On This Day – 21st August
Keith Peacock of Charlton Athletic made history on this day back in 1965 by becoming the first substitute in a Football League match.
Charlton were playing away to Bolton Wanderers on the opening day of the season. The match was only 11 minutes old when visiting goalkeeper Mike Rose went down injured. When it became obvious that he was unable to continue, Peacock came on as the substitute after being named as the 12th man.
Charlton’s manager at the time was Bob Stokoe, who would make his name a few years later by winning the 1973 FA Cup with Sunderland. Stokoe had to reshuffle his pack and decided to put left-back John Hewie in goal and Peacock outfield.
Defeat was inevitable for Charlton as they had an outfielder between the sticks and despite putting in a valiant effort, they lost the game 4-2.
John Hewie moved back to his native South Africa the following year. Bob Stokoe left Charlton in 1967 and had brief spells in charge of Rochdale, Carlisle United and Blackpool before his life-changing spell at Sunderland.
Keith Peacock made over 500 appearances for Charlton between 1962 and 1979 before spending two years playing in the States. He later managed Gillingham and Maidstone United before joining the coaching staff back at Charlton and then West Ham United. He returned to The Valley for a third time as an honorary associate director and even had a short spell as Caretaker Manager in 2011.
His son Gavin became a professional footballer, playing for several clubs, most notably at Newcastle United and Chelsea. I did an interview with Gavin a few months ago and you can read it by clicking here.
In all the 500 appearances Keith Peacock made for Charlton, this afternoon at Burnden Park will always be the one that is remembered most!
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