Peter Knowles

Football player infobox
playername = Peter Knowles


fullname = Peter Knowles
nickname =
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1945|9|30
cityofbirth = Fitzwilliam, Wakefield
countryofbirth = England
dateofdeath =
cityofdeath =
countryofdeath =
position = Forward
youthyears = 1961-1962
youthclubs = Wath Wanderers
years = 1962-1970
1967
1969
clubs = Wolverhampton Wanderers
→ Los Angeles Wolves "(guest)"
→ Kansas City Spurs "(guest)"
caps(goals) = 174 (61)
012 0(0)
nationalyears = 1966-1968
nationalteam = England U23
nationalcaps(goals) = 004 0(1)

Peter Knowles (born 30 September 1945 in Fitzwilliam, near Wakefield, Yorkshire) is an English former football player. He spent his career at Wolverhampton Wanderers, where he became a popular player scoring around 61 goals. He voluntarily ended his football career in 1970 after he became a Jehovah's Witnesses ["Awake!" magazine, 8 November 1979, p.16] . He was the brother of fellow professional footballer Cyril Knowles.

Early years

Knowles was born into a family which was originally Rugby league-oriented, as his father played for Wakefield Trinity. However, the main sport in the family quickly changed to football as he and his brother, Cyril Knowles, proved to have significant football talent. Peter's talent was spotted by Wath Wanderers, a feeder team which trained youth players primarily for Wolverhampton Wanderers. In 1961, aged 16, Knowles spent a year with the youth outfit, playing under supervision from Wath's coach, Mark Crook. Knowles quickly caught the attention of Wolves, who in 1962 signed the 17 year old on a six-year contract.

Breaking into the team

Knowles spent a year in the youth team at the Molineux, where his best position appeared to be a mix between an attacking midfield role and a centre forward. In the 1963-64 season, Wolves began to slip out of contention for the honours after so many years of consistent success. This led to manager Stan Cullis dropping several older players and giving a chance to younger squad numbers, including the 18-year-old Knowles, who was drafted into the struggling team, and quickly proved he could handle things in the top flight. His debut appearance was against Leicester, and he scored his first goal a game later, against Bolton in a 2-2 draw. He kept his place in the first team, but found it hard to make an impact as Wolves struggled. Partnering Peter Broadbent up front, his skilful play earned him praise; but he was prone to significantly quiet periods of form. Wolves narrowly escaped relegation that season, but their lengthy and illustrious stay in the top flight would be over before long.

Emergence of a star

In the 1964-65 season, Wolves were relegated in last-but-one place. However, it was that season which saw Knowles emerge as a top class footballer. The teenager played with an arrogant swagger, finishing the season with six goals and setting up countless others. Despite his good form for Wolves, he was disappointed at the relegation and asked for a transfer. This request was rejected, allowing Knowles to build upon his success at Wolves. The departure of Stan Cullis, the man who originally gave Knowles his chance, was a factor in his request to leave Molineux. Ronnie Allen took over the job from Cullis.

In the 1965-66 season, it quickly became apparent that Knowles was a notch above just about everyone else playing in the Second Division. Among a handful of goals, he scored two hat-tricks early on in the season against Carlisle United and Derby County, making him the top scorer for the club by some way. His good form was interrupted however, as he endured the first big injury of his career. Despite missing a number of games, he managed to finish the season with 19 goals. Frustratingly for Knowles, Wolves did not manage to gain promotion that season, condemning him to another season of Second Division football. He remained at Molineux, and in the 1966-67 season Wolves finished runners-up in the Second Division and achieved promotion to the First Division.

International call-up

On his return to the First Division, he suffered from injury problems once again, only managing 21 appearances and eight goals. Later on in that season however, Knowles was compensated with a call up to the Under-23 England team.

In a move by FIFA to raise awareness of "'soccer'" in the United States, a mini-league was held in which various teams from Britain went to America to represent different states. Wolves represented Los Angeles, and Knowles featured in the side as they went on to win their league. The 21-year-old Knowles managed several goals in the tournament.

The 1967-68 season brought about a new strike partner for Knowles, in the form of Derek "The Doog" Dougan. Knowles, now an established performer, performed well in the top flight with Dougan, managing to narrowly avoid relegation. Knowles managed 12 goals during the season, which led to the 22-year-old receiving three more Under-23 international caps. With the 1970 World Cup in Mexico quickly approaching, Knowles sought a move away from Wolves. His request was once again rejected by manager Allen.

In the 1968-69 season, Wolves finished 16th in the table, despite Knowles only managing 9 goals. In the summer which followed, Knowles once again travelled to the United States to play in a promotional league. This time, Wolves represented Kansas City. Knowles scored five in the tournament, helping Wolves to its second state-side victory.

Departure from football

Upon his return to Britain, Knowles made a dramatic announcement which saw his career take a dramatic and unexpected turn. While in Kansas he became a Jehovah's Witness convert, and in his own words, "I shall continue playing football for the time being but I have lost my ambition. Though I still do my best on the field I need more time to learn about the Bible and may give up football." Despite this, Wolves got the 1969-1970 season off to a great start, winning seven out of their first eight matches. The eighth game of the season, a 3-3 draw against Nottingham Forest, was the last game that Knowles ever played. As Knowles attempted to convert his team mates, [http://www.givemefootball.com/display.cfm?article=5852&type=1 That Was The Football Week That Was: Week beginning January 24th] - GiveMeFootball.com] Wolves entered a slump in form, and they finished a disappointing 13th.

Knowles was now retired from football and the dream of winning a full England cap would never be fulfilled. But a succession of Wolves managers held out the hope that Knowles might one day return to the game, and he remained on contract at the club for the next 12 years. In 1982, however, new manager Graham Hawkins conceded that Knowles would never return, and promptly terminated the 36-year-old's contract. 1991 saw folk musician Billy Bragg release a song which many saw as a direct reference to Knowles. The song was called 'God's Footballer', from Bragg's album "Don't Try This at Home".

Knowles suffered a tragedy on 30 August 1991 when his brother Cyril died of cancer aged 47.

References

;Specific;General
* [http://www.football-england.com/peter_knowles.html Peter Knowles profile] - football-england.com
* [http://www.thewolvessite.co.uk/old_gen.htm#pknowles Peter Knowles profile] - 'The Wolves' Site

Persondata
NAME=Knowles, Peter
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=English footballer
DATE OF BIRTH=30 September 1945
PLACE OF BIRTH=Fitzwilliam, West Yorkshire
DATE OF DEATH=living
PLACE OF DEATH=