A Springbok Star
Eric Brian Peterson 1936 - 2020
Brian Peterson was born in Durban on 29 October 1936 and was an inside forward who was signed by Blackpool on 8 October 1956 from his Berea Park club. He had apparently taken two years to make the decision to leave amateur football in South Africa and a partnership that he had in a sports store. He had started his football career with Berea Park FC but he had moved to Queens Park and made his senior debut at age 17 before returning to his original club. He represented the Natal Province team, playing in a Curry Cup final, and he also toured Australia with a South African representative XI.
After impressive games for the junior teams, Blackpool manager Joe Smith commented in early November 1956, ‘Peterson is a very promising player. He is the brainy type of player who has fine ball control and whose distribution is excellent’ and he added that he expected him soon to be in the Central League side.
After playing a number of games in the ‘A’ team he duly made his Central League debut against Chesterfield reserves on 10 November 1956 as Blackpool won 2-1. He then made his home debut in the Central League side on a cold, miserable afternoon 17 November 1956 against Stoke City reserves when he ‘was always calling for passes in the early minutes’ and ‘when he was given one [he] sent Booth away to shoot out by the far post’ as Blackpool eventually lost 1-0.
His talent was obvious and he was quickly promoted to 12th man for the League side against Chelsea on 1 December 1956 and many shrewd judges considered him another Ernie Taylor in the making. But, after his first taste of the League scene, he returned to play for the ‘A’ team against Everton ‘A’ on 8 December 1956 when Blackpool lost 3-0.
He returned to Central League action against Bolton Wanderers reserves on 22 December 1956 when he ‘made one or two good passes but the mud and slime made no surface for this lightweight’ as Blackpool lost 3-1. He scored his first Central League goal in a 3-2 defeat by Everton reserves on 25 December 1956 and his second Central League goal came when he was ‘sliding the ball past Rainford as the ‘keeper came out’ in a 3-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers reserves on 5 January 1957. He then switched position and made a surprise appearance at outside left against Sheffield Wednesday reserves on 2 March 1957 and he ‘came dangerously near opening his team’s account’ early in the second half but Blackpool lost 3-0 at Hillsborough.
His displays had been watched with interest by Joe Smith and he made his League debut in place of the injured Ernie Taylor against Cardiff City in a 4-3 victory on 9 March 1957. He partnered Stan Matthews on the right flank and it was noted by many a critic that he had not been born when Matthews was making his international debut.
Unfortunately he suffered a cut foot in training during the following week and, along with 10 other players, was declared unfit to play on 16 March 1957. When he recovered he discovered that at the last minute Ernie Taylor had developed a temperature before the game against Chelsea on 13 April 1957 and he was told that he would be in the League team for his second appearance. A Jackie Mudie goal settled the game 1-0 in Blackpool’s favour but Peterson earned the headline PETERSON DOES WELL.
Showing his versatility, for the Good Friday game against Arsenal on 19 April 1957, he switched to inside left to replace David Durie as the game was drawn 1-1. And then he moved to outside right, replacing the unfit Stan Matthews, for the return game against Arsenal on 22 April 1957 when Blackpool lost 4-2. He retained the outside right spot for the final two games of the season, a 2-1 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur on 27 April 1957 and a 1-0 victory over Burnley on 1 May 1957.
After a promising first season he had played in six League games and 12 Central League games, scoring two goals. And the end of season comment was ‘It will be interesting to look forward to the progress which Brian Peterson is expected to make. He arrived here last October almost an unknown South African. He has not stayed unknown for long.’
He returned home in the summer of 1957 to get married but returned to Blackpool for the following season after he had re-signed for the club for the 1957/58 season at terms of £14 per week in the summer and £17 per week in the football season.
He began the 1957/58 season with his first taste of European football when he was at inside left in the side that defeated Sparta Rotterdam 3-2 in a pre-season friendly game in Holland on 14 August 1957. And then after the Tangerines versus Whites practice match on 16 August 1957 the view was he was ‘developing into a footballer of great promise’ as he scored the Whites goal in a 4-1 defeat. But he missed the opening game of the season and then he played his first Central League game of the 1957/58 season against Sheffield United reserves on 26 August 1957 when the game was drawn 1-1.
