Peter Shilton facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Peter Shilton
CBE

Shilton in 2008
Personal information
Full name	Peter Leslie Shilton
Date of birth	(1949-09-18) 18 September 1949 (age 75)
Place of birth	Leicester, England
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Youth career
1963–1966	Leicester City
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1966–1974	Leicester City	286	(1)
1974–1977	Stoke City	110	(0)
1977–1982	Nottingham Forest	202	(0)
1982–1987	Southampton	188	(0)
1987–1992	Derby County	175	(0)
1992–1995	Plymouth Argyle	34	(0)
1995	Wimbledon	0	(0)
1995	Bolton Wanderers	1	(0)
1995–1996	Coventry City	0	(0)
1996	West Ham United	0	(0)
1996–1997	Leyton Orient	9	(0)
Total		1,005	(1)
International career
1965	England U16	1	(0)
1967	England U18	9	(0)
1968–1972	England U23	13	(0)
1970–1990	England	125	(0)
Managerial career
1992–1995	Plymouth Argyle
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Peter Leslie Shilton (born 18 September 1949) is a famous English former footballer. He played as a goalkeeper for many years.

His amazing career lasted for 31 years. He played for 11 different clubs. Peter Shilton is the only player to have played over 1,000 English league games. He also played more than 100 games for five different clubs!

While playing for Nottingham Forest, Shilton won many important trophies. These included two European Cups, a UEFA Super Cup, the First Division championship, and the Football League Cup.

Shilton played for the England team in three FIFA World Cups: 1982, 1986, and 1990. He also played in the UEFA European Championship in 1980 and 1988. Even though he didn't play in his first World Cup until he was 32, Shilton played in 17 World Cup matches. He shares the record for 10 clean sheets (games where the other team doesn't score) in World Cup matches with French goalkeeper Fabien Barthez.

He holds the record for the most official appearances in world football, with 1,396 games. With 125 caps (games played for his country), Shilton is also England's most-capped player. In 2000, the IFFHS (International Federation of Football History & Statistics) said Shilton was one of the top ten goalkeepers of the 20th century.

Peter Shilton's Club Career

Starting at Leicester City

Peter Shilton was 13 years old and a student at King Richard III Boys School in Leicester. He began training with his local club, Leicester City, in 1963. The first-team goalkeeper, Gordon Banks, noticed how talented he was.

In May 1966, when he was just 16, Shilton played his first game for Leicester against Everton. He was so good that Leicester City decided to keep him and sold World Cup winner Gordon Banks to Stoke City. Shilton quickly became a regular player. In October 1967, he even scored a goal from his own penalty area against Southampton! The Southampton goalkeeper misjudged Shilton's long kick, and it bounced over his head into the goal. Leicester won that game 5–1.

The next season, Leicester was relegated from the First Division. But they reached the FA Cup Final at Wembley. Shilton, at 19, was one of the youngest goalkeepers ever to play in the final. However, Manchester City won 1–0. Even with all his future awards, Shilton never played in another FA Cup Final.

Moving to Stoke City

Shilton joined Stoke City in November 1974 for £325,000. This was a world record fee for a goalkeeper at the time. He played 26 matches for Stoke in 1974–75. Stoke almost won the league title that season. He played in all 48 games for the club in 1975–76.

In January 1976, a big storm damaged Stoke's stadium, the Victoria Ground. To pay for repairs, Stoke had to sell some of their players. Shilton stayed with Stoke in 1976–77, but the team was young and inexperienced. They were relegated to the Second Division. He was then sold to Nottingham Forest in September 1977.

Success at Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest offered £250,000 for Shilton, and he joined them a month into the new season. Forest had just been promoted to the First Division and were doing very well under manager Brian Clough. They won the League Cup and then, in their first season back in the First Division, they won the League title! Shilton only let in 18 goals in 37 league games that season. He also won the PFA Players' Player of the Year award, voted by other professional players.

Forest won the League Cup again in 1979. Shilton played this time as they beat Southampton 3–2 at Wembley. Then, they reached the European Cup final. A goal from Trevor Francis helped them beat Swedish team Malmö in Munich.

Forest reached the European Cup final again in 1980. They were the champions and faced SV Hamburg in Madrid. Just like the 1979 final, the game was very close. A single goal from Forest winger John Robertson won them the trophy.

After these big wins, Forest's success slowed down. Shilton decided to leave Nottingham Forest in 1982 for a fresh start.

Moving to Southampton and Derby County

Shilton left Forest for Southampton, where his former England teammate Alan Ball was playing. He played for Southampton until 1987.

