Peter Benjamin Hauser (20 April 1934 – 9 March 2000) played professional football for Blackpool before becoming player-manager of Chester in 1963. This made him one of the first foreign managers in English football. A wing-half, former underground surveyor Hauser made 83

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 ...

appearances (scoring 10 goals) for Blackpool between 1955 and 1962, before dropping out of professional football and joining

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. From the 2021–22 season, the club compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league sy ...

. Following the departure of

Bill Lambton William Lambton (2 December 1914 – 16 September 1976) was an English football player and manager. He played in goal for Nottingham Forest, Exeter City and Doncaster Rovers, although he made just three Football League appearances in total wi ...

, 29-year-old Hauser took over as manager of Chester shortly before the 1963–64 season got underway. Chester had endured very little success since 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 opposi ...

but Hauser set about improving the club's fortunes. A mid-table finish in

Division Four 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 ...

in his first season represented progress after three successive re-election applications, before steering the club through an amazing 1964–65. The club scored 119 league goals and a further 22 in the two main cup competitions, with all five regular forwards scoring at least 20. Hauser was a regular throughout the season, which saw Chester finish just 8th despite their goal glut. The 1965–66 campaign saw Chester finish 7th, after looking favourites for promotion before full back namesakes Ray and Bryn Jones both suffered broken legs against

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 Alder ...

on New Year's Day. Chester's fortunes began to decline after this and, after struggling in 1966–67 (after which Hauser stopped playing), things got worse a year later. A home defeat to fellow strugglers

Workington Workington is a coastal town and civil parish at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. The town was historically in Cumberland. At the 2011 census it had a population of 25,207. Locat ...

on 17 February 1968 brought to an end Hauser's five years in charge, and his association with professional football in England. After leaving Chester, Hauser returned to South Africa to resume his underground surveying career.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hauser, Peter 1934 births 2000 deaths People from Kimberley, Northern Cape South African men's soccer players Men's association football wing halves Blackpool F.C. players Cheltenham Town F.C. players Addington F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Highlands Park F.C. players English Football League players South African soccer managers Chester City F.C. managers English Football League managers Corinthians F.C. (Johannesburg) players