When the Blues won the Premier League 50 years later, they did so with a far more cosmopolitan and expensive group of players led by Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho.
The Roman Abramovich takeover in 2003 changed Chelsea forever, as it allowed them to spend millions of pounds on overseas stars, transforming them into the European powerhouse that they are today.
However, the west London club had a history of canny transfers before that which is also worth celebrating.
As a result, Goal looks at Chelsea top 15 greatest ever signings, with players ranging from the first ever title win to the present-day champions.
FRANK LAMPARD | From West Ham | £11m | 2001
Frank Lampard's name is still sung at Stamford Bridge, three years after he left the club in 2014. It is, thus, funny to think that some pundits felt that Chelsea had overpaid when they signed the midfielder from West Ham in 2001 for £11m.
However, Lampard went on to become the club's highest ever goalscorer, with 211 strikes during 13 years at Stamford Bridge, and his greatest moment in a Blues shirt might well be the brace he scored away to Bolton Wanderers in 2005 to seal the club's first title win in 50 years.
In total, the former England international won 11 major honours at Chelsea before departing for Manchester City.
DIDIER DROGBA | From Marseille | £24m | 2004
Didier Drogba is the king of Stamford Bridge due his remarkable achievements as part of the greatest group in the club's history.
Most memorably of all, he scored an 88th-minute equaliser in the 2012 Champions League final against Bayern Munich to keep Chelsea's dream of a first European Cup triumph alive, before then going on to convert the winning spot-kick in the penalty shootout.
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Unsurprisingly, the Ivorian, who ranks fourth on the club's all-time goal-scorers list, was voted the club's greatest ever player in 2012 in a poll of 20,000 fans.
He left in a pioneering move to play football in China but Jose Mourinho brought him back in 2014 on a free transfer and Drogba added a League Cup and another Premier League title to his trophy haul to make it 12 major honours in his time at Chelsea.
EDEN HAZARD | From Lille | £32m | 2012
Eden Hazard was the world's most sought after player when he moved to Chelsea from Lille in 2012 for £32m. He announced "I'm signing for the [this season's] Champions League winner" on Twitter, as Chelsea capitalised on their win with a major signing.
Joe Cole, who narrowly misses out on this list, thinks that Hazard could go down as Chelsea's greatest ever player if he stays at the club - and he's right. If Hazard does leave, the club will make a huge profit on their initial £32m outlay, with the winger having inspired the Blues to two Premier League titles in the past three seasons.
PETR CECH | From Rennes | £7m | 2004
Thibaut Courtois may surpass Petr Cech as the club's greatest ever goalkeeper but that day hasn't arrived just yet. The Czech wasn't cheap, as he arrived from Rennes for £7m, meaning he was, at the time, the most expensive goalkeeper in the club's history.
He proved himself worth every penny as he won every major honour in his 11-year spell at the club. He was involved in the greatest moment in the club's history, too, as Chelsea became the first London club to lift the Champions League.
He was a giant in the 2012 final against Bayern Munich, saving Arjen Robben's penalty in extra-time before then stopping two more spot-kicks in the shootout.
CLAUDE MAKELELE | From Real Madrid | £16.8m | 2003
No other player in this list influenced football so much that they had a position named after them but Claude Makelele is the man responsible for redefining the role of the defensive midfielder.
Fernando Hierro described the Frenchman leaving Real Madrid for Chelsea as "the end of Los Galacticos", as the former Blancos ace knew the importance of Makelele's work to the rest of the team, so it was no coincidence that his arrival heralded the start of a new era of success at Stamford Bridge.
Claudio Ranieri may have signed Makelele but it was Mourinho who used him to drive the club to English football domination. Makelele won five major honours in his time at Chelsea and he deserves to go down as a club legend.
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