Thelwell Pike Explained

Thelwell Pike
Fullname:Thelwell Mather Pike
Birth Date:17 November 1866
Birth Place:Andover, England
Position:Winger
Clubs1:Cambridge University
Clubs3:Brentwood/Crusaders
Clubs4:Swifts
Clubs5:Thanet Wanderers
Years6:1886–1891
Clubs6:Corinthian
Nationalyears1:1886
Nationalteam1:England
Nationalcaps1:1
Nationalgoals1:0

Thelwell Mather Pike (17 November 1866 – 21 July 1957) was an English footballer who earned one cap for the national team in 1886. Pike played club football for Cambridge University, Brentwood (later known as Crusaders), Swifts, Thanet Wanderers and Corinthian.

Pike was born in Andover, Hampshire and educated at Malvern College, playing football for the school in 1884 and 1885, before attending Cambridge University, where he earned a blue in 1886 and 1888.[1]

He made his solitary England appearance on 13 March 1886, in a 6–1 victory over Ireland. In the match at Ballynafeigh Park, Belfast, Pike's fellow Cantabrians, Ralph Squire and Benjamin Spilsbury played at centre-half and inside-left respectively, with Spilsbury scoring four of England's goals.[2]

After leaving the university, Pike played for several clubs, including Crusaders, Brentwood, Swifts and Thanet Wanderers,[1] although it was with the Corinthian club that he was most closely associated, playing 21 games for them between 1886 and 1891.[3]

Pike was also a noted cricketer, playing for Worcestershire, then a minor county, between 1886 and 1895.[1]

A few years later, he became the headmaster of Weybridge Preparatory School between 1897 and 1906, before moving to Thanet School in Margate, where he remained until his retirement.[1]

The 1881 Census calls him Mather Pike.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Betts, Graham . England: Player by player . Green Umbrella Publishing. 2006. 1-905009-63-1. 193.
  2. Web site: Ireland 1 – England 6; 13 March 1886 (Match summary). englandstats.com. 1 June 2009.
  3. Book: Cavallini, Rob . Play Up Corinth: A History of the Corinthian Football Club . Tempus Publishing . 2007. 978-0-7524-4479-6. 277.