molineux in seventeenth, fourteen spots below the hosts.

The match started as expected, with Wolves taking a quick lead through a 3rd-minute penalty kick from Johnny Hancocks, but Chelsea kept it close through the first half and went into the break down only 1-0.

The second half was a different story, however. Dennis Wilshaw doubled Wolves' lead in the 48th minute, then Roy Swinbourne (pictured, 61') and Peter Broadbent (71') stretched the margin to 4-0. Chelsea's Roy Bentley scored in the 76th minute to narrow the gap, but Swinbourne got a second (79') and Jimmy Mullen's goal in the 86th minute capped the 8-1 victory, which remains Chelsea's biggest losing margin in club history.

The Blues got a measure of revenge by winning the return fixture in February, but Wolves went on to win the title, finishing four points over West Brom.