Peter Doherty (1930–1953, Manchester City, Northern Ireland and Derby County)

Peter Doherty was a brilliant inside-forward and one of the finest players of the pre-war and wartime era, born in Magherafelt, County Londonderry, in 1913. He began his career in Irish football with Coleraine and Glentoran, winning the Irish Cup, before moving to England with Blackpool in 1933. In 1936 Manchester City signed him for a club record fee, and he inspired them to the First Division title in 1936-37, finishing as the club’s leading scorer with 30 league goals.

The Second World War cost him his peak years as a competitive footballer, though he continued to score heavily in wartime matches. As the war ended he joined Derby County, and he scored in their FA Cup final victory of 1946. Later spells followed with Huddersfield Town and Doncaster Rovers, where he became player-manager, and he retired in 1953 with 198 goals in 402 club appearances.

He won 16 caps for Ireland (IFA), now generally recorded under Northern Ireland, between 1935 and 1950. He later managed Northern Ireland, guiding them to the quarter-finals of the 1958 World Cup. Regarded by many who saw him as one of the greatest forwards of his generation, he was an inaugural inductee into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002.

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Peter Doherty – Rookie Cards and Significant Others

His earliest cards are pre-war British cigarette and trade issues from his Blackpool and Manchester City days:

• 1935 J.A. Pattreiouex Sporting Events and Stars #81
• 1936 Godfrey Phillips Soccer Stars #12
• 1937 Shermans Pools Searchlight on Famous Players #NNO
• 1937 Topical Times Miniature Panel Portraits of Football Stars #NNO
• 1937 Wills’s British Sporting Personalities #11
• 1938 Churchman’s Association Footballers 1st Series #12
• 1939 Klene Val Footer Gum #31

A notable post-war issue is the 1947 Daily Express Famous Footballers #3, from his Huddersfield Town period.

See the 2002 Hall of Fame Inductees or browse the full list.