He quickly earned a League re-call at inside left in place of the injured David Durie for the game against Luton Town on 4 September 1957 when Blackpool lost 2-0. He went on to score his first League goal for the club in the 79th minute in a 3-0 defeat of Sheffield Wednesday on 12 October 1957 when ‘Matthews took a free-kick and swept the ball across the field to the unmarked Peterson. The South African did not dally. Instead he cracked it first time into the left-hand corner of the net. Peterson threw his arms in the air and danced down the pitch. No wonder. It was his first goal in League football since he arrived from South Africa 12 months ago.’
Back in the Central League side on 19 October 1957 he was the provider for two of Ray Charnley’s three goals, hitting the bar for the first when Charnley scored from the rebound and providing the pass for his second as Blackpool defeated Newcastle United reserves 4-3. He replaced the injured Ernie Taylor in the League side against Nottingham Forest on 26 October 1957 when he partnered Stan Matthews who was playing his first game on the City Ground for 25 years! Blackpool won 2-1.
He scored a 54th-minute winner in the 2-1 victory over Chelsea on 2 November 1957 when overall he ‘did some good things’. He played his first game In the FA Cup in the third round against West Ham United on 4 January 1958 and although Blackpool took the lead in two minutes, they lost 5-1.
Then out of the blue Blackpool were hit with a bombshell when, on 27 January 1958 manager Joe Smith reported that Peterson had told him that he wanted to return to South Africa. But for the immediate future no movement took place.
Following an injury to Stan Matthews at Chelsea on 15 March 1958, Peterson replaced him at outside right for the game against Birmingham City on 22 March 1958. Blackpool went into half time at 2-2 and went on to win 4-2.
He continued at outside right in place of Matthews in a 2-1 defeat by Burnley on 29 March 1958 and his best moment came when he was ‘given an ovation when he cunningly outwitted Winton, but his curling centre was coolly anticipated by McDonald, who pulled down the ball by the right hand post’. Then, after injury ruled him out for a couple of games he returned at outside right for the 2-1 defeat by Preston North End on 7 April.
He created the opening goal for Bill Perry in a 2-1 victory over Portsmouth on 13 April 1958 and he was at outside right for the last game of the season against Tottenham Hotspur on 26 April 1958 because Stan Matthews was unavailable. Blackpool lost 2-1 with an all-South African right wing as Peter Hauser joined Peterson and both were involved in Blackpool’s late consolation goal. His 1957/58 season was a successful one as he played in 26 League games, scoring four goals, one FA Cup tie and 11 Central League games, scoring one goal. He also played in two friendly games.
Although he was due to return to South Africa in May 1958, on 18 April 1958 Blackpool offered him terms for the 1958/59 season. A spokesman for the club said, ‘Although Peterson has announced he is going home, there is nothing to prevent us from offering him terms just in case he changes his mind.’ And on 8 May 1958 he did return to his homeland. Many Blackpool supporters, disappointed at his return home, were worried that he would never return to play for the club especially when they heard that he had been reinstated as an amateur with Berea Park in the Durban League.
Fortunately he returned to Blackpool in November 1958 having sold his interest in the sports outfitters and he was re-signed by Blackpool on 1 December 1958 at a weekly wage of £17 out of season and £20 during the season. He was back in training with the team the day after he arrived in Blackpool. He commented, ‘It is wonderful to be back.’ And
he was back in Central League action against Sheffield Wednesday reserves on 13 December 1958 when he ‘distributed one or two neat passes’ as Blackpool lost 3-1.
His long awaited return to League action came against Nottingham Forest on 21 February 1959 when Blackpool won 1-0. And he went on to play 13 League games, scoring one goal, 10 Central League games and one friendly game for Blackpool in his first season back at Bloomfield Road.
In the close season Blackpool fulfilled their obligation to Tranmere Rovers by playing a friendly game at Prenton Park on 27 April 1959 in respect of the transfer of Johnny Green. Green scored Blackpool’s goal in a 2-1 defeat for the Seasiders and the programme noted, ‘Prenton Park fans will be able to assess the tremendous potential of the Maestro’s deputy, Brian Peterson, who returned from South Africa last autumn and now bids fair to create as big a stir in English football as his country-man, Bill Perry, on the opposite wing.’ That potential was recognised when Blackpool revised his terms for 1959/60 and the following season when he was to earn £16 per week out of season and £19 per week during the season.
