Walter David Pyle (12 December 1936 – 8 February 2002) was a 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 ...

who played as a

centre half In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

The Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

for

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers FC is a men's professional football club in Bristol. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is affiliated to Bristol Rovers W.F.C., whose team play in the FA Women's National Leag ...

and

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...

between 1955 and 1963. Born in

Trowbridge Trowbridge ( ) is the county town of Wiltshire, England; situated on the River Biss in the west of the county, close to the border with Somerset. The town lies south-east of Bath, Somerset, Bath, south-west of Swindon and south-east of Brist ...

, Pyle started his career playing in his home town for Trowbridge Colts, before graduating to senior side

Trowbridge Town Trowbridge Town Football Club is a football club based in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England. They compete at Step 7 in the and play at Woodmarsh, on the southern edge of the town. History A Trowbridge Town team was originally formed in 1880 and ...

in 1954. After a year playing

non-League football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

for them he signed his first professional contract in 1955 when he joined Bristol Rovers. He played 139 League games for Rovers in seven years, but when they were relegated to the

Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 Football League, 1920–21 and again from 1958–59 Football League, 1958 until 1991–92 Football League, 1992. When the FA Premier League ...

in 1962 he crossed the city to join Bristol City. During his single season with City he played eight games in the Football League, but returned to non-League football at the end of the campaign when he joined Westbury United. After a year playing for Westbury United he was appointed as their manager, and he remained in the position for two years. Away from football Pyle was landlord of a series of

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

s. While playing in Bristol he ran the Pelican in Old Market, before returning to his home county of

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

and running the Horse and Groom in Westbury and then the Kings Arms in

Hilperton Hilperton is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The village is separated by a few fields (the Hilperton Gap) from the northeastern edge of the town of Trowbridge and is approximately from Trowbridge town centre. To the east of ...

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pyle, David 1936 births 2002 deaths Footballers from Trowbridge English men's footballers Men's association football defenders English Football League players Trowbridge Town F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players 20th-century English sportsmen