Edward John Peers (31 December 1886 – 20 September 1935) was a Wales international football goalkeeper. He won 12 caps for Wales and spent 1911 to 1921 at Wolverhampton Wanderers and then from January 1922 to May 1923 at Port Vale.

Teddy Peers
Personal information
Full name Edward John Peers[1]
Date of birth (1886-12-31)31 December 1886[1]
Place of birth Connah's Quay, Wales[1]
Date of death 20 September 1935(1935-09-20) (aged 48)[1]
Place of death Wolverhampton, England[1]
Height 5 ft 9+12 in (1.77 m)[2]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Youth career
Oswestry St. Clair's
Chirk
Connah's Quay Juniors
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
19??–19?? Connah's Quay Victoria
19??–19?? Connah's Quay & Shotton United
1911–1921 Wolverhampton Wanderers 186 (0)
1921–1922 Hednesford Town
1922–1923 Port Vale 56 (0)
1923–1926 Hednesford Town
Total 242 (0)
International career
1914–1923 Wales 12 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

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Peers played for Oswestry St. Clair's, Chirk, Connah's Quay Juniors, Connah's Quay Victoria, Connah's Quay & Shotton United and Hednesford Town, before advancing to the Football League with Wolverhampton Wanderers in April 1911.[3] They finished fifth in the Second Division in 1911–12, tenth in 1912–13, ninth in 1913–14, and fourth in 1914–15. He had a trial at Shrewsbury Town and guested for Walsall and Stoke City during World War I. He played 31 games for the "Potters" in 1917–18 and made 28 appearances at the Victoria Ground in 1918–19. He returned to Molineux, and helped "Wolves" to finish 19th in 1919–20 and 1920–21. Peers spent six months at Hednesford Town before he joined Port Vale in January 1922 and became the club's first-choice goalkeeper with Walter Smith out injured.[1] He was the first Vale player to be capped whilst at the club.[1] He was so confident in his defenders that he spent a lot of his time casually leaning on one of his goalposts.[1] He played 15 Second Division games in the 1921–22 season, and oversaw a club record seven consecutive league games.[1] He made 43 appearances in the 1922–23 campaign, with Daniel Smith deputizing in one match.[1] He retired from league football at The Old Recreation Ground in May 1923 and returned to Hednesford Town for a three-year spell.[1] He went on to run the New Inn and several other pubs in the Wolverhampton area.[3]

Career statistics

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Club statistics

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Source:[4]

Club Season Division League FA Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1911–12 Second Division 11 0 0 0 11 0
1912–13 Second Division 38 0 2 0 40 0
1913–14 Second Division 36 0 3 0 39 0
1914–15 Second Division 38 0 2 0 40 0
1919–20 Second Division 30 0 3 0 33 0
1920–21 Second Division 33 0 2 0 35 0
Total 186 0 12 0 198 0
Port Vale 1921–22 Second Division 15 0 1 0 16 0
1922–23 Second Division 41 0 1 0 42 0
Total 56 0 2 0 58 0
Career total 242 0 14 0 256 0

International statistics

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Wales[5]
Year Apps Goals
1914 3 0
1920 2 0
1921 3 0
1922 3 0
1923 1 0
Total 12 0

Honours

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Port Vale

  • North Staffordshire Infirmary Cup: 1922[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 228. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
  2. ^ "The coming of the big ball: the Second Division: Wolverhampton Wanderers". Athletic News. Manchester. 18 August 1913. p. 5 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. ^ a b "Profile" (PDF). hednesfordtown.com. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  4. ^ Teddy Peers at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  5. ^ Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Teddy Peers". www.national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 6 June 2020.