After three games of the 1959/60 season, two of which were won, he was left out of the side after, in his own words ‘three bad games on the trot’. He duly returned to Central League action against Huddersfield Town reserves on 2 September 1959 and he scored Blackpool’s goal in a 1-1 draw. After missing four League games he returned to action in a 5-3 victory over Leicester City on 14 September and he remained in the side for a run of eight games before a niggling injury saw him sidelined for three games. He returned and showed good form in a 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur on 28 November and he looked set to retain his place for the remainder of the season.
Sadly he broke down on 9 January 1960 after 30 minutes of the FA Cup tie against Mansfield Town but ten-man Blackpool went on to win 3-0. He was diagnosed as having cartilage trouble and he was sidelined for a long time. His season was virtually finished and although he tried a comeback in the Central League side against Manchester United reserves on 5 March 1960, he was unable to play again and after the one game, that Blackpool lost 2-1, he had to have further operations. Nevertheless he played 18 League games, scoring two goals, one FA Cup tie, five Central League games, scoring three goals, and one friendly game for Blackpool in the 1959/60 season.
To aid his comeback, he began the 1960/61 season playing junior football in the ‘A’ and ‘B’ teams where he ‘took things cautiously’. And he began his senior comeback in the Central League side on 1 October 1960 against Preston North End reserves when Blackpool won 1-0. He came through that game unscathed and he returned to the first team on 5 October 1960 for the League Cup tie replay with Leeds United when Blackpool lost 3-1 after extra time. But he aggravated the injury and he was out for the next game.
At the end of October a specialist advised him that he would be out until the following February, possibly until the start of the following season but he did stress that he would play again before the season ended.
It looked likely to be a Happy New Year for him when he visited a specialist in December 1960 and got an encouraging report on the right knee injury that had sidelined him for virtually 12 months. He was expected to be fit to challenge for a first team place early in 1961. And so it was as he made an unexpected comeback in the Central League side on 7 January 1961, a year after his injury, in a 4-0 victory over Chesterfield reserves.
After three successive Central League games, he returned to the League side on 11 February 1961 in 2-2 draw with Chelsea. He was back to full fitness and played every game thereafter until the end of the season and he regularly received good reports such as
at Cardiff City on 24 March 1961 when one critic reported, ‘Brian Peterson and Ray Parry [were] working hard and demonstrating ball control of a high order’ as Blackpool won the game 2-0 to ease their relegation fears. He finished the season having played 16 League games, scoring two goals, one League Cup tie, four Central League games and one friendly game.
He was rewarded for his hard work in recovering from injury by being given revised terms for the 1961/62 season. He was to receive £24 per week plus an extra £5 when he played in the League side. And he began earning that bonus immediately as he started the season at inside right in the League side, playing in the opening game, a 2-1 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur on 19 August 1961. And in the second game of the season against Blackburn Rovers on 21 August he scored one of the goals in Blackpool’s 2-1 victory. He moved to outside right for three games before a minor injury interrupted his season and he missed a couple of games.
He returned to action with a goal in a 4-0 defeat of Chelsea on 30 September and then after a 3-0 defeat at Arsenal (Stan Matthews’ last game for the club and a game that I attended at Highbury) he scored again in a 2-1 defeat of Bolton Wanderers on 14 October. Then after injury sidelined him once more for two games he returned with a goal in a 4-2 defeat of Manchester City on 2 December 1961. He scored again in the following game, a 2-2 draw with West Bromwich Albion on 9 December but after he scored Blackpool’s consolation goal in a 2-1 defeat by Sheffield United on 26 December, he was out of the side once more.
He returned to the League side for a single game, a 1-0 defeat by Arsenal on 24 February 1962 before in a Central League game against Derby County reserves on 17 March 1962 he appeared in the unfamiliar position of right half and he ‘revealed, now and again, the class which is in him as a wing half, but he was in and out, too’. Blackpool lost 2-1.
