Malcolm Pyke (6 March 1938 – 13 February 2020) was an English

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

wing half In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

in the

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 ...

for

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 ...

and

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

. He later played for

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames Estuary, is Thurrock in ...

Playing career

Born in

Eltham Eltham ( ) is a district of South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is east-southeast of Charing Cross, and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. The three ...

, 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. 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. He made his first team debut on 22 April 1957 in a 3–1 home win against

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 ...

, and he kept in place for the following match, a 1–0 away defeat to

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

. Pyke was a member of

Ted Fenton Edward Benjamin Ambrose Fenton (7 November 1914 – 12 July 1992) was an English football player and manager. A wing-half, he spent almost his entire playing career at West Ham United and went on to manage the club between 1950 and 1961. Playi ...

's side which won the 1957–58 Second Division. He was drafted into the team after

Malcolm Allison Malcolm Alexander Allison (5 September 1927 – 14 October 2010) was an English football player and manager. Nicknamed "Big Mal", he was one of English football's most flamboyant and intriguing characters because of his panache, fedora a ...

contracted tuberculosis in September 1957, playing alongside Ken Brown and sharing the number 6 shirt with

Bill Lansdowne William Thomas Michael Lansdowne (born 9 November 1935) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Career Born in Shoreditch, Lansdowne attended Shoreditch Secondary School and played junior football with Loughto ...

. His run in the team included an

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 ...

third-round match against a

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

side which featured

Stanley Matthews Sir Stanley Matthews (1 February 1915 – 23 February 2000) was an English Association football, footballer who played as an Forward (association football)#Outside forward, outside right. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the Br ...

, with Pyke setting up a goal for John Dick in a 5–1 win. He made 21 competitive appearances that season, including 15 in the League. He did not make any appearances the following season as West Ham returned to the 1958–59 First Division. He totalled 24 appearances for "The Hammers" before moving to Crystal Palace on 9 June 1959 in exchange for

Ron Brett Ron Brett (4 September 1937 – 30 August 1962) was an English professional footballer who played as a forward. Career Brett started his career at Crystal Palace as a junior, signing professional terms in September 1954. He made his debut on ...

. His Palace career was even shorter and amounted to only two games before he moved to

, in June 1960.

After football

When his football career ended Pyke became the landlord of the Papermakers Arms

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

. He died on 13 February 2020, aged 81.

Notes

References

External links

*
Stats at holmesdale.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pyke, Malcolm 2020 deaths 1938 births Footballers from the Royal Borough of Greenwich People from Eltham English men's footballers English Football League players West Ham United F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. players Dartford F.C. players Men's association football wing halves British publicans