| Peter Ford | |
| Fullname: | Peter Leslie Ford |
| Birth Date: | 10 August 1933 |
| Birth Place: | Etruria, Staffordshire, England |
| Death Date: | [1] [2] |
| Position: | Half-back |
| Youthclubs1: | Cannon Street Youth Club |
| Years1: | 1955–1956 |
| Clubs1: | West Bromwich Albion |
| Caps1: | 0 |
| Goals1: | 0 |
| Years2: | 1956–1959 |
| Clubs2: | Stoke City |
| Caps2: | 14 |
| Goals2: | 0 |
| Years3: | 1959–1963 |
| Clubs3: | Port Vale |
| Caps3: | 104 |
| Goals3: | 5 |
| Years4: | 1963–1967 |
| Caps4: | 112 |
| Goals4: | 5 |
| Totalcaps: | 230 |
| Totalgoals: | 10 |
| Managerclubs1: | Hanley Town |
| Managerclubs2: | Milton United |
Peter Leslie Ford (10 August 1933 – 17 July 2020) was an English footballer who played in the Football League for Port Vale and Stoke City.[3] He later played for Macclesfield Town in the Cheshire County League.
Ford began his career as an amateur with West Bromwich Albion before joining Stoke City in 1956.[3] He was never able to force his way into the plans of manager Frank Taylor. He made just 14 Second Division appearances in three years at the Victoria Ground.[3] He transferred to Port Vale, along with Harry Oscroft, in exchange for Dickie Cunliffe and £2,000 in September 1959.[3] The club were competing in the Third Division after winning the Fourth Division title.[2]
He played 25 league and six FA Cup games in the 1959–60 season.[4] However, he was diagnosed with Tuberculosis, along with teammate Terry Miles. He spent 12 weeks in hospital recovering after the disease was fortunately caught in the early stages.[2] He missed just five league games in the 1960–61 campaign, and was a member of the side that won the Supporters' Clubs' Trophy.[4] He was dropped by manager Norman Low in October 1961, and was used as a utility player in the 1961–62 and 1962–63 campaigns.[4] He scored his first goal in the Football League on 3 September 1962, in a 4–2 win over Colchester United at Vale Park.[4] He also scored goals against Southend United, Reading (2), Shrewsbury Town, and Gillingham, taking his tally to six goals in the 1962–63 season.[4] He was released by manager Freddie Steele in the summer of 1963.[4] He finished his career in the Cheshire County League with Macclesfield Town (122 appearances 5 goals) and Stafford Rangers.[5] [4] Upon his retirement from playing Ford became manager of Hanley Town, and later the coach of Milton United.[4]
Ford was the oldest of four boys and two girls.[2] He became a plumber after retiring as a footballer.[2]
| Club | Season | Division | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||||
| Stoke City | 1956–57 | Second Division | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1957–58 | Second Division | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| 1958–59 | Second Division | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | |||
| Total | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 14! | 0 | ||||
| Port Vale | 1959–60 | Third Division | 25 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 31 | 0 | ||
| 1960–61 | Third Division | 41 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 47 | 0 | ||
| 1961–62 | Third Division | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 0 | ||
| 1962–63 | Third Division | 25 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 6 | ||
| Total | 104 | 5 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 121 | 6 | |||
| Macclesfield Town | 1963–64[6] | Cheshire County League | 39 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 51 | 2 | |
| 1964–65[7] | Cheshire County League | 33 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 41 | 2 | ||
| 1965–66[8] | Cheshire County League | 36 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 45 | 1 | ||
| 1966–67[9] | Cheshire County League | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
| Total | 112 | 5 | 13 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 142 | 5 | |||
| Career total | 240 | 10 | 25 | 1 | 22 | 0 | 277 | 11 | |||
Port Vale