Malcolm Pyke
{{Short description|English footballer (1938–2020)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2016}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Malcolm Pyke
| image =
| fullname =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1938|3|6|df=y}}
| birth_place = Eltham, London, England
| death_date = 13 February 2020 (aged 81)
| death_place =
| position = Wing half
| height =
| youthyears1 = 1953–1954
| youthclubs1 = UGB Pantiles
| youthyears2 = 1953–1957
| youthclubs2 = West Ham United
| years1 = 1957–1959
| clubs1 = West Ham United
| caps1 = 17
| goals1 = 0
| years2 = 1959–1960
| clubs2 = Crystal Palace
| caps2 = 2
| goals2 = 0
| years3 = 1960–?
| clubs3 = Dartford
| caps3 =
| goals3 =
}}
Malcolm Pyke (6 March 1938 – 13 February 2020) was an English footballer who played as a wing half in the Football League for West Ham United and Crystal Palace. He later played for Dartford.
Playing career
Born in Eltham, London, Pyke played for Woolwich, Kent and London as a schoolboy. He played for UGB Pantiles, a club based in Blackheath which was associated with the United Glass Bottle company, during the 1953–54 season.{{Cite web |title=Malcolm Pyke ... (1957 - 1958) |first=Steve |last=Marsh |work=theyflysohigh |access-date=2 March 2020 |url= http://theyflysohigh.co.uk/autographs-ted-fenton-2/4558111373 }}
He joined West Ham United as part of the ground staff in 1953 and progressed as a youth team player. He signed professional forms in March 1955. He made his first team debut on 22 April 1957 in a 3–1 home win against Bristol City, and he kept in place for the following match, a 1–0 away defeat to Liverpool.{{cite web|title=Welcome to the Wonderful World of West Ham United Statistics – Malcolm Pyke|url=http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=2&ham=538&united=Malcolm_Pyke|publisher=www.westhamstats.info|accessdate=9 October 2012}}
Pyke was a member of Ted Fenton's side which won the 1957–58 Second Division. He was drafted into the team after Malcolm Allison contracted tuberculosis in September 1957, playing alongside Ken Brown and sharing the number 6 shirt with Bill Lansdowne. His run in the team included an FA Cup third-round match against a Blackpool side which featured Stanley Matthews, with Pyke setting up a goal for John Dick in a 5–1 win.{{cite web |url=https://www.whufc.com/news/articles/2020/february/20-february/malcolm-pyke-1938-2020 |title=Malcolm Pyke 1938-2020 |publisher=West Ham United F.C. |date=20 February 2020 |access-date=2 March 2020}} He made 21 competitive appearances that season, including 15 in the League.
He did not make any appearances the following season as West Ham returned to the 1958–59 First Division.{{cite book |last=Hogg |first=Tony |title=Who's Who of West Ham United |year=2005 |publisher=Profile Sports Media| isbn=1-899429-01-8 |page=169}} He totalled 24 appearances{{efn|17 in the Second Division, 3 in the Southern Floodlight Cup, 2 in the Essex Professional Cup, and 2 in the FA Cup.}} for "The Hammers" before moving to Crystal Palace on 9 June 1959{{cite book|title=Crystal Palace: A Complete Record 1905–1989|author=Mike Purkiss & Nigel Sands|page=338|ISBN=0907969542}} in exchange for Ron Brett.{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002308/19590619/046/0003 |title=Palace do a deal with West Ham |date=19 June 1959 |newspaper=Norwood News |page=3 |access-date=2 March 2020 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription}} His Palace career was even shorter and amounted to only two games before he moved to Dartford, in June 1960.{{cite web|title=CRYSTAL PALACE : 1946/47 – 2011/12|url=http://www.neilbrown.newcastlefans.com/crystalpalace/crystalpalace.html|publisher=www.neilbrown.newcastlefans.com|accessdate=9 October 2012}}
After football
When his football career ended Pyke became the landlord of the Papermakers Arms pub in Dartford, Kent. He died on 13 February 2020, aged 81.
Notes
{{notelist}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{NeilBrownPlayers|player10/malcolmpyke}}
- [https://www.holmesdale.net/page.php?id=111&player=551 Stats at holmesdale.net]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pyke, Malcolm}}
Category:Footballers from the Royal Borough of Greenwich
Category:English men's footballers
Category:English Football League players
Category:West Ham United F.C. players
Category:Crystal Palace F.C. players
Category:Dartford F.C. players