On 30 March and 3 April he played a couple of games at inside left, a 2-2 draw with Everton, in which he scored one of Blackpool’s goals, and a 2-4 defeat by Sheffield United. Then he played what turned out to be his final League game for Blackpool at inside right against Fulham on 7 April 1962; goals from Ray Charnley and Ray Parry gave Blackpool a 2-1 victory, so he ended on a victorious note.
He did, however, play one further first team game when he played against Norwich City at Carrow Road in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final on 11 April when he scored Blackpool’s goal in a catastrophic 1-4 defeat. He missed the second leg, which Blackpool won 2-0 (it was nail-biting as I was there!).
He ended what was his final season at Bloomfield Road having played 24 League games, scoring seven goals, one FA Cup tie, four League Cup ties, scoring one goal, nine Central League games, scoring three goals, two friendly games, plus making one substitute appearance, scoring one goal.
When the season ended he returned home to South Africa on 28 May 1962, his Blackpool career having encompassed 103 League games, in which he scored 16 goals, three FA Cup ties, five League Cup ties, with one goal, 51 Central League games, with nine goals, and seven friendly games, plus making one appearance as a substitute, scoring one goal.
He was reported as playing well for Durban United with brother Keith in November 1964. And when he left Durban United, he had a short spell with Durban City before retiring from the game. After retirement he worked for 27 years for Foschini, a clothing firm.
He made a welcome return to Bloomfield Road, along with brother Keith, as a guest of the club for the game against Northampton Town on 14 April 2007. And he mingled with supporters and reminisced about the wonderful time that he had had at the club. He had been an integral part of a reasonably successful Blackpool side, having finished in fourth, seventh, eighth, 11th, and 13th position in addition to dramatically fighting to escape relegation in 20th position in 1960/61 in his six seasons at the club.
He died on 21 September 2020 after a short illness. His name will long be remembered as having played a significant part in Blackpool Football Club’s illustrious history.
Brian Peterson was born in Durban on 29 October 1936 and was an inside forward who was signed by Blackpool on 8 October 1956 from his Berea Park club. He had apparently taken two years to make the decision to leave amateur football in South Africa and a partnership that he had in a sports store. He had started his football career with Berea Park FC but he had moved to Queens Park and made his senior debut at age 17 before returning to his original club. He represented the Natal Province team, playing in a Curry Cup final, and he also toured Australia with a South African representative XI.
After impressive games for the junior teams, Blackpool manager Joe Smith commented in early November 1956, ‘Peterson is a very promising player. He is the brainy type of player who has fine ball control and whose distribution is excellent’ and he added that he expected him soon to be in the Central League side.
After playing a number of games in the ‘A’ team he duly made his Central League debut against Chesterfield reserves on 10 November 1956 as Blackpool won 2-1. He then made his home debut in the Central League side on a cold, miserable afternoon 17 November 1956 against Stoke City reserves when he ‘was always calling for passes in the early minutes’ and ‘when he was given one [he] sent Booth away to shoot out by the far post’ as Blackpool eventually lost 1-0.
His talent was obvious and he was quickly promoted to 12th man for the League side against Chelsea on 1 December 1956 and many shrewd judges considered him another Ernie Taylor in the making. But, after his first taste of the League scene, he returned to play for the ‘A’ team against Everton ‘A’ on 8 December 1956 when Blackpool lost 3-0.
He returned to Central League action against Bolton Wanderers reserves on 22 December 1956 when he ‘made one or two good passes but the mud and slime made no surface for this lightweight’ as Blackpool lost 3-1. He scored his first Central League goal in a 3-2 defeat by Everton reserves on 25 December 1956 and his second Central League goal came when he was ‘sliding the ball past Rainford as the ‘keeper came out’ in a 3-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers reserves on 5 January 1957. He then switched position and made a surprise appearance at outside left against Sheffield Wednesday reserves on 2 March 1957 and he ‘came dangerously near opening his team’s account’ early in the second half but Blackpool lost 3-0 at Hillsborough.
His displays had been watched with interest by Joe Smith and he made his League debut in place of the injured Ernie Taylor against Cardiff City in a 4-3 victory on 9 March 1957. He partnered Stan Matthews on the right flank and it was noted by many a critic that he had not been born when Matthews was making his international debut.
