Peter Thompson (27 November 1942

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...

– 30 December 2018) 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 lea ...

. Thompson was known for his speedy and electric style of play. Thompson made 560 appearances in the English Football League, playing for Preston North End F.C., Liverpool F.C. and the

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

. Thompson played as an

outside left In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on be ...

for Liverpool , and was capped 16 times for

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Life and career

Preston North End

Thompson started his football career playing for the Petteril Bank Primary School before moving to Harraby Secondary school in Carlisle. He played

inside forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...

for England. On graduation, Thompson was recruited by 17 professional football clubs. He decided to join Preston North End F.C. At Preston, Thompson became a regular First division player at age 17, making his debut against

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 ...

F.C. on 30 August 1960. In describing Thompson, Chairman Nat Buck said. "I've lost the number of clubs who want him, but how could we sell?" Preston even turned down a bid from

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

Bill Shankly William Shankly (2 September 1913 – 29 September 1981) was a Scottish association football, football player and Manager (association football), manager who is best known for his time as manager of Liverpool F.C., Liverpool. Shankly brought su ...

had been impressed by the speed and trickery of the young winger during a marathon 5th round

FA cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

tie between Liverpool F.C. and Preston in February 1962. It went to a second replay at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

before the deadlock was finally broken by Thompson. In 1961, after 121 League games and 20 League goals for Preston and relegation to 2nd Division, Thompson moved to Liverpool for £37,000.

Liverpool

Arriving at Liverpool, Thompson went into the first-team. He played in all 42 League games that first season, winning a championship medal as Liverpool won the title by four points. The team won three trophies in the mid-60's, winning another championship medal in 1966. Thompson participate in Liverpool's FA Cup victory in

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

. He came to

Alf Ramsey Sir Alfred Ernest Ramsey (22 January 1920 – 28 April 1999) was an English association football, football player and Manager (association football), manager. As a player, he represented England national football team, the England national ...

's attention and won 16 caps. In 1966 and again in 1970 Thompson was named to the initial

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

squad of 28 players, but did not make the final squad. As a member of the initial England squad ahead of the

1970 FIFA World Cup The 1970 FIFA World Cup was the 9th edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's senior national teams. Held from 31 May to ...

, Thompson was involved in the Bogotá Bracelet incident. By some accounts, he was in or near the jewellery shop when

Bobby Moore Robert Frederick Chelsea Moore (12 April 1941 – 24 February 1993) was an English professional footballer. He captained West Ham United for more than ten years, and was the captain of the England national team that won the 1966 FIFA ...

allegedly stole a bracelet. He started the 1970–71 season in the first-team and played in the opening 16 league matches. He was not a regular starter during the second half of the season although he did come off the bench to replace Alun Evans in the 1971 FA Cup final against Arsenal. He immediately helped to provide

Steve Heighway Stephen Derek Heighway (born 25 November 1947) is an Irish former footballer who played as a winger. He was part of the successful Liverpool team of the 1970s. Following his eleven-year spell at the club, he was ranked 23rd in the 100 Players ...

with the opener before losing 2-1 after extra time.

Bolton Wanderers

Suffering from knee problems in 1973 and relegated to the Liverpool reserves, Thompson contemplated retirement. However,

Jimmy Armfield James Christopher Armfield (21 September 1935 – 22 January 2018) was an English professional association football, football player and manager. He played the whole of his Football League career at Blackpool F.C., Blackpool, usually at right b ...

, manager of Bolton F.C, . persuaded Thompson to go on loan to Bolton in December 1973. In January 1974, Thompson signed with Bolton for £18,000.. Thompson retired in April 1978 after having played 132 matches for Bolton, who were promoted that season to the top-flight.

After football

After retiring in 1978, Thompson ran a

caravan park Caravan or caravans may refer to: Transport and travel * Campervan, a type of vehicle also known as a motor caravan *Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together **Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop * Caravan (tra ...

for seven years in Knott End-on-Sea in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

. He then ran hotels in the

Lake District The Lake District, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...

and

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and civil parish in the North Yorkshire District, district and North Yorkshire, county of North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist de ...

. In 2006, Thompson moved to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. Thompson died on 30 December 2018, aged 76.

Honours

Preston North End *

FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...

runner-up: 1959-60 Liverpool *

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was the top division of the Football League in England from 1888 until the end of the 1991–92 season, when its teams broke away to form the Premier League. From 1992 to 2004, the name First Division was g ...

: 1963–64, 1965–66 *

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

: 1964–65; runner-up: 1970–71 *

European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...

runner-up: 1965–66 *

FA Charity Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

(shared), 1965,

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

Bolton Wanderers *

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third tier ...

: 1977–78

References

External links

Player profile
at LFChistory.net
Stats and photo
at Sporting Heroes {{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Peter 1942 births 2018 deaths Footballers from Carlisle, Cumbria English men's footballers England men's international footballers England men's under-23 international footballers Men's association football wingers Preston North End F.C. players Liverpool F.C. players Bolton Wanderers F.C. players English Football League players UEFA Euro 1968 players English Football League representative players 20th-century English sportsmen