Percy Talbot Ames (13 December 1931 – 4 December 1998) 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

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 ...

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

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its ea ...

, where he made 422 appearances in all competitions between 1955 and 1965. He was also on the books at

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

but did not make a first-team appearance.

Career

Born in

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...

, Ames began his career at

in 1951 having arrived from now-defunct club

Bedford Avenue Bedford Avenue is the longest street in Brooklyn, New York City, stretching and 132 blocks, from Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint south to Emmons Avenue in Sheepshead Bay, and passing through the neighborhoods of Williamsburg, Bedford–St ...

. He failed to make a first-team appearance for Spurs between 1951 and 1955, and on the advice of the Tottenham first-team and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

goalkeeper

Ted Ditchburn Edwin George Ditchburn (24 October 1921 – 26 December 2005) was an English professional football goalkeeper who played for Northfleet United, Tottenham Hotspur, Romford, Brentwood Town and represented England on six occasions at internation ...

manager

Benny Fenton Benjamin Robert Vincent Fenton (28 October 1918 – 29 July 2000) was an English professional football player and manager. He played for West Ham United, Millwall, Charlton Athletic and Colchester United, making over 400 appearances in the Footb ...

signed Ames up in 1955 following a short trial. Ames made his first-team and

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 ...

debut on 20 August 1955 in a 0–0 away draw with

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third level of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

, where Ames announced his arrival by saving a

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

. Over the period of ten years, Ames would make 397 Football League appearances for Colchester and made 422 appearances in all competitions. During one stint, he missed only three league games over a span of seven years, two of which were missed due to a fractured finger. His run included a spell of 224 consecutive games played for the club, starring in

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 ...

runs and achieving promotion to the Third Division in the 1961–62 season. Ames was then made inaugural Colchester United Player of the Year at the end of the 1964–65 season, his final season with the club. At one point during his career,

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

came in with an offer for Ames, but keen to keep his custodian, manager Fenton decided not to tell him until two years later. Ames' final appearance for the club to which he had dedicated ten years came on 26 February 1965, unfortunately for Ames, a 5–0 defeat at the hands of

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

. On leaving the U's, he turned out for non-league

Romford Romford is a large List of places in London, town in east London, east London, England, located northeast of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Havering, the town is one of the major Metropolitan centres of London, metropolitan centr ...

before returning to Bedford to play for his hometown club

Bedford Town Bedford Town Football Club is a football club based in the Borough of Bedford, England. The club are currently members of the and play at the Eyrie in Cardington, a village on the outskirts of Bedford. They are full members of the Football As ...

. Percy Ames died at the age of 66 on 4 December 1998. He was posthumously inducted into the Colchester United 'Hall of Fame' in 2010.

Career statistics

Honours

Club

;Colchester United *1961–62

Football League Fourth Division The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Following the creation of the Premier ...

runner-up (level 4)

Individual

*1965 Colchester United Player of the Year :''All honours referenced by:''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ames, Percy 1931 births 1998 deaths Footballers from Bedford English men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Bedford Avenue F.C. players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Colchester United F.C. players Romford F.C. players Bedford Town F.C. players English Football League players 20th-century English sportsmen