Christopher Pike (born 19 October 1961) is a Welsh former professional

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 le ...

. His clubs included

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

and Gillingham. He made over 250

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

appearances.

Career

Pike began his career playing in the Cardiff Combination League with Park Lawn Football Club of Whitchurch, before moving up to the

Welsh Football League The Welsh Football League (also known as the Nathaniel Car Sales Welsh Football League for sponsorship reasons) was a club football league in Wales. For its final season in 2019–20 season it operated at levels 3 and 4 of the Welsh football leagu ...

with Maesteg Park and Barry Town. In 1985, he was given a chance in the

when he was signed by

, managing to make an impact on the first team before an injury meant he lost his place in the side and, after finding himself unable to force his way back into the squad, was loaned out to his hometown side

. He enjoyed a fairly successful spell at Cardiff but an injury crisis at Fulham saw him recalled. In 1989, he returned to Cardiff City, this time on a permanent basis. At the club he established a striking partnership with

Carl Dale Carl Dale (born 29 April 1966) is a Welsh former professional footballer. During his career, he made over 300 appearances in the Football League for Cardiff City and Chester City, scoring over 100 goals. He remains a cult favourite among the ...

and the two competed for the club's top scorer award at the club for several years, with Pike winning the award for three consecutive seasons between 1989 and 1992, the third season sharing it with Dale. He left the club in 1993 having played over 150 League games for the Bluebirds, to sign 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 'The ...

. While playing for

in 1993 he scored a hat-trick against

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...

, in which each of the three goals was scored past a different

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

. He made 38 League appearances for Hereford and transferred to Gillingham in 1994-95, where he made his remaining 27 Football League appearances.

Personal life

He is the uncle of Welsh international footballer

Gareth Bale Gareth Frank Bale (born 16 July 1989) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a winger for Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC and the Wales national team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wingers of his generation ...

and the father of cricketer Oliver Pike."Oliver Pike"
''Cricket Archive''. Retrieved 31 March 2017.

References

;Specific ;General * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pike, Chris 1961 births Living people Welsh men's footballers English Football League players Barry Town United F.C. players Fulham F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Hereford United F.C. players Gillingham F.C. players Footballers from Cardiff Bridgend Town A.F.C. players Rhayader Town F.C. players Men's association football forwards Sportspeople from Maesteg