Peter Ward (born 27 July 1955) is an English retired footballer, whose most successful times were with Brighton & Hove Albion, mostly as a forward. He now lives in the United States.

Early life

Ward was born at St. Michael's Hospital in Lichfield, Staffordshire. He was the first child born to his parents, Colin and Mavis Ward, who met as members of the Derby Serenaders marching band. The band remained a major part of Ward's family life, with Colin encouraging Ward to take up playing the drums as well. Along with music, he was attracted to football from an early age; his father would later state that he "kicked a ball around as soon as he could walk."

Club career

Early career and Brighton

Ward was an apprentice engine fitter at the Rolls-Royce plant in Derby. While there he played for non-league side Burton Albion making 50 appearances and scoring 21 goals. He was transferred to Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. in 1975 for a fee of £4000 (almost $5,500). The move also saw Burton manager Ken Gutteridge move to the Albion as Assistant Manager. Initially, Ward played in the Brighton Reserves. His first game with the first team came on 27 March 1976 against

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'The ...

. He scored in the first minute in a game that ended 1–1. During the 1976–77 season, he scored 36 goals, beating the club record and winning him the golden boot. He is still revered by Brighton fans who sing a song dreaming of a team in which every player is Peter Ward: 'We all live in a Wardy Wonderland.' After finishing second in Division Two in 1978–79, Brighton were promoted to the old

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

. Ward put in a transfer request; however, differences were resolved and he still wore the Brighton shirt for the first game in the top flight which saw Brighton lose 4–0 to

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

. In November of that year Brighton accepted a £400,000 offer from Nottingham Forest, but Forest manager Brian Clough changed his mind and withdrew it.

Nottingham Forest

Ward finally did move to Nottingham Forest in October 1980 in a three-way deal which saw

Gary Birtles Garry Birtles (born 27 July 1956) is an English retired professional footballer who played as a forward in the Football League between the 1970s and 1990s. He is best known for his time at Nottingham Forest, during which he won the 1979 and 198 ...

leave Forest for

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

and Andy Ritchie move south from United to

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

. He made 28 league appearances for Nottingham Forest and scored seven goals, but things did not work out. Ward was sent on loan to American side Seattle Sounders where he scored 18 goals in the 1981–82 season putting him third in the list of top NASL goalscorers that season.

Back at Brighton

Ward returned to Brighton on loan in October 1982. The loan lasted four months, during which time he scored three goals, including the only goal in a 1–0 victory over

. Nottingham Forest refused to extend the loan deal further.

North America

In September 1983, Ward signed with the Vancouver Whitecaps of the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

. He played the 1983–1984 NASL indoor and 1984 outdoor season in Vancouver. On 17 October 1984, the Whitecaps sold Ward's contract to the Cleveland Force of the Major Indoor Soccer League. He spent three seasons with the Force. On 26 June 1987, the Force sent Ward to the Tacoma Stars in exchange for Glen Lurie and the Stars' 1988 and 1989 first-round and 1990 third-round draft picks. Ward became a free agent at the end of the 1988–1989 season and the Stars did not offer him a contract. He used the summer outdoor season to play for the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the American Soccer League. On 6 September 1989, he signed with the

Wichita Wings The Wichita Wings were a professional indoor soccer franchise based in Wichita, Kansas. The Wings were admitted to the Major Indoor Soccer League as an expansion team on August 21, 1979.

of the MISL. On 22 January 1990, the Wings sent Ward and

Mike Stankovic Mike Stankovic (born November 11, 1956) is a retired Serbian Americans, Serbian-American association football, soccer defender (association football), defender who played professionally in the North American Soccer League (1968–1984), North Ame ...

to the Baltimore Blast for

David Byrne David Byrne (; born 14 May 1952) is a Scottish-American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, writer, music theorist, visual artist and filmmaker. He was a founding member and the principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of ...

and Keder. In 1991, he again played for the Tampa Bay Rowdies, now playing in the

American Professional Soccer League The American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was a professional men's soccer league with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the third American Soccer League with the Western Soccer League. It ...

.1991 Tampa Bay Rowdies
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International career

In 1977, Ward had been selected for an England under-21 game against Norway. He scored a

hat trick A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

in a 6–0 win for England. He was selected for the full England squad against Luxembourg a month later but did not make it onto the pitch. His only full cap came on 31 May 1980, in a 2–1 win over

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Ward came on in the 85th minute, making his international career the shortest ever for an England player. His record of 6 minutes has since been surpassed by Martin Kelly.

Personal life

In 2002, Ward married his second wife, Jacqueline. He has three daughters from his first marriage. From 2002–2005, Ward coached soccer at Tampa Catholic High School located in Tampa, Florida. In 2011, he began coaching for Celtic FC Florida in Largo, Florida. Ward scored both goals for the Yellow Team en route to a 2–0 win during FC Tampa Bay's 2011 Celebrity Halftime Game.

References

External links

NASL/MISL stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Peter 1955 births Living people English footballers England international footballers England B international footballers England under-21 international footballers American Professional Soccer League players American Soccer League (1988–89) players Baltimore Blast (1980–1992) players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Burton Albion F.C. players Cleveland Force (original MISL) players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players Nottingham Forest F.C. players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players Footballers from Derby Seattle Sounders (1974–1983) players Tampa Bay Rowdies (1975–1993) players Tacoma Stars players Vancouver Whitecaps (1974–1984) players Wichita Wings (MISL) players Association football forwards English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate soccer players in the United States English expatriate footballers English expatriate sportspeople in Canada Expatriate soccer players in Canada