Keith Peacock (born 2 May 1945) is an English former
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 ...
and
manager
Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...
. He was the first player to come on as a
substitute in
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 ...
.
Early life
Peacock was born in
Barnehurst
Barnehurst is a town and Wards of the United Kingdom, electoral ward in Greater London within the London Borough of Bexley. It lies north east of Bexleyheath, and 13.0 miles (20 km) east south-east of Charing Cross. It is separated from Nor ...
.
and educated at
Erith Grammar School.
Playing career
Peacock played his entire professional career for
Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system.
Their home ground is ...
, making over 500
Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...
appearances between 1962 and 1979. In May 1963 he scored in the 2-1 last day of season victory at
Walsall
Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...
that kept Charlton in the second tier and relegated Walsall. On 21 August 1965, he became the first
substitute used in
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 ...
when he replaced injured
goalkeeper
In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...
Mick Rose after 11 minutes of an away match against
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 ...
.
He played for the
Columbus Magic of the
ASL before joining his old friend
Gordon Jago
Gordon Harold Jago (born 22 October 1932) is an English former football player and manager, and the former director of the Dr. Pepper Dallas Cup international youth tournament.
Playing career
Born in Poplar, London, Jago began his professiona ...
as his assistant manager and player at the
Tampa Bay Rowdies
The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tie ...
in the
North American Soccer League
The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to
1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...
until 1982. Peacock's last appearance as a player for the Rowdies was during the
1980–81 indoor season.
Managerial career
Peacock was manager of
Gillingham between 1981 and 1987 and then
Maidstone United between 1989 and 1991. He later served as assistant manager at
Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system.
Their home ground is ...
before stepping down after the resignation of
Alan Curbishley in 2006. He moved to
West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...
where he became first a scout and then assistant manager under
Alan Pardew
Alan Scott Pardew (born 18 July 1961) is an English football manager and former professional footballer, who most recently managed Greek Super League club Aris Thessaloniki.
Pardew's highest achievements in the sport include reaching the FA Cup ...
and Alan Curbishley. He ended this role at the end of the
2006–07 season.
In September 2007 Peacock returned to Charlton in the role of honorary associate director.
On 4 January 2011, Peacock was appointed caretaker manager of Charlton following the departure of
Phil Parkinson
Philip John Parkinson (born 1 December 1967) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He is the manager of club Wrexham.
Parkinson acquired a Social Science degree early into his career as a man ...
.
Personal life
Peacock married Lesley and has a son,
Gavin (born 1967), who also became a professional footballer. He also has a daughter called Lauren and four grandchildren. In 2004, his autobiography ''No Substitute'' was published by
Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system.
Their home ground is ...
.
In 2013, he was inducted into the Charlton Athletic Hall of Fame.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peacock, Keith
Living people
1945 births
English men's footballers
Men's association football midfielders
English Football League players
North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players
American Soccer League (1933–1983) players
Charlton Athletic F.C. players
Columbus Magic players
Tampa Bay Rowdies (1975–1993) players
English football managers
Gillingham F.C. managers
Maidstone United F.C. (1897) managers
Queens Park Rangers F.C. non-playing staff
West Ham United F.C. non-playing staff
Charlton Athletic F.C. non-playing staff
English expatriate men's footballers
English expatriate sportspeople in the United States
Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States
Footballers from the London Borough of Bexley