Cards to 90 years of Selhurst Park

Peter Simpson
Full name - Peter Simpson
Date of birth - 13 November 1904
Place of birth - Leith, Scotland
Date of death - March 1974 (aged 69)
Place of death - Croydon, Surrey
Playing position - Striker
1929–1935 - Apps:195 - Goals:165

Peter Simpson (13 November 1904 — March 1974) was a Scottish footballer of the 1920s and 1930s who set many scoring records.

Early career
Simpson was born in Leith and began his career with local side Leith Amateurs, before joining Division Two side St Bernard's for
the start of the 1925-26 season. He scored 12 times in his first seven games for "Saints" and eventually totalled 33 goals for the
season. However, the 1926 General Strike had severe financial ramifications for Scottish lower-league sides, and part way into the
1926-27 season Simpson left St Bernards for English non-league side Kettering Town.

At Kettering, Simpson did well, and his break came, strangely, in a game for Kettering, playing against Crystal Palace in an FA
Cup First Round tie, in 1928. Though he failed to find the net, Simpson impressed Palace manager Fred Mavin who signed him the
following summer.

Crystal Palace

Simpson made his Crystal Palace debut in the fifth game of the 1929-30 season against Norwich City and scored a hat-trick, and
by March of that season, had scored 27 goals in 27 league and cup games. This alerted the big clubs of the time to his talent, and
a transfer away from Selhurst Park seemed certain. However, the Palace directors put a huge price-tag on his contract, and no move
came. He finished the season, and improved on his record up until March, finally having netted 36 times in 34 games.

In the 1930-31 season, he achieved a Palace record, scoring six goals in a 7-2 win over Exeter City, in a Division Three South
fixture. He would go on to score 46 goals that season, a Palace record that still stands.

In his first five Palace seasons, Simpson topped the goalscoring charts every time, another unbeaten record.

In the 1934-35 season, Simpson suffered a knee injury. After his comeback, Simpson appeared to be inferior to the player he was
before. In April 1935, he scored in a 1-1 draw with Swindon Town which would prove to be his last outing for Palace. He was
transferred to West Ham United that summer. His final Palace total was 165 goals, from 195 appearances, a goals-per-game total
of 0.85. He also scored 19 hat-tricks for Palace, in four years. His goals and hat-trick totals for Palace are records that are
still unbeaten.

West Ham United, Reading and Aldershot
After two largely un-noteworthy seasons with West Ham, and still not fully recovered from his injury, he left in 1937, moving
to Reading. At Elm Park, despite being towards the end of his career, he seemed to regain some form. He would return to Selhurst
Park in early 1938 with "The Royals", and score two of Reading's three goals, to beat "The Glaziers" 3–2. Simpson ended
his career with a short spell at Aldershot.

Biography
After his playing career ended, Peter Simpson returned to the Croydon area, taking over a tobacconist's there. He died in
Croydon, at the age of sixty-nine. However, though he did not make it into Palace's Centenary XI (possibly because the
majority of the voters were more accustomed to the talents of later players, Ian Wright and Andrew Johnson, who played in
the top division, rather than a vintage great, such as Simpson), the record books of Crystal Palace F.C., continue to show
Simpson's achievements.

BACK

Go Back To
The Cards List