Peter James Griffiths (born 14 August 1957) is an English former

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 ...

who made 98 league appearances on the right-wing in the

English 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 Engl ...

for Stoke City,

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. ...

, and Port Vale in the 1980s. He also played non-League football for

Bideford Bideford ( ) is a historic port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, south-west England. It is the main town of the Torridge local government district. Toponymy In ancient records Bideford is recorded as ''Bedeford'', ''By ...

, Salisbury United (Australia), Newcastle KB United (Australia), Stafford Rangers, Northwich Victoria,

Matlock Town Matlock Town Football Club is a football club based in Matlock, Derbyshire, England. Nicknamed 'the Gladiators', they are currently members of the and play at Causeway Lane. History The club was established in 1878 as Matlock Football Club.< ...

and Milton United. He played in the First Division for Stoke, and helped Port Vale to win

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out of the Fourth Division in 1985–86.

Career

Stoke City

Griffiths moved from

( Western League) to Alan Durban's Stoke City for a £15,000 fee after a successful trial in November 1980, giving up his job as a self-employed

panel beater Panel beater or panelbeater is a term used in some Commonwealth countries to describe a person who repairs vehicle bodies back to their factory state after having been damaged (e.g., after being involved in a collision). In the United States an ...

in the process. He scored his first goal at the

Victoria Ground The Victoria Ground was the home ground of Stoke City from 1878 until 1997, when the club relocated to the Britannia Stadium after 119 years. At the time of its demolition it was the oldest operational ground in the Football League. History ...

on 27 December 1980, in a 2–2 draw with

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...

; this was his only goal in five starts and five substitute appearances in the 1980–81 season. Everton made a £150,000 offer for Griffiths, which was rejected by the Stoke board. He scored three goals in 33 games in the 1981–82 season, finding the net against Aston Villa,

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

and Swansea City early on in the campaign. He soon fell out of the first-team picture under Richie Barker, and made just 11 First Division starts in the 1982–83 campaign, finding the net once in a 4–1 win over

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...

at St Andrew's on 4 September. He featured just five times for the "Potters" in the 1983–84 season, and was

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that ...

ed out to

. He played two Third Division games for Trevor Cherry's "Bantams", in a brief stay at

Valley Parade Valley Parade, known as the University of Bradford Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is an all-seater football stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Built in 1886, it was the home of Manningham Rugby Football Club until 1903, when they ...

Port Vale

Griffiths was signed by Stoke's

rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...

Port Vale in July 1984. He played regular football in the 1984–85 season, scoring four goals in 39 games, until tearing a

groin In human anatomy, the groin (the adjective is ''inguinal'', as in inguinal canal) is the junctional area (also known as the inguinal region) between the abdomen and the thigh on either side of the pubic bone. This is also known as the medial comp ...

muscle in April 1985. Upon his recovery he failed to gain his first-team spot back at

Vale Park Vale Park is a football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, England. It has been the home ground of Port Vale F.C. since 1950. The ground has seen its capacity go up and down, its peak being 42,000 in 1954 against Blackpool, although a club record 49, ...

, and featured just nine times in the 1985–86 Fourth Division

winning campaign. "Valiants"

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John Rudge John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

handed him a free transfer in May 1986.

Later career

He emigrated to Australia to play for Salisbury United, and then National Soccer League side Newcastle KB United, before returning to Staffordshire to play for Conference club Stafford Rangers. After leaving Rangers he played for Northwich Victoria,

( Northern Premier League) and Milton United.

Career statistics

Source: :A. The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...

Honours

Port Vale * Football League Fourth Division fourth-place promotion: 1985–86

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffiths, Peter Sportspeople from Barnstaple Footballers from Devon English men's footballers Men's association football wingers Bideford A.F.C. players Stoke City F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players English expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in Australia Salisbury United FC players Newcastle KB United players Bradford City A.F.C. players Stafford Rangers F.C. players Northwich Victoria F.C. players Milton United F.C. (Staffs) players Matlock Town F.C. players Western Football League players English Football League players National Soccer League (Australia) players National League (English football) players Northern Premier League players 1957 births Living people