He then joined Derby County in the summer of 1987. Shilton helped Derby finish fifth in the league. They missed out on playing in the UEFA Cup because English clubs were banned from European competitions at the time. In 1991, Derby was relegated. Shilton, who was 42, started thinking about becoming a coach or manager.

Later Career and Retirement

Shilton left Derby in February 1992 to become player-manager of Plymouth Argyle. Plymouth was struggling to avoid relegation from the Football League Second Division. Shilton tried his best, but Plymouth was still relegated.

In 1994, he focused only on managing. Plymouth reached the Division Two play-offs but lost in the semi-finals. In February 1995, with Plymouth facing relegation again, he left the club. He announced he wanted to play again, even at 45 years old!

He briefly joined Wimbledon in the Premier League as cover for an injured goalkeeper, but he didn't play any first-team games. He then signed for Bolton Wanderers, playing a couple of matches. He also joined Coventry City and West Ham United, but didn't play any first-team games for them.

Shilton had played 996 Football League matches and really wanted to reach 1,000. He did this when he joined Leyton Orient in November 1996. His 1,000th League game was on 22 December 1996, against Brighton & Hove Albion. This game was shown live on TV. He played five more matches, reaching 1,005 league games, before retiring at 47 at the end of the 1996–97 season. He was the fifth oldest player ever to play in the Football League or Premier League.

Peter Shilton's International Career

Early Days with England

Even though he played for a lower-level club, Shilton impressed England manager Alf Ramsey. He made his debut for England against East Germany in November 1970, which England won 3–1. His second England game was a draw against Wales. His first competitive match for England was his third appearance, a 1–1 draw with Switzerland in a qualifying game for the 1972 European Championships.

At this time, Gordon Banks was still England's main goalkeeper. But Shilton, at 22, was becoming the second-choice keeper for his country. In October 1972, Gordon Banks was in a car crash and lost sight in one eye, ending his career. This meant Shilton became a top choice for England's goal.

In the summer of 1973, Shilton kept three clean sheets as England won against Northern Ireland, Wales, and Scotland. Against Scotland, Shilton made a fantastic save from Kenny Dalglish's shot, which he thought was one of his best.

His tenth England cap came in a draw against Czechoslovakia. This was before a very important World Cup qualifier against Poland. England lost 2–0, which meant they had to win the final qualifier against Poland to reach the World Cup finals. In that crucial game, a mistake by Shilton led to a goal for Poland. The Polish goalkeeper, Jan Tomaszewski, made many great saves, and Poland got the draw they needed to qualify for the 1974 World Cup, leaving England out.

After this, new England manager Don Revie often chose Ray Clemence as goalkeeper. But from 1977, new manager Ron Greenwood started picking Shilton and Clemence equally. Shilton played a lot as England qualified for the 1980 European Championships in Italy. This was England's first major tournament in ten years.

1982 FIFA World Cup Debut

Shilton played in half of England's qualifying games for the 1982 World Cup. England won some key games and qualified for their first World Cup in twelve years. Shilton, at 32, was playing in the World Cup finals in Spain for the first time.

Shilton was chosen for the first group game against France in Bilbao. England won 3–1, and Shilton stayed in goal for the other two group games. England won all three games and moved to the next stage.

Road to the 1986 World Cup

With Bobby Robson now managing England, Shilton's international career really took off. He played in Robson's first ten matches and even captained the team in seven of them. One game, a 2–0 win over Scotland, was Shilton's 50th cap.

Ray Clemence played his last game for England in a qualifier for the 1984 European Championships against Luxembourg. England didn't qualify for these championships. However, Shilton was now clearly the main goalkeeper for England and remained so for the rest of his international career. Almost half of his 125 international games were played after he turned 35.

Shilton was the goalkeeper for the qualifying campaign for the 1986 World Cup. England won their first three matches without letting in any goals. Shilton earned his 70th cap in a 1–0 loss against Scotland. England went through the whole qualifying campaign without losing a game. By the time they played a warm-up match in Mexico, Shilton had played 80 games for England. He had already broken Gordon Banks' record of 73 caps for a goalkeeper the year before.

The 1986 FIFA World Cup and Maradona

Shilton was beaten to the ball when Diego Maradona scored with his hand, later called "the hand of God".

Shilton watches as Maradona scores his second goal, known as "The Goal of the Century".

At the World Cup in Mexico, England started slowly. They lost to Portugal and drew with Morocco. But England found their form and beat Poland 3–0 in their last group game, with Gary Lineker scoring all three goals. This meant they went to the next round.

In the second round, they played Paraguay and won 3–0. This set up a quarter-final match against Argentina. This game would become a famous part of Shilton's career.

