Peter Swan (8 October 1936 – 20 January 2021)
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 ...
whose career lasted from 1952 until 1974. Swan made 299 appearances for
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...
plus two as substitute, he was a regular in the England national side for two years between May 1960 and May 1962 winning 19 full caps, he also represented England at Under 19 and Under 23 level.
Despite his ability as a top-class defender he will be mostly remembered for his involvement in a
betting scandal that led to him being banned from football for eight years between 1964 and 1972.
Early life
Peter Swan was born in
South Elmsall
South Elmsall ( ) is a town and civil parish in the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England. South Elmsall lies to the east of Hemsworth The town had a population in 2001 of 6,107, increasing to 6,519 at the 2011 Census.
History
The town ...
near
Pontefract
Pontefract is a historic market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the towns in the City of Wake ...
in West Yorkshire on 8 October 1936, he was one of seven children, all boys. At a young age he moved to
Armthorpe
Armthorpe is a large village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. Historically within the West Riding of Yorkshire, it had a population of 12,630, increasing to 14,457 at the 2011 Census.
Histor ...
near
Doncaster
Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...
where he attended Armthorpe Secondary Modern School, playing in the school football team along with
Alan Finney
Alan Finney (born 31 October 1933) is a former footballer who played for Sheffield Wednesday and Doncaster Rovers, featuring in over 500 games during his time at Hillsborough and the consistency of his performances made a popular member of the ...
. Swan was initially a right winger before being converted to
centre half
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...
during his time at school. Swan played for Doncaster Schools as a teenager and joined Sheffield Wednesday as a 15-year-old amateur in 1952, working part-time at Armthorpe Colliery at the same time. In November 1953 he signed as a part-time professional for Wednesday, progressing to full professional just after his 18th birthday.
Sheffield Wednesday
As an 18-year-old Swan was called up for
National Service
National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939.
The l ...
, serving in the
Royal Signals
The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS or R SIGS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communi ...
as a
PTI PTI may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Pardon the Interruption'', an American television sports show
* PTI, a musical group on the WTII Records label
Organizations
* Pacific Torah Institute, a yeshiva high school in Vancouver, British Columb ...
at
Catterick Garrison
Catterick Garrison is a major garrison and military town south of Richmond, North Yorkshire, England. It is the largest British Army garrison in the world, with a population of around 13,000 in 2017 and covering over 2,400 acres (about 10& ...
. However this did not hinder his progress at
Hillsborough as he was allowed leave to play in games. He made his first team debut at 19 against
Barnsley
Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...
on 5 November 1955. For three years Swan was not a regular member of the side, usually playing when
Don McEvoy
Don, don or DON and variants may refer to:
Places
*County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON
*Don (river), a river in European Russia
*Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name
*Don, Benin, a town in Benin
*Don, Dang, a vill ...
was injured. However at the start of the
1958–59 season he became first choice centre half for the club and was a prominent member of the team in their excellent seasons in the late 1950s and early 1960s. During that time Wednesday finished 5th in the
1959–60 season in Division One and then runners up to the double winning
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
side in
1960–61 and then sixth in the next three seasons.
[''"Setting The Record Straight"'', Peter Swan with Nick Johnson Gives football career and biographical information.]
Swan made his full England debut during this golden period as a 23-year-old against
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
on 11 May 1960. He played the next 19 international matches consecutively for England over the next two years up to his last appearance on 9 May 1962 against Switzerland. These 19 appearances included nine friendly internationals, six Home Internationals and four qualifying matches for the
1962 World Cup finals in Chile. Swan was selected for the squad for the 1962 World Cup finals in Chile; he fell ill with
Tonsillitis
Tonsillitis is inflammation of the tonsils in the upper part of the throat. It can be acute or chronic. Acute tonsillitis typically has a rapid onset. Symptoms may include sore throat, fever, enlargement of the tonsils, trouble swallowing, and en ...
before leaving but recovered and travelled with the squad. However, he contracted
dysentery
Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications ...
while in Chile and never played a game with
Maurice Norman
Maurice Norman (8 May 1934 – 27 November 2022) was an English footballer who played nearly 400 times in the Football League as a centre half for Norwich City and Tottenham Hotspur. At international level, Norman won 23 caps for the England n ...
and
Bobby Moore
Robert Frederick Chelsea Moore (12 April 1941 – 24 February 1993) was an English professional footballer. He most notably played for West Ham United, captaining the club for more than ten years, and was the captain of the England natio ...
playing as centre backs.
Betting scandal
The betting scandal, which also involved two other Wednesday players,
Tony Kay
Anthony Herbert Kay (born 13 May 1937) is an English former footballer who became notorious after being banned from the professional game for life following the British betting scandal of 1964.
Kay played for Sheffield Wednesday before beco ...
and
David Layne
David "Bronco" Layne (born Sheffield, 29 July 1939) is an English former footballer most famous for playing for Sheffield Wednesday and his involvement in the British betting scandal of 1964.
Playing career Rotherham United
Layne started his ...
, involved the three betting on Sheffield Wednesday to lose their away match at
Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...
on Saturday 1 December 1962. Ipswich won the match 2–0 with two goals from
Ray Crawford
Ray Crawford (October 26, 1915 – February 1, 1996) was an American fighter ace, test pilot, race-car driver and businessman.
Biography
Born in Roswell, New Mexico, Crawford served as a U.S. Army Air Corps fighter pilot and flew the P-3 ...
