Malcolm Pyke

Malcolm Pyke (6 March 1938 – 13 February 2020) was an English footballer who played as a wing half in the Football League for West Ham United and Crystal Palace. He later played for Dartford.

Malcolm Pyke
Personal information
Date of birth (1938-03-06)6 March 1938
Place of birth Eltham, London, England
Date of death 13 February 2020 (aged 81)
Playing position(s) Wing half
Youth career
1953–1954 UGB Pantiles
1953–1957 West Ham United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1957–1959 West Ham United 17 (0)
1959–1960 Crystal Palace 2 (0)
1960–? Dartford
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Playing career

Born in Eltham, London, Pyke played for Woolwich, Kent and London as a schoolboy. He played for UGB Pantiles, a club based in Blackheath which was associated with the United Glass Bottle company, during the 1953–54 season.[1]

He joined West Ham United as part of the ground staff in 1953 and progressed as a youth team player. He signed professional forms in March 1955.[1] He made his first team debut on 22 April 1957 in a 3–1 home win against Bristol City, and he kept in place for the following match, a 1–0 away defeat to Liverpool.[2]

Pyke was a member of Ted Fenton's side which won the 1957–58 Second Division. He was drafted into the team after Malcolm Allison contracted tuberculosis in September 1957, playing alongside Ken Brown and sharing the number 6 shirt with Bill Lansdowne. His run in the team included an FA Cup third-round match against a Blackpool side which featured Stanley Matthews, with Pyke setting up a goal for John Dick in a 5–1 win.[3] He made 21 competitive appearances that season, including 15 in the League.[2]

He did not make any appearances the following season as West Ham returned to the 1958–59 First Division.[4] He totalled 24 appearances[lower-alpha 1] for "The Hammers" before moving to Crystal Palace on 9 June 1959[5] in exchange for Ron Brett.[6] His Palace career was even shorter and amounted to only two games before he moved to Dartford, in June 1960.[5][7]

After football

When his football career ended Pyke became the landlord of the Papermakers Arms pub in Dartford, Kent.[4] He died on 13 February 2020, aged 81.[1]

Notes
  1. 17 in the Second Division, 3 in the Southern Floodlight Cup, 2 in the Essex Professional Cup, and 2 in the FA Cup.[2]
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References
  1. Marsh, Steve. "Malcolm Pyke ... (1957 - 1958)". theyflysohigh. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  2. "Welcome to the Wonderful World of West Ham United Statistics – Malcolm Pyke". www.westhamstats.info. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
  3. "Malcolm Pyke 1938-2020". West Ham United F.C. 20 February 2020. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  4. Hogg, Tony (2005). Who's Who of West Ham United. Profile Sports Media. p. 169. ISBN 1-899429-01-8.
  5. Mike Purkiss & Nigel Sands. Crystal Palace: A Complete Record 1905–1989. p. 338. ISBN 0907969542.
  6. "Palace do a deal with West Ham". Norwood News. 19 June 1959. p. 3. Retrieved 2 March 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. "CRYSTAL PALACE : 1946/47 – 2011/12". www.neilbrown.newcastlefans.com. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
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