Argentina's captain, Diego Maradona, was the star of the tournament. Early in the second half, Maradona scored a controversial goal. The ball was kicked towards the penalty area, and Maradona went for it as Shilton came out to punch it away. Maradona used his hand to punch the ball over Shilton and into the net. Shilton and his teammates protested, saying Maradona used his hand, which is a foul. But the referee allowed the goal. Maradona later said the goal was scored by the Hand of God.

Soon after, Maradona scored another goal, which was truly amazing. He dribbled past almost the entire England defense and Shilton before scoring into an empty net. This goal was later voted "Goal of the Century" by FIFA. Lineker scored one goal for England, but it wasn't enough, and England was out of the tournament.

UEFA Euro 1988 and 1990 FIFA World Cup

Shilton continued to play for England. He played in a successful qualifying campaign for the 1988 European Championships in West Germany. Shilton earned his 90th cap in a 2–0 win over Northern Ireland.

His 99th cap was in England's first game at the 1988 European Championship finals. They lost 1–0 to the Republic of Ireland. Shilton's 100th cap was against the Netherlands. Marco van Basten scored three goals, and England lost 3–1, meaning they were out of the tournament.

Shilton played in almost all of England's games over the next 18 months. In June 1989, Shilton broke his former England captain Bobby Moore's record of 108 appearances for his country. He earned his 109th cap in a friendly against Denmark. Before the match, he was given a special England goalkeeper's jersey with '109' on it. By this time, he had kept three clean sheets in three qualifying matches for the 1990 World Cup. England qualified for the tournament in Italy without conceding any goals.

His 119th appearance for England was a 1–1 draw with the Republic of Ireland in the opening group game. England made it through the group, beat Belgium 1–0, and then won against Cameroon 3–2 in the quarter-finals. Then came West Germany in the semi-finals, Shilton's 124th England game.

The score was 0–0 at halftime. Shortly after, Shilton was beaten by a deflected free kick that looped over his head into the net. Lineker scored a late goal to make it a draw, but Shilton couldn't save any of the penalties in the shootout, and England lost.

Shilton played in the third-place play-off game, which Italy won 2–1. Shilton made a mistake with a back pass, and Roberto Baggio scored. This was his 125th and final appearance for his country. He announced his retirement from international football after the tournament. His international career lasted almost 20 years. He was never booked or sent off while playing for England.

Peter Shilton's Playing Style

Experts say Peter Shilton was one of the best goalkeepers in the world during his best years. Some even call him one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time. Shilton was a smart and effective goalkeeper. He was known for his strong presence, good handling of the ball, and excellent positioning. He was also calm under pressure and very consistent.

He was great at talking to his teammates and organizing his defense. This helped his team feel confident. Even though he wasn't the tallest goalkeeper, he was very strong, which made him a powerful presence in the goal area. He was also agile, had quick reflexes, and was good at stopping shots. Shilton was known for his hard work, strong mindset, and staying in great physical shape. He also played for an incredibly long time, retiring at 47 after more than 1,000 professional matches.

Peter Shilton's Personal Life

Peter Shilton married Sue Flitcroft in September 1970. They have two sons, Michael and Sam, who also became a professional footballer.

In March 2015, it was announced that Shilton would marry his second wife, jazz singer Stephanie Hayward. They got engaged in 2014 and were married on 10 December 2016.

Shilton has publicly supported the UK leaving the European Union.

Shilton has been honored for his services to football. He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1986, an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1991, and a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2024.

Career Statistics

Club Appearances

International Appearances

Managerial Record

Honours and Awards

Leicester City

• Football League Second Division: 1970–71
• FA Charity Shield: 1971
• FA Cup runner-up: 1968–69

Nottingham Forest

• Football League First Division: 1977–78
• Football League Cup: 1978–79
• FA Charity Shield: 1978
• European Cup: 1978–79, 1979–80
• European Super Cup: 1979

Individual Awards

• PFA First Division Team of the Year: 1974–75, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1985–86
• PFA Team of the Century (1977–1996): 2007
• PFA Players' Player of the Year: 1977–78
• World XI: 1978, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1989, 1990
• Onze Mondial: 1979, 1980
• Nottingham Forest Player of the Season: 1981–82
• Southampton Player of the Season: 1984–85, 1985–86
• FWA Tribute Award: 1991
• English Football Hall of Fame: Inducted 2002
• Football League 100 Legends

Images for kids

• 

  Shilton was beaten to the ball when Diego Maradona scored with his hand, later called "the hand of God".

• 

  Shilton watches as Maradona scores his second goal, known as "The Goal of the Century".

See also

In Spanish: Peter Shilton para niños

• List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps
• List of men's footballers with the most official appearances