John Peddelty was born 2 April 1955 at Bishop Auckland, the son of Ronnie and Lizzie and brother of Patricia, Joan, Brian and Michael.  He was brought up in Evenwood and attended the local schools at Evenwood and Barnard Castle Baliol.

FOOTBALL CAREER

John started playing competitive football at Evenwood Junior School.  In 1966 they won the Rudd Cup which was the major competition for junior schools in the Bishop Auckland area.  England may have won the World Cup but in Evenwood, 1966 is remembered for something far more important!

Below: 1966 Rudd Cup Winners: John’s first football medal.

John Carruthers, from Carlisle, was Ipswich Town’s scout in the north.  He was overseen by the much respected Ron Gray and they were responsible for taking John and another local lad, Eric Gates, to Ipswich.  John and Eric were in the same class at Barnard Castle Baliol School and have known each other since the age of 11.  They joined Ipswich Town in July 1971.   When John and Eric, went down to Ipswich, they lodged with Ipswich’s manager, Bobby Robson (1933-2009) for the first month until permanent digs were sorted out for them.

1972-73:  Ipswich Town won the FA Youth Cup (for under 18s) by beating Bristol City 4-1 on aggregate.  John was a centre back, Eric Gates a forward and together, they were influential team members.  The club also won this trophy in 1975, beating West Ham United 5-1.  Ipswich Town was a growing force in the Football League under Bobby Robson and relied heavily on its youth set up.  Both John and Eric broke into the first team in years to come.

Below: 1972-73 Ipswich Town Youth Team Squad.  John is back row, far right.

Below: Back to Ipswich with the FA Youth Cup.

Below: 1973:  FA Youth Cup: Winners Plaque.

1972- 73:  John was selected for the England Youth Team, winning 5 caps. It competed in the “Little World Cup.” Players who went onto have successful Football League careers were goalkeeper Barry Siddall (Bolton Wanderers & Sunderland), full back Peter Hampton (Leeds United), centre forward Ray Hankin (Burnley & Leeds United) and winger Tony Morley (Aston Villa, European Cup winner).    

Below: 1973:  Commemorative medal and watch awarded by England FA.

13 January 1973:  John made his first team debut in an FA Cup 3rd round tie v Chelmsford (away).

Below: 1973: The plaque marking John’s Ipswich Town first team debut.

24 February 1973:  about a month later, John made his Football League debut at Anfield, Liverpool. 

Below: Ipswich Town. 1973-74: John is far left at the front.

Below: John Peddelty and Kevin Beattie.

Kevin Beattie (1953-2018) was John’s best man.  It is no exaggeration to say, back in the day, Kevin was the Wayne Rooney of the era.  A powerful lad, he made 228 appearances for Ipswich between 1972 and 1981, 9 England under 23 appearances and 9 appearances for England between 1975 and 1977.  He was PFA Young Player of the Year 1972-73, Ipswich Town Player of the Year 1972-73 and 1973-74, Football League First Division PFA Team of the Year 1974-75, 1975-76 and 1976-77.  John played alongside Kevin during the 1975-76 season.  Injury cut short Kevin Beattie’s career.  There is a statue of Kevin Beattie outside the Portman Road ground alongside Alf Ramsey and Bobby Robson.  The lad from Carlisle is held in high esteem by the Ipswich supporters.  During the early years of their careers, John and Kevin were team mates and the best of mates.    

Below: 1975: John Peddelty in his Ipswich Town days.

Ipswich Town won the Texaco Cup 1972-73, the FA Cup 1977-78 and EUFA Cup 1980-81.  Under Bobby Robson’s management from 1969 to 1982, they were one of England’s premier teams.  The 1974-75-76 Ipswich Town squads included George Burley (394 appearances for Ipswich Town & 11 caps for Scotland), Allan Hunter (280 appearances & 53 caps for Northern Ireland), Mick Mills (591 appearances & 42 caps for England), Kevin Beattie (228 appearances 9 caps for England), Bryan Hamilton (153 appearances & 50 caps Northern Ireland), Brian Talbot (177 appearances & 6 caps for England), Colin Viljoen (305 appearances and 2 caps for England, even though he was born in South Africa), John Wark (266 appearances & 29 caps for Scotland), Keith Bertschin (32 appearances & 3 caps for England U21), Eric Gates (295 appearances & 2 caps for England), David Johnson (136 appearances & 8 caps for England), Trevor Whymark (261 appearances & 1 cap for England, Clive Woods (267 appearances) and Roger Osborne (123 appearances) who would score the FA Cup Final winning goal in 1978.

Between February 1973 and October 1976, John Peddelty made 44 appearances in the First Division which included 27 appearances during the 1975-76 season when he scored 5 goals.  He suffered a head injury which ultimately ended a promising career. 

Below: 1975-75: Ipswich Town, John is middle row 3rd from the left.

In October 1976, John was transferred to Plymouth Argyle for £50,000.  He and Terry Austin were part of the deal which took Paul Mariner to Portman Road.  Paul Mariner was attracting much interest from First Division clubs who had spotted his goal scoring potential.  He made 260 appearances for Ipswich, scoring 96 goals and went on to play for England, 35 caps & 13 goals.  Tony Waiters, then Plymouth Argyle’s manager, knew John from his England Youth International days.  The move suited John as it offered him a chance of regular first team football under a manager whom he knew well, plus an increase in salary. 

Below: October 1976: John, Paul Mariner and Terry Austin.

October 1976:  John played in his first game, home to Burnley.  He quickly settled into the Argyle defence, playing solidly as a near ever-present for the remainder of the season. 

27 September 1977, John’s last game was away to Sheffield Wednesday, a 1-1 draw.  It was during this game that he suffered a head injury.  Having previously suffered a fractured skull at Ipswich, Argyle sought specialist advice.  They were informed that it would be dangerous for John to continue playing at the highest level.  At the age of 22, John Peddelty retired from professional football. Between October 1976 and 27 September 1977, John made 36 appearances for Argyle, scoring 1 goal.

Below: John Peddelty and Eric Gates sharing memories of their days at Ipswich.

OTHER SPORTING INTERESTS

Evenwood Cricket Club

John Peddelty played for Evenwood Cricket Club between May 1968 and June 1975.  He played for the Juniors, then an under 18 team, from July 1968 to June 1972, scoring 536 runs with a highest score 72 not out, taking 112 wickets at an average of 6.48, and holding 6 catches.  In 1970, he helped the juniors win the Coxhoe & District League and the Bob Hay Cup, winning the bowling award and receiving a special trophy for a hat-trick v Stanley.  At the age of 13, he made his senior debut.  At senior level, in total, John scored 1413 runs, took 34 wickets including a hat-trick v Easington seconds and held 34 catches.  His last game was 28 June 1975 v Newton Aycliffe seconds.  This was during his professional career at Ipswich.  It is likely that he’d come home, the club was probably short of players, he was asked to play and despite his football commitments, decided to play second team cricket.  

Below: 1970: Press Report of the ECC Annual Presentation Night.

Below: About 1969/70: a young John Peddelty at the ECC Annual Presentation Night.

Golf and speedway are John’s other sporting interests.

LIFE AFTER FOOTBALL

John served 28 years with Suffolk police, retiring from the force in 2010.  He lives in Ipswich and is a regular at Portman Road.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thanks to John for providing images of personal mementos for this article.