Unfortunately he suffered a cut foot in training during the following week and, along with 10 other players, was declared unfit to play on 16 March 1957. When he recovered he discovered that at the last minute Ernie Taylor had developed a temperature before the game against Chelsea on 13 April 1957 and he was told that he would be in the League team for his second appearance. A Jackie Mudie goal settled the game 1-0 in Blackpool’s favour but Peterson earned the headline PETERSON DOES WELL.
Showing his versatility, for the Good Friday game against Arsenal on 19 April 1957, he switched to inside left to replace David Durie as the game was drawn 1-1. And then he moved to outside right, replacing the unfit Stan Matthews, for the return game against Arsenal on 22 April 1957 when Blackpool lost 4-2. He retained the outside right spot for the final two games of the season, a 2-1 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur on 27 April 1957 and a 1-0 victory over Burnley on 1 May 1957.
After a promising first season he had played in six League games and 12 Central League games, scoring two goals. And the end of season comment was ‘It will be interesting to look forward to the progress which Brian Peterson is expected to make. He arrived here last October almost an unknown South African. He has not stayed unknown for long.’
He returned home in the summer of 1957 to get married but returned to Blackpool for the following season after he had re-signed for the club for the 1957/58 season at terms of £14 per week in the summer and £17 per week in the football season.
He began the 1957/58 season with his first taste of European football when he was at inside left in the side that defeated Sparta Rotterdam 3-2 in a pre-season friendly game in Holland on 14 August 1957. And then after the Tangerines versus Whites practice match on 16 August 1957 the view was he was ‘developing into a footballer of great promise’ as he scored the Whites goal in a 4-1 defeat. But he missed the opening game of the season and then he played his first Central League game of the 1957/58 season against Sheffield United reserves on 26 August 1957 when the game was drawn 1-1.
He quickly earned a League re-call at inside left in place of the injured David Durie for the game against Luton Town on 4 September 1957 when Blackpool lost 2-0. He went on to score his first League goal for the club in the 79th minute in a 3-0 defeat of Sheffield Wednesday on 12 October 1957 when ‘Matthews took a free-kick and swept the ball across the field to the unmarked Peterson. The South African did not dally. Instead he cracked it first time into the left-hand corner of the net. Peterson threw his arms in the air and danced down the pitch. No wonder. It was his first goal in League football since he arrived from South Africa 12 months ago.’
Back in the Central League side on 19 October 1957 he was the provider for two of Ray Charnley’s three goals, hitting the bar for the first when Charnley scored from the rebound and providing the pass for his second as Blackpool defeated Newcastle United reserves 4-3. He replaced the injured Ernie Taylor in the League side against Nottingham Forest on 26 October 1957 when he partnered Stan Matthews who was playing his first game on the City Ground for 25 years! Blackpool won 2-1.
He scored a 54th-minute winner in the 2-1 victory over Chelsea on 2 November 1957 when overall he ‘did some good things’. He played his first game In the FA Cup in the third round against West Ham United on 4 January 1958 and although Blackpool took the lead in two minutes, they lost 5-1.
Then out of the blue Blackpool were hit with a bombshell when, on 27 January 1958 manager Joe Smith reported that Peterson had told him that he wanted to return to South Africa. But for the immediate future no movement took place.
Following an injury to Stan Matthews at Chelsea on 15 March 1958, Peterson replaced him at outside right for the game against Birmingham City on 22 March 1958. Blackpool went into half time at 2-2 and went on to win 4-2.
He continued at outside right in place of Matthews in a 2-1 defeat by Burnley on 29 March 1958 and his best moment came when he was ‘given an ovation when he cunningly outwitted Winton, but his curling centre was coolly anticipated by McDonald, who pulled down the ball by the right hand post’. Then, after injury ruled him out for a couple of games he returned at outside right for the 2-1 defeat by Preston North End on 7 April.
He created the opening goal for Bill Perry in a 2-1 victory over Portsmouth on 13 April 1958 and he was at outside right for the last game of the season against Tottenham Hotspur on 26 April 1958 because Stan Matthews was unavailable. Blackpool lost 2-1 with an all-South African right wing as Peter Hauser joined Peterson and both were involved in Blackpool’s late consolation goal. His 1957/58 season was a successful one as he played in 26 League games, scoring four goals, one FA Cup tie and 11 Central League games, scoring one goal. He also played in two friendly games.
