Peter was born in Shropshire in 1944, beginning his footballing career with Shrewsbury Town prior to successful spells with nearby Wrexham and, in the First Division, Liverpool.
It was in South London where Peter spent the longest chapter of his career, however, joining Crystal Palace in the summer of 1970 to become a key part of Bert Head’s side.
Peter went on to set up our first-ever winning goal against Manchester United at Old Trafford in October 1970, and played 89 times over for Palace as the club retained its place in the highest division for the next two seasons.
Sadly, Peter’s third season with the club was ended prematurely when, just three games into the campaign, he sustained a broken leg against former club Liverpool at Selhurst Park, not long after being selected for an initial England squad.
After his rehabilitation, a spell on loan at Leyton Orient in 1972/73, and a brief battle with hepatitis, Peter returned to the pitch under new manager Malcolm Allison in the 1973/74 season, before returning to regular action from February 1975 onwards.
Having previously been deployed as a skilful left-back, Peter adapted his game under Allison to become a dependable figure in a ‘sweeper’ role.
He was instrumental in our run to the 1975/76 FA Cup semi-finals, playing in our famous wins over Leeds, Chelsea and Sunderland as we reached the last four of the FA Cup for the first time in our history, despite Palace being a Third Division side at the time.
Following Ian Evans’ injury at the beginning of the 1977/78 season, Peter took on the captain’s armband under the late Terry Venables.
He went on to make a total of 208 appearances for the club in all competitions over eight seasons in South London, scoring four goals, before concluding his playing career in the North American Soccer League (NASL) with St. Louis Stars and then the California Surf, whom he later went on to manage.
In 1985, Peter was awarded MISL (Major Indoor Soccer League) Coach of the Year as Head Coach of the Los Angeles Lazers, whom he led for five years.
The club are deeply saddened by Peter’s passing, and the thoughts of everyone are with his family at this time.