Peter Doherty (footballer)

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Peter Doherty
Image:Peter Doherty (Blackpool.jpg).jpg
Personal information
Full name Peter Dermot Doherty
Date of birth June 5, 1913(1913-06-05)
Place of birth    Magherafelt, Ireland
Date of death    April 6, 1990 (aged 76)
Place of death    Blackpool, England
Height 5.10 ft
Playing position Striker
Youth clubs
19??-1933 Glentoran
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1933-1936
1936-1945
1945-1946
1946-1949
1949-1951
Blackpool
Manchester City
Derby County
Huddersfield Town
Doncaster Rovers
089 (29)
133 (81)
015 0(7)
083 (33)
103 (55)   
National team
1935-1950 Ireland 016 0(3)
Teams managed
1949-1951
1951-1962
1958-1960
Doncaster Rovers
Northern Ireland
Bristol City

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only.
* Appearances (Goals)

Peter Dermot Doherty (June 5, 1913April 6, 1990) was a Northern Irish professional football player and manager.

Contents

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[edit] Playing career

Doherty (left), in his Manchester City days, shaking hands with Jimmy Hampson, of his first club, Blackpool, in the late 1930s. The two were former teammates at Blackpool.
Doherty (left), in his Manchester City days, shaking hands with Jimmy Hampson, of his first club, Blackpool, in the late 1930s. The two were former teammates at Blackpool.

Born in Magherafelt, County Londonderry, Doherty began his career with Glentoran in the Irish League before joining Blackpool in 1933/34 at the age of 19. He scored 29 goals in 89 appearances over three seasons. He joined Manchester City in 1936, for whose services the Manchester team paid a then-club record of £10,000. He scored 81 goals in 133 appearances during his time at Maine Road.

During the Second World War years of 1939-1945, Doherty served in the RAF. At the conclusion of the war, he transferred to Derby County. He also went on to play for Huddersfield Town.

[edit] Style of play

A tall (for that time) and naturally gifted talent, Doherty was capable of producing a powerful shot from his left foot. He was also very fast and tricky to play against, with great stamina. As well as his natural talents, he was also a tenacious charcacter, who could not be dismayed. He is regarded by many who saw him play, as Northern Ireland's finest ever Inside Forward.

[edit] Management career

He made his final move to Doncaster in 1949, where he assumed the role of player-manager. He later became manager of Northern Ireland (1951-1962), for whom he had sixteen caps as a player. He led the country to the 1958 World Cup Finals. He also managed Bristol City. Later life saw him become a scout for Liverpool Football Club, helping to unearth such talents as Kevin Keegan.

[edit] Honours and awards

Doherty won a league championship medal with Manchester City in 1937 and a cup winner's medal with Derby in the 1946 FA Cup Final. His performances earned him the nickname Peter 'the Great' Doherty. He was regarded by the legendary Joe Mercer as the greatest player who ever lived.

He was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002.

Doherty died in Blackpool in 1990 at the age of 76.

There is a plaque to mark his birthplace in Magherafelt, it can be found at what is now a local barber's shop.

[edit] References

Calley, Roy (1992). Blackpool: A Complete Record 1887-1992. Breedon Books Sport. ISBN 1-873626-07-X. 

[edit] External links