Peter Hucker (born 28 October 1959) 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 ...

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 ...

during the 1980s and early 1990s. Born in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

, he joined

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 ...

as a schoolboy in December 1974, signed apprentice forms in July 1976 and turned professional in July 1977, making his league debut against

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1886, the club were inaugur ...

in 1981. Hucker had been at the club since he was a junior but had played very few games. He had seen a succession of managers bring their own preferred goalkeepers in while he bided his time in the reserves. He got his big chance in a

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 tie at

Loftus Road Loftus Road, currently known as MATRADE Loftus Road Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Shepherd's Bush, West London, Greater London, England, which is home to Queens Park Rangers F.C., Queens Park Rangers Football Club, w ...

in 1982 against

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

. The first-choice keeper at the time, John Burridge, was injured but was also not very keen on playing on the synthetic playing surface that

had at the time. Hucker played very well in the cup tie and retained his place for the remainder of the season, including in the 1982 FA Cup final against

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 ...

in which he was voted the 'Man of the Match' for his performance in the first game, in which he played extremely well despite being injured. Hucker was to play a key role the following season as well as QPR stormed to the Second Division title and then the following year as Rangers finished top London club in the 1983–84 season, qualifying for the UEFA Cup. Like many of the talented players of that team his form suffered as

Terry Venables Terence Frederick Venables (6 January 1943 – 25 November 2023), often referred to as El Tel, was an English football player and manager who played for clubs including Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Queens Park Rangers and won two caps for E ...

left the club in 1984 to be replaced by Alan Mullery. He lost his place during the 1985–86 season (to Paul Barron and he transferred to

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club () is a professional association football, football club based in Oxford, England. The club compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football league system, English football. Founded as Headingto ...

in February 1987. Hucker played 160 league games for QPR. In a three-year spell at Oxford, Hucker played 66 league matches, but towards the end of his time there, he went on several loan spells, first to

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 ...

in 1987–88, making seven appearances, and then twice to

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

without making a single appearance. He finished his career in non-league football and went on to establish a successful goalkeeping coaching school after retiring from the game.

References

Peter Hucker
Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Players Database {{DEFAULTSORT:Hucker, Peter 1959 births Living people Footballers from the London Borough of Camden People from Hampstead English men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Oxford United F.C. players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Manchester United F.C. players Millwall F.C. players Aldershot F.C. players Farnborough F.C. players English Football League players