Although he was due to return to South Africa in May 1958, on 18 April 1958 Blackpool offered him terms for the 1958/59 season. A spokesman for the club said, ‘Although Peterson has announced he is going home, there is nothing to prevent us from offering him terms just in case he changes his mind.’ And on 8 May 1958 he did return to his homeland. Many Blackpool supporters, disappointed at his return home, were worried that he would never return to play for the club especially when they heard that he had been reinstated as an amateur with Berea Park in the Durban League.
Fortunately he returned to Blackpool in November 1958 having sold his interest in the sports outfitters and he was re-signed by Blackpool on 1 December 1958 at a weekly wage of £17 out of season and £20 during the season. He was back in training with the team the day after he arrived in Blackpool. He commented, ‘It is wonderful to be back.’ And
he was back in Central League action against Sheffield Wednesday reserves on 13 December 1958 when he ‘distributed one or two neat passes’ as Blackpool lost 3-1.
His long awaited return to League action came against Nottingham Forest on 21 February 1959 when Blackpool won 1-0. And he went on to play 13 League games, scoring one goal, 10 Central League games and one friendly game for Blackpool in his first season back at Bloomfield Road.
In the close season Blackpool fulfilled their obligation to Tranmere Rovers by playing a friendly game at Prenton Park on 27 April 1959 in respect of the transfer of Johnny Green. Green scored Blackpool’s goal in a 2-1 defeat for the Seasiders and the programme noted, ‘Prenton Park fans will be able to assess the tremendous potential of the Maestro’s deputy, Brian Peterson, who returned from South Africa last autumn and now bids fair to create as big a stir in English football as his country-man, Bill Perry, on the opposite wing.’ That potential was recognised when Blackpool revised his terms for 1959/60 and the following season when he was to earn £16 per week out of season and £19 per week during the season.
After three games of the 1959/60 season, two of which were won, he was left out of the side after, in his own words ‘three bad games on the trot’. He duly returned to Central League action against Huddersfield Town reserves on 2 September 1959 and he scored Blackpool’s goal in a 1-1 draw. After missing four League games he returned to action in a 5-3 victory over Leicester City on 14 September and he remained in the side for a run of eight games before a niggling injury saw him sidelined for three games. He returned and showed good form in a 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur on 28 November and he looked set to retain his place for the remainder of the season.
Sadly he broke down on 9 January 1960 after 30 minutes of the FA Cup tie against Mansfield Town but ten-man Blackpool went on to win 3-0. He was diagnosed as having cartilage trouble and he was sidelined for a long time. His season was virtually finished and although he tried a comeback in the Central League side against Manchester United reserves on 5 March 1960, he was unable to play again and after the one game, that Blackpool lost 2-1, he had to have further operations. Nevertheless he played 18 League games, scoring two goals, one FA Cup tie, five Central League games, scoring three goals, and one friendly game for Blackpool in the 1959/60 season.
To aid his comeback, he began the 1960/61 season playing junior football in the ‘A’ and ‘B’ teams where he ‘took things cautiously’. And he began his senior comeback in the Central League side on 1 October 1960 against Preston North End reserves when Blackpool won 1-0. He came through that game unscathed and he returned to the first team on 5 October 1960 for the League Cup tie replay with Leeds United when Blackpool lost 3-1 after extra time. But he aggravated the injury and he was out for the next game.
At the end of October a specialist advised him that he would be out until the following February, possibly until the start of the following season but he did stress that he would play again before the season ended.
It looked likely to be a Happy New Year for him when he visited a specialist in December 1960 and got an encouraging report on the right knee injury that had sidelined him for virtually 12 months. He was expected to be fit to challenge for a first team place early in 1961. And so it was as he made an unexpected comeback in the Central League side on 7 January 1961, a year after his injury, in a 4-0 victory over Chesterfield reserves.
