Teddy Peers

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+1⁄2 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

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

Club statistics

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

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

Honours

Port Vale

• North Staffordshire Infirmary Cup: 1922^[1]

References

1. 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. "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.