‘Chopper’ Harris made his Blues debut in 1962 and his final appearance in 1980, 795 games and 14 goals later. He was the captain that lifted our first FA Cup trophy and first piece of European silverware, in the form of the Cup Winners’ Cup.

Chopper’s Chelsea journey was quite a ride, so buckle up and enjoy this Q&A…

Can you remember your first appearance way back in 1962?

I captained the England youth side on the Wednesday and we won some little World Cup, and Tommy Docherty was there with my parents. He told me I'd be in the first team on the Saturday for the game against Sheffield Wednesday. We won 1-0 with Mickey Harrison getting the goal, and I marked a lad called Johnny Fantham. It was a real thrill for me as a 17-year-old lad.

You had to bide your time before getting a proper run in the team, didn't you?

I did stay in the team for a few games, but we went up to Everton and got hammered. That was it for me until the next year; we got relegated and in the Second Division I got a chance later in the season and we ended up getting promoted. The last game was against Portsmouth and we had to win to go up. I think the final score was 7-0!

After that, I think I was a regular until my old team-mate Eddie McCreadie took over as manager. He was very superstitious and I was sub just about every week, occasionally coming on if someone was injured.

I think I set a Chelsea record of playing in two games in one day. He thought I could do with a run-out with the reserves, so I went and played for them, and then they got a taxi to pick me up from Stamford Bridge to take me to Millwall. We were 3-0 down and at half-time Jock Finnieston had to come off so I played the second half. I can't imagine too many have done that – and I went to training the next day!

Clear something up for us – were you a full-back or a centre-half?

Because I wasn't gifted with pace, I enjoyed playing alongside the centre-half. I wasn't a big, dominant fella – I'm 5ft 8in – but you learned how to cope in other ways, using your body in the right way to compete against bigger players.

I don't know the exact statistics but I think I played just as many games as a full-back as I did as a central defender.

When I first came into the side I just man-marked people: Besty, Greavsie, Denis Law. Wherever they went, I used to follow. If I never touched the ball in a game and they didn't either, I knew I'd done a good job.

I have to say, the hardest to man-mark was George Best – well, he was the hardest to try and kick! For a fella who was frail and skinny, he wasn't a coward. He could hold his own against anybody. Right foot, left foot; inside or out, he could take you wherever he wanted. I played against Pele a couple of times, too, but I think Best was the best I ever came across.

Did he want to come here?

I don't know, but we all got on very well. There was always a players' lounge and it was only for the players and their wives and girlfriends. There was no animosity if you'd given someone a hard time on the pitch – once the final whistle was blown, everything was forgotten. What I can say is that I'd love to have played with Besty, he gave me a few chasings.

Having spent the best part of two decades in the first team, I imagine it must be pretty hard for you to highlight your favourite games for the club...

Bearing in mind I didn't score too many during my career, we took on the Hammers just before the 1966 World Cup at Stamford Bridge and I scored two fantastic goals. I sliced one past Peter Bonetti for an own goal and then I went up the other end and hit a fantastic volley past Jim Standen! So that's one game.

Then, in the 1971 Cup Winners' Cup run, me and Ossie didn't play in the first leg against Club Brugge when we lost 2-0, but we came back for the return and won 4-0. They were a useful side so that was a memorable game.

Obviously the replay against Leeds United in the 1970 FA Cup final is another that stands out more than most, when we beat a tremendous side and became the first Chelsea team to lift the FA Cup.

Then there's the European Cup Winners' Cup in Athens – another replay! We lost a goal in the last few seconds of the final, which was played on the Wednesday, and then on the Friday we had a replay and won 2-1.

You've picked quite a few cup games there. I guess it sums up Chelsea during your time there, doesn't it?

