James Pearce (13 September 1909 – 1986) was a Welsh

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 ...

who played as a centre half. He made over 150

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 in the years before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Career

Pearce played locally for

Chirk Chirk ( cy, Y Waun) is a town and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales, south of Wrexham, between it and Oswestry. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 4,468. Historically in the traditional county of Denbighshire, and later Clwy ...

and for the Royal Tank Corps in the Army, and was on the books of

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

on amateur terms.

Bob Hewison Robert Hewison (25 March 1889 – 1964) was an English footballer who filled various roles on the left of the pitch before going on to make his name as a manager. Playing career Born in Backworth, Northumberland, Hewison began his playing caree ...

signed Pearce in August 1934 for

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

. Pearce joined

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

in May 1939. Pearce represented the Army during wartime service in Greece and the Middle East. In 1946 he joined

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 ...

without making a return to first-team football.

References

1909 births 1986 deaths People from Chirk Footballers from Wrexham County Borough Welsh men's footballers English Football League players Chirk AAA F.C. players Wrexham A.F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players Rochdale A.F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Men's association football defenders Place of death missing {{Wales-footy-defender-stub