Gary Pierce (born 2 March 1951) is an English former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

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 ...

. Pierce began his football career in 1970 at non-league

Mossley Mossley (/ˈmɒzli/) is a town and civil parish in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, in the upper Tame Valley and the foothills of the Pennines, southeast of Oldham and east of Manchester. The historic counties of Lancashire, Cheshir ...

, before being quickly snapped up by First Division

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...

for £2,250, where he featured for two seasons. In 1973, he joined top flight

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 £45,000. Here, he was largely second choice to Phil Parkes, but after Parkes suffered injury, he played in the 1974 League Cup Final. Pierce made a series of outstanding saves in the game, helping Wolves defeat Manchester City 2–1 at

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

. Pierce was an ever-present in the 1976–77 season as Wolves won the Second Division at the first attempt, but the club bought Paul Bradshaw upon their return, relegating Pierce to reserve status again. He left Molineux in 1979 for Third Division

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

, where he played three seasons, before ending his league career with a season at

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

. At Blackpool, he made 27 consecutive League appearances during the 1983–84 campaign as Sam Ellis' fourth goalkeeping change in seventeen matches. He took over from the on-loan

Barry Siddall Barry Alfred Siddall (born 12 September 1954) is an English former professional football goalkeeper. When he retired from the game he had 614 appearances to his name over a 21-year career in the Football League, playing for numerous clubs. He p ...

on 26 November 1983, as ''the Seasiders'' won 2–1 at

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 ...

. His final game for the club occurred on 5 May 1984, a 3–2 defeat at

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alders ...

Drew Brand Andrew Scougal Brand (born 8 November 1957) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played in the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, footba ...

became Blackpool's fifth goalkeeper used that season when he took over for the three remaining League games. His contract was cancelled later that month and his professional career was over at the age of 33. Pierce then returned to non-league football with

Accrington Stanley Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England. The club competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They have spent their complete his ...

, Rossendale United and Chorley. In 1986, he returned to his original club

and played through the 1986–87 season before retiring from playing completely. After retiring as a player, he later had a spell as manager of Netherfield but is now no longer involved in football.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pierce, Gary 1951 births Living people Footballers from Bury, Greater Manchester English men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Mossley A.F.C. players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Barnsley F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Accrington Stanley F.C. players Rossendale United F.C. players Chorley F.C. players English Football League players English football managers Kendal Town F.C. managers