I've always said we were so inconsistent in the league – we could beat anybody on our day, but often when it came to taking on the lesser sides we'd go and get beaten. But with the cup games, the bigger the crowd, the better our star men responded. We had a great team. Peter Bonetti was fantastic in goal and the back four didn't take any prisoners; John Hollins did a great job in midfield while Charlie Cooke and Huddy pulled the strings, and Peter Houseman was a workaholic on the wing; and then you've got Hutch, who was a perfect foil for Ossie. I have to say, Os was the one of the best players I ever played alongside. He was tough as well as incredibly skilful.

We had such a camaraderie. If one of the lads was getting a bit of a rough time on the pitch then there'd be one of their mates to help them out. I was privileged to captain a bunch of great lads and tremendous players.

The closest you came to winning the league was in the 1964/65 season, when the Blues were top with three games left to play.

Was that the year of the Blackpool incident? I've spoken to Tom [Docherty] on many occasions and I think he'll tell you that's the one thing he regretted.

We had games against Burnley and Blackpool coming up so we went up there to stay for a few days. Tom said, “You've got to be in at a certain time” and everyone came back, but then some of them snuck out through the fire escape. He ended up sending them home, bringing in a load of youngsters, and we got beaten 6-2 against Burnley. I scored in that game, but I'd have preferred the win.

Anyway, that put paid to our chances. The atmosphere between the lads and Tom was off – the whole situation got blown out of proportion and upset the apple cart. If he'd have just fined them a week's wages then I think we'd have probably gone on to win the league.

Is that a regret from your time at Chelsea?

Not a regret, but it would have been nice. It was the closest we ever came to the title. The balance of the side was the bigger the game, the better they performed. I'm not being disrespectful to some of the less fashionable sides in the First Division, but we just didn't perform against them on the smaller stage.

You mention how long you spent at the club, but did you ever consider leaving before finally moving on for Brentford in 1980?

I remember captaining England Under-23s when Bill Nicholson was manager and he asked me if I'd be interested in going to the Spurs because they'd love to have me there. But I had absolutely no intention of going there, and they ended up buying Dave Mackay – that was the end of it.

Then, when Danny Blanchflower took over as manager we got beaten badly up at Middlesbrough in his first game and things hadn't been going great before that. Danny said to me, “Look, I'll put you in the picture: I'm going with the younger lads. Would you be interested in going to Luton?” David Pleat was the manager at the time and he was someone I'd played alongside at England youth level.

Pleaty came round to my house in Epsom for a chat. He told me that I only had to come in to training on a Monday and a Friday – he just needed a bit of an old head for all the youngsters in his squad, someone to look after them. I had two young kids myself at that time and didn't really want to be travelling up there twice a week so I turned them down.

Your older brother Allan also played for Chelsea. Does he ever get fed up with being known as Chopper's brother?!

I don't think so. In fact, I reckon most people probably remember him for his managerial partnership with Terry Venables at Spurs and Barcelona. He played over 100 games for Chelsea and had the one thing I never did – pace.

Was he one of the reasons you joined Chelsea?

Yeah. In my day you'd go around all of the clubs so I tried out West Ham, Arsenal, Spurs and others. Then Allan decided on Chelsea and I followed him. When he went there I was a ballboy until I left school. Then I signed for the club. The rest is history – 795 games, 13 or 14 goals depending on you speak to. I'll take the 14, don't worry about that!

You almost became a cricketer for Middlesex. What happened?

Maybe I'd have done both if the seasons didn't overlap. Ron Tindall always used to miss the start of the football because of the cricket. So I went to see Ted Drake at Chelsea and he offered me £7 per week and a rail pass for the year. I went up to Lord's and was offered £4 per week to join the groundstaff but I had to pay my expenses. I was from a working-class family, so that swayed me.

What does it mean to be our record appearance maker?

I served under seven managers and what each of them got from me was 110 per cent effort in training and on the Saturday. I'm so proud of playing more games than any other player in the history of Chelsea Football Club and it's a record I don't think will ever be beaten.

A version of this interview was first published in 2014 in the official Chelsea matchday programme. You can buy past copies of the programme here.