Percy Talbot Ames (13 December 1931 – 4 December 1998) was an English
footballer who played as a
goalkeeper in
the Football League for
Colchester United, where he made 422 appearances in all competitions between 1955 and 1965. He was also on the books at
Tottenham Hotspur but did not make a first-team appearance.
Career
Born in
Bedford, Ames began his career at
Tottenham Hotspur in 1951 having arrived from now-defunct club
Bedford Avenue. He failed to make a first-team appearance for Spurs between 1951 and 1955, and on the advice of the Tottenham first-team and
England goalkeeper
Ted Ditchburn,
Colchester United manager
Benny Fenton
Benjamin Robert Vincent Fenton (28 October 1918 – 29 July 2000) was an English professional association football, football player and manager. He played for West Ham United F.C., West Ham United, Millwall F.C., Millwall, Charlton Athletic F.C. ...
signed Ames up in 1955 following a short trial.
Ames made his first-team and
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 ...
debut on 20 August 1955 in a 0–0 away draw with
Exeter City, where Ames announced his arrival by saving a
penalty kick.
Over the period of ten years, Ames would make 397 Football League appearances for Colchester
and made 422 appearances in all competitions.
During one stint, he missed only three league games over a span of seven years, two of which were missed due to a fractured finger. His run included a spell of 224 consecutive games played for the club, starring in
FA Cup runs and achieving promotion to the
Third Division
In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below.
Association football
*Belgian Thir ...
in the
1961–62 season.
Ames was then made inaugural
Colchester United Player of the Year at the end of the
1964–65 season, his final season with the club.
At one point during his career,
West Bromwich Albion came in with an offer for Ames, but keen to keep his custodian, manager Fenton decided not to tell him until two years later.
Ames' final appearance for the club to which he had dedicated ten years came on 26 February 1965, unfortunately for Ames, a 5–0 defeat at the hands of
Queens Park Rangers.
On leaving the U's, he turned out for non-league
Romford before returning to Bedford to play for his hometown club
Bedford Town
Bedford Town Football Club is a football club based in the Borough of Bedford, England. The club are currently members of the and play at the Eyrie in Cardington, a village on the outskirts of Bedford. They are full members of the Football As ...
.
Percy Ames died at the age of 66 on 4 December 1998.
He was posthumously inducted into the Colchester United 'Hall of Fame' in 2010.
Career statistics
Honours
Club
;Colchester United
*1961–62
Football League Fourth Division
The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Whilst the division disappeared in name ...
runner-up (level 4)
Individual
*1965
Colchester United Player of the Year
:''All honours referenced by:''
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ames, Percy
1931 births
1998 deaths
Footballers from Bedford
English men's footballers
Men's association football goalkeepers
Bedford Avenue F.C. players
Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players
Colchester United F.C. players
Romford F.C. players
Bedford Town F.C. players
English Football League players