Peter John Henry Chiswick (19 September 1929 – August 1962) was an English 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 ...

who played as a

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 ...

the 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 ...

for West Ham United and Gillingham. Chiswick initially signed amateur terms with Colchester United in 1946, while also registering for West Ham's colts team. His performances during the 1946–47 season saw West Ham sign Chiswick professionally, but he had to wait until 1954 to have his first taste of first-team football. After 19 league appearances, Chiswick left the club in 1956 to join Gillingham. Here, he made 14 appearances, and later turned out for

Margate Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and Westbrook, Kent, ...

and Barking.

Career

Born in Plaistow,

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, Chiswick hailed from Wivenhoe, Essex. He signed for nearby Southern League side Colchester United as an amateur on 14 July 1946. He was also registered to West Ham United's colts team. Following in his father's footsteps as a

, Chiswick made 15 appearances for Colchester during the 1946–47 season, and his performances impressed enough that West Ham decided to offer him a professional contract in July 1947. Colchester asked to keep Chiswick for the 1947–48 season, but West Ham declined and Chiswick continued his development in their Football Combination and

Eastern Counties League The Eastern Counties Football League, currently known as the Thurlow Nunn League for sponsorship purposes, is an English football league at levels 9 and 10 of the English football league system. It currently contains clubs from Norfolk, Suff ...

teams. Chiswick finally made his West Ham 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 6 February 1954 as his side defeated Leeds United 5–2. He made 19 consecutive appearances from the latter stages of the 1953–54 season and the early part of the 1954–55 season, before losing his place in the starting line-up. For the 1956–57 season, Chiswick moved to

Third Division South The Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to on ...

side Gillingham, where over the course of the season, he made 14 league appearances. After this season, Chiswick remained in Kent with

, before becoming player-coach at Barking. He died in August 1962 from a

throat infection Pharyngitis is inflammation of the back of the throat, known as the pharynx. It typically results in a sore throat and fever. Other symptoms may include a runny nose, cough, headache, difficulty swallowing, swollen lymph nodes, and a hoarse voi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chiswick, Peter 1929 births 1962 deaths Footballers from the London Borough of Newham People from Plaistow, Newham Men's association football goalkeepers English men's footballers Colchester United F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players Gillingham F.C. players Margate F.C. players Barking F.C. players Southern Football League players English Football League players