Martin Peters

West Ham United

Peters signed his first professional contract in November 1960. His first manager Ted Fenton left the club in 1961, to be replaced by Ron Greenwood. He was a major influence on Peters and his progress as a young footballer. In his first years with West Ham, Peters had played in both defensive and midfield positions before Fenton had encouraged him to play as a right-half. He made his debut on Good Friday 1962 in a 4–1 home win against Cardiff City. He scored his first goal for West Ham in a 6–1 win at Manchester City on 8 September 1962. Also in 1962, Peters played in goal for West Ham in a game against Cardiff after regular goalkeeper, Brian Rhodes had been injured. Peters played only five games in his first season with West Ham. Although he played 32 league games in the 1963–64 season, he played no part in their FA Cup run and was not selected for the FA Cup final of 1964 at Wembley, in which they beat Preston North End 3–2. The following year, however, he established himself as a first team regular and was victorious at Wembley when West Ham won the European Cup Winners Cup with victory over 1860 Munich. He was usually partnered in midfield by Eddie Bovington and Ronnie Boyce. Peters began to impose himself on West Ham's game, and another chance for silverware came in 1966 when West Ham reached the League Cup final. The occasion was still over two-legs with each of the finalists hosting a leg (though this changed to a one-off final at Wembley a…

1966 World Cup

Alf Ramsey had seen Peters' potential quickly, and in May 1966 he gave the young midfielder his debut for England national team against Yugoslavia at Wembley. England won 2–0 and Peters had an outstanding debut. Nearly scoring twice he set up chances for Jimmy Greaves and for others. In the final preparation period for Ramsey prior to naming his squad for the 1966 FIFA World Cup, Peters played in two more of the scheduled warm-up games. Against Finland, he scored his first international goal in what was only his second appearance, and subsequently he made Ramsey's squad for the competition, as did his West Ham teammates Bobby Moore (the England captain) and Geoff Hurst. Though Peters did not play in the opening group game against Uruguay, the drab 0–0 draw prompted Ramsey into changes. The England coach had been toying with using a system which allowed narrow play through the centre, not operating with conventional wingers but instead with fitter, centralised players who could show willing in defence as well as spread the ball and their runs in attack. Peters therefore had become an ideal player for this 4-1-3-2 system, elegant in his distribution and strong in his forward running, yet showing the stamina, discipline and pace to get back and help the defence when required. This system was dubbed "the wingless wonders". Ramsey put Peters in the team for his fourth cap, for the second group game against Mexico, which England won 2–0. He kept his place as…

Peters's wait to become manager was not long, his final game coming against Gillingham on 17 January 1981 which Haslam was too ill to attend, and at which there were demonstrations from the Sheffield United fans. Peters retired to take up the manager's job the following day with United 12th in the table with 16 games to play, but was unable to halt the decline already in place, winning just three of the remaining games. For the first and only time in their history Sheffield United were relegated to the Fourth Division, and Peters resigned. On his retirement from professional football in January 1981, after a distinguished and injury-free career, he had made 882 appearances in total, scoring 220 goals. After he quit Sheffield United, Peters spent the 1982–83 season playing in defence for Gorleston in the Eastern Counties League.

In 1964, Peters married Kathleen Ward, with whom he had two children. They remained married until his death in 2019. Peters identified as a Conservative Party supporter when asked about his politics in 1972. In 2016, it was announced that Peters had Alzheimer's disease. Peters died on 21 December 2019, aged 76. Tributes were paid to him from football clubs he played for, including West Ham, Tottenham Hotspur, Norwich City and many others. In September 2021, Peters' ashes were interred in a foundation stone at West Ham's ground, the London Stadium.