Ken Bates: Colourful, controversial - and significant

Ken Bates: Colourful, controversial - and significantImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Ken Bates famously bought Chelsea for just £1ByPhil McNultyChief football writerPublishedJust nowKen 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, buying the club for £1 in 1982 before selling to Roman Abramovich in a £140m deal in July 2003.He started his time in football as chairman of Oldham Athletic in the 1960s, becoming owner and vice-chairman of Wigan Athletic in the early '80s before purchasing Chelsea.After selling the Blues to Abramovich, Bates became principal owner of Leeds United in January 2005, another stormy reign before leaving the club in July 2013.Bates, a self-made millionaire from haulage and ready-mix concrete who was never shy of confrontation or an explosive quote, was also a member of the Football Association (FA) executive committee, emerging 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, as he took on a fallen giant in danger of extinction, inheriting debts of £1.5m but intent on turning their 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, winning the FA Cup twice, the League Cup and European Cup Winners' Cup in 1998, and 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...