. In an interview with
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
newspaper in July 2006, Swan said "We lost the game fair and square, but I still don't know what I'd have done if we'd been winning. It would have been easy for me to give away a penalty or even score an own goal. Who knows?". The betting ring was uncovered and publicised by a major article in ''
The People
The ''Sunday People'' is a British tabloid Sunday newspaper. It was founded as ''The People'' on 16 October 1881.
At one point owned by Odhams Press, The ''People'' was acquired along with Odhams by the Mirror Group in 1961, along with the ' ...
'' newspaper. Swan was banned on Monday 13 April 1964 just as he was preparing to play against Tottenham that evening, his place in the team being taken by
Vic Mobley. Swan received a four-month jail sentence in
Lincoln
Lincoln most commonly refers to:
* Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States
* Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England
* Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S.
* Lincoln ...
jail and a life ban from football. It is believed that he might otherwise have been part of the England squad that won the
1966 World Cup
The 1966 FIFA World Cup was the eighth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in England from 11 July to 30 July 1966. The England national football team defeated West Germany 4-2 in the ...
; he was once told by England manager
Alf Ramsey
Sir Alfred Ernest Ramsey (22 January 1920 – 28 April 1999) was an English football player and manager. As a player, he represented the England national team and captained the side, but he is best known for his time as England manager fr ...
that he was "top of the list".
Return to playing
During his time out of football Swan worked as a car salesman for a time before, in 1968, becoming a landlord at
pubs
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
in both Sheffield and Chesterfield. The life ban from football was lifted in 1972 and Swan returned to play for the Sheffield Wednesday first team for the start of the
1972–73 season in a match against
Fulham
Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...
which Wednesday won 3–0. He made 15 appearances plus two as substitute that season as Wednesday led the Second Division for the opening months, however the team's form faded and Swan lost his place in the side, his final appearance for Wednesday being on 11 November 1972. Wednesday manager
Derek Dooley offered Swan a contract for
1973–74 but this involved playing reserve team football and helping the young players. Swan rejected this offer and signed for
Bury
Bury may refer to:
*The burial of human remains
*-bury, a suffix in English placenames
Places England
* Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village
* Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire
** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...
after a move to
Chesterfield
Chesterfield may refer to:
Places Canada
* Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan
* Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom
* Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England
** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...
broke down. Swan scored on his debut for Bury against
Torquay United
Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...
after just three minutes after playing over 300 matches for Sheffield Wednesday and never finding the net. He captained Bury for the 1973–74 season and led them to promotion to Division Three. He left Bury after only being offered a month-to-month contract for
1974–75, and at the age of 37 he ended his professional playing career.
Management
Swan turned his hand to management in the summer of 1974 when he took charge of non-league
Matlock Town
Matlock Town Football Club is a association football, football club based in Matlock, Derbyshire, Matlock, Derbyshire, England. Nicknamed 'the Gladiators', they are currently members of the and play at Causeway Lane.
History
The club was esta ...
. His first season at the helm was a great success, with Matlock getting past the qualifying rounds of the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
for only the second time in the club's history. Better still, Matlock reached the final of the 1975
FA Trophy
The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The compet ...
and faced
Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to:
People
* Scarborough (surname)
* Earl of Scarbrough
Places Australia
* Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth
* Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong
* Scarborough, Queensland, su ...
at
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
. Despite being the underdogs Matlock went on to win the match by a convincing 4–0 margin. Swan resigned at the end of his second season in charge hoping to find a full-time management position elsewhere. He eventually returned as manager in November 1980, with his second spell at the club lasting just over a year after a poor run of results. Swan also had spells as manager at
Worksop Town
Worksop Town Football Club is an English football club based in Worksop, Nottinghamshire. As of the 2021–22 season the team plays in the . They are nicknamed ''The Tigers'' and play their home games at Sandy Lane in Worksop.
History First clu ...
and
Buxton
Buxton is a spa town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level. . His son Carl who played league football for
Doncaster Rovers
Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...
and
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 the late 1970s also played when his father was in charge at Matlock and Worksop.
Later life and death
After continuing to run a public house in
Chesterfield
Chesterfield may refer to:
Places Canada
* Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan
* Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom
* Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England
** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...
for a time, he retired. He released a biographical book in September 2006 called ''"Setting The Record Straight"'' written in conjunction with Nick Johnson (). Peter Swan's son Gary died of
stomach cancer
Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a cancer that develops from the lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a number of subtypes, including gastric adenocarcinomas. Lymph ...
aged 39 in 1998.
Swan was diagnosed with
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...
in the mid-2000s. He died on 20 January 2021, aged 84.
References
External links
SWFC LegendsOfficial Sheffield Wednesday biography on Swan
*
, ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' 22 July 2006, p. 102, Broadbent, R.
SWFC Stats SiteSome Career InfoCarl Swan Info
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swan, Peter
1936 births
2021 deaths
People from South Elmsall
English footballers
England international footballers
England under-23 international footballers
1962 FIFA World Cup players
People with Alzheimer's disease
English Football League players
English Football League representative players
Association football central defenders
Footballers from Yorkshire
Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players
Bury F.C. players
Matlock Town F.C. players
English football managers
Matlock Town F.C. managers
Worksop Town F.C. managers
Buxton F.C. managers
Sportspeople involved in betting scandals
Sportspeople convicted of crimes
20th-century British Army personnel
Royal Corps of Signals soldiers
Association football player-managers