The station became very popular when Chelsea Football Club came into existence in 1905 and began playing at the Stamford Bridge Athletic Ground, and portable booking offices had to be used to cope with the demand on match days, when special football trains were chartered to bring fans to the ground. In 1930 the platforms were lengthened to cope with this extra demand. According to the sports history writer Tim Harris, the station was the inspiration for naming the football club; the entrepreneur and founder of the club, Gus Mears, had considered Stamford Bridge FC, Kensington FC, and London FC, but chose Chelsea FC because of its proximity to Chelsea & Fulham station and in spite of the stadium not actually being located in Chelsea proper.