After three successive Central League games, he returned to the League side on 11 February 1961 in 2-2 draw with Chelsea. He was back to full fitness and played every game thereafter until the end of the season and he regularly received good reports such as
at Cardiff City on 24 March 1961 when one critic reported, ‘Brian Peterson and Ray Parry [were] working hard and demonstrating ball control of a high order’ as Blackpool won the game 2-0 to ease their relegation fears. He finished the season having played 16 League games, scoring two goals, one League Cup tie, four Central League games and one friendly game.
He was rewarded for his hard work in recovering from injury by being given revised terms for the 1961/62 season. He was to receive £24 per week plus an extra £5 when he played in the League side. And he began earning that bonus immediately as he started the season at inside right in the League side, playing in the opening game, a 2-1 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur on 19 August 1961. And in the second game of the season against Blackburn Rovers on 21 August he scored one of the goals in Blackpool’s 2-1 victory. He moved to outside right for three games before a minor injury interrupted his season and he missed a couple of games.
He returned to action with a goal in a 4-0 defeat of Chelsea on 30 September and then after a 3-0 defeat at Arsenal (Stan Matthews’ last game for the club and a game that I attended at Highbury) he scored again in a 2-1 defeat of Bolton Wanderers on 14 October. Then after injury sidelined him once more for two games he returned with a goal in a 4-2 defeat of Manchester City on 2 December 1961. He scored again in the following game, a 2-2 draw with West Bromwich Albion on 9 December but after he scored Blackpool’s consolation goal in a 2-1 defeat by Sheffield United on 26 December, he was out of the side once more.
He returned to the League side for a single game, a 1-0 defeat by Arsenal on 24 February 1962 before in a Central League game against Derby County reserves on 17 March 1962 he appeared in the unfamiliar position of right half and he ‘revealed, now and again, the class which is in him as a wing half, but he was in and out, too’. Blackpool lost 2-1.
On 30 March and 3 April he played a couple of games at inside left, a 2-2 draw with Everton, in which he scored one of Blackpool’s goals, and a 2-4 defeat by Sheffield United. Then he played what turned out to be his final League game for Blackpool at inside right against Fulham on 7 April 1962; goals from Ray Charnley and Ray Parry gave Blackpool a 2-1 victory, so he ended on a victorious note.
He did, however, play one further first team game when he played against Norwich City at Carrow Road in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final on 11 April when he scored Blackpool’s goal in a catastrophic 1-4 defeat. He missed the second leg, which Blackpool won 2-0 (it was nail-biting as I was there!).
He ended what was his final season at Bloomfield Road having played 24 League games, scoring seven goals, one FA Cup tie, four League Cup ties, scoring one goal, nine Central League games, scoring three goals, two friendly games, plus making one substitute appearance, scoring one goal.
When the season ended he returned home to South Africa on 28 May 1962, his Blackpool career having encompassed 103 League games, in which he scored 16 goals, three FA Cup ties, five League Cup ties, with one goal, 51 Central League games, with nine goals, and seven friendly games, plus making one appearance as a substitute, scoring one goal.
He was reported as playing well for Durban United with brother Keith in November 1964. And when he left Durban United, he had a short spell with Durban City before retiring from the game. After retirement he worked for 27 years for Foschini, a clothing firm.
He made a welcome return to Bloomfield Road, along with brother Keith, as a guest of the club for the game against Northampton Town on 14 April 2007. And he mingled with supporters and reminisced about the wonderful time that he had had at the club. He had been an integral part of a reasonably successful Blackpool side, having finished in fourth, seventh, eighth, 11th, and 13th position in addition to dramatically fighting to escape relegation in 20th position in 1960/61 in his six seasons at the club.
He died on 21 September 2020 after a short illness. His name will long be remembered as having played a significant part in Blackpool Football Club’s illustrious history.
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Hi Barbara Do you mean Blackburn or Blackpool please? There are some where the player concerned has moved to or come from Blackburn. If you do mean Blackpool, I am not sure that they have any archives!!
Blackpool. Sorry for the mis-typing. Shame they probably don't have a way to preserve material like yours,Barbara
It is a great pity, Barbara, that they don't recognise the history of the club. I used to do grace and favour work for them, including match commentaries, so I do know exactly how much archive material they have - pretty much nothing! It might change now under the new owner but I have heard nothing to suggest that it will. At least we can keep an archive!!!
Barbara Charles