Frank Piercy (1879–1931) was an English

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 played for

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

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

as a

centre back 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 ...

. Piercy was born in

Haverton Hill Haverton Hill is an area within the borough of Stockton-on-Tees and ceremonial county of County Durham, England. Once considered a part of Billingham, Haverton Hill was once a thriving industrial community which has suffered significant depopu ...

, near Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, and upon leaving school he became a

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, gr ...

playing amateur football in Southbank for a junior team in the Teessiders Minor League. He joined Middlesbrough in 1901 becoming a professional player. He played only four games for the club. In 1904 manager

Syd King Ernest Sydney "Syd" King (1 August 1873 – 14 February 1933) was a footballer and manager, and one of the most important figures in the early history of West Ham United. Playing career Born Chatham, Kent and educated at Watford Grammar School ...

signed Piercy for West Ham United from Middlesbrough, along with Christopher Carrick. He appointed him as captain in 1907 to replace David Gardner who had retired the previous season. Nicknamed "''The Old War Horse''" during his time at West Ham, Piercy had a tough tackling style and was regularly in trouble with referees. He was once suspended for a month, in September 1907, for punching an opposition player in a match against

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...

. In October with little regard for his previous suspension he was sent-off again in a match against

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, eas ...

. Piercy tackled Millwall's Charlie Comrie, resulting in him being carried from "''the field in an unconscious state''". Piercy was again suspended. Despite his disciplinary problems Piercy became the first West Ham United player to play 200 games when he appeared on 17 April 1911 against

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

. Tommy Randall replaced Piercy as captain for the 1911–12 season and on 20 January 1912 Piercy was injured against Plymouth Argyle in what turned out to be his final game for West Ham. After playing 214 games he retired from playing and was appointed assistant trainer under

Charlie Paynter Charlie Paynter (28 July 1879 in Swindon – 1 December 1971) was the manager of West Ham United from 1932 to 1950. He moved to Plaistow with his family as a child. He played for the local teams Victoria Swifts and South West Ham, but while ...

with responsibility for the reserve team. He was awarded two benefit or testimonial games. The first in 1910 when he was allowed to keep the

gate receipts Gate receipts, or simply "gate", is the sum of money taken at a sporting venue for the sale of tickets. Traditionally, gate receipts were largely or entirely taken in cash. Today, many sporting venues will operate a season ticket scheme, which will ...

from a West Ham game against New Brompton and posthumously in 1931 when an Isthmian League side played West Ham on 1 October 1931. Piercy was also a member of Essex County bowls team, a cricketer for local teams and held a

golf handicap A golf handicap is a numerical measure of a golfer's potential that is used to enable players of varying abilities to compete against one another. Better players are those with the lowest handicaps. Historically, rules relating to handicaps have v ...

of two. He died in 1931.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Piercy, Frank 1879 births 1931 deaths People from Haverton Hill Footballers from County Durham English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Middlesbrough F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players Southern Football League players English Football League players Date of birth missing Date of death missing