Peter Harry Lewis Croker (21 December 1921 – 7 December 2011) 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 ...

, who played as a full-back 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, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in ...

and

Watford Watford () is a town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal en ...

and in

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 s ...

for

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, char ...

and Gravesend & Northfleet. Prior to his death, he was the last survivor from Charlton's

1947 FA Cup Final The 1947 FA Cup Final was the 66th final of the FA Cup. It took place on 26 April 1947 at Wembley Stadium and was contested between Charlton Athletic and Burnley. Charlton were appearing in their second consecutive final after losing to Derb ...

-winning team. He missed the 1946 FA Cup Final through injury.

Coaching and administrative career

Beginning in 1956, Croker served Charlton Athletic as

youth team In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team in the future if ...

manager,

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement * Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

and assistant manager. He also scouted for

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre rivers, and ...

and

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

and later became chairman of the

South East Counties League The South East Counties League (SECL) was a football league for the youth teams of clubs from Southern England. The competition grew out of the Middlesex Youth Invitation Cup Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in sout ...

Personal life

His great nephew Eric Dier is also a professional footballer. His brother

Ted Croker Edgar Alfred Croker (13 February 1924 – 25 December 1992) was an English football player and administrator. He was Secretary of the Football Association from 1973 to 1989. Life and career Born in Kingston-upon-Thames in 1924, Croker joined t ...

was the Secretary of

The Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world ...

between 1973 and 1989. At the time of his retirement in May 1994, Croker had been working as a solicitor. Peter Croker died two weeks before his 90th birthday.

Honours

Club

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competit ...

: 1946–47

References

1921 births 2011 deaths English men's footballers Footballers from Kingston upon Thames Men's association football fullbacks Bromley F.C. players Charlton Athletic F.C. players Watford F.C. players Ebbsfleet United F.C. players English Football League players Brentford F.C. wartime guest players English solicitors Leyland Motors F.C. players Charlton Athletic F.C. non-playing staff Blackpool F.C. non-playing staff Sunderland A.F.C. non-playing staff English football chairmen and investors 20th-century English lawyers 20th-century English businesspeople {{England-footy-defender-1920s-stub