Brian Punter (born 16 August 1935) is an English former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who scored 21 goals from 75 appearances in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...

playing as a centre forward for Lincoln City. Access individual season statistics via Season Stats dropdown menu.

Career

Punter was born in Waterloo Road, in

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunians ...

, Staffordshire. As a youngster he joined his local club,

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

, for whom he played in the first leg of the FA Youth Cup Final in 1953, which Wolves lost 7–1 to a Manchester United team containing many of the "

Busby Babes The "Busby Babes" were the group of footballers, recruited and trained by Manchester United F.C. chief scout Joe Armstrong and assistant manager Jimmy Murphy, who progressed from the club's youth team into the first team under the management of ...

". An ankle injury sustained early on in that game prevented Punter taking part in the second leg, so he was not presented with his runners-up medal at the time. Feeling that "it would be nice to have one to show to our grandchildren", he eventually applied to

the Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world a ...

, and received his medal some 56 years after the event. Punter was selected for the England youth team to play against their Scottish counterparts in February 1953, one of his three international appearances made in the 1952–53 season. Wolverhampton Wanderers were pioneers of

floodlit A floodlight is a broad-beamed, high-intensity artificial light. They are often used to illuminate outdoor playing fields while an outdoor sports event is being held during low-light conditions. More focused kinds are often used as a stage ...

football in the 1950s, playing

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

es against top sides from Continental Europe. In the hope of offering better visibility under lights than their traditional

old gold Old gold is a dark yellow, which varies from light olive or olive brown to deep or strong yellow, generally on the darker side of this range. The first recorded use of ''old gold'' as a color name in English was in the early 19th century (exact ...

kit, they developed a

fluorescent Fluorescence is the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation. It is a form of luminescence. In most cases, the emitted light has a longer wavelength, and therefore a lower photon energy, ...

shirt, which was tried out in a youth team game. Only a single prototype shirt was initially produced, and Punter, who as a winger would be expected to play near the edge of the pitch and thus be noticeable, was chosen to wear it for the trial. After leaving Wolves, Punter was on the books of

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

, but he moved on to Lincoln City without appearing for Leicester's first team. He made his debut on 12 December 1959 in a 1–0 home defeat to

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around 1 ...

in the

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third t ...

. In the 1960–61 season, Lincoln finished bottom of their division. The following season, Punter, now playing as a centre forward, was the club's leading scorer, though with only eight goals as they suffered a second consecutive

relegation In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

. He repeated the achievement the next season in the Fourth Division, this time with 17 goals in all competitions as Lincoln narrowly avoided having to apply for re-election. Punter played his last game for the club in April 1964. He had remained a semi-professional player for the whole of his five years with Lincoln, while continuing his main career as a design draughtsman. He returned to the Midlands to play for

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'Th ...

of the Southern League, where he remained until at least the 1968–69 season. He also played for several other Midlands sides, including Kidderminster Harriers, Bromsgrove Rovers, Nuneaton Borough,

Stourbridge Stourbridge is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands, England, situated on the River Stour. Historically in Worcestershire, it was the centre of British glass making during the Industrial Revolution. The ...

and

Darlaston Darlaston is an industrial town in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall in the West Midlands of England. It is located near Wednesbury and Willenhall. Topography Darlaston is situated between Wednesbury and Walsall in the valley of the Riv ...

. In later life, Punter scouted for Wolverhampton Wanderers'

Academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Punter, Brian 1935 births Living people Footballers from Wolverhampton English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Leicester City F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players Hereford United F.C. players Kidderminster Harriers F.C. players Bromsgrove Rovers F.C. players Nuneaton Borough F.C. players Stourbridge F.C. players English Football League players Southern Football League players Darlaston Town F.C. players