Peter Hodge
Encyclopedia
Peter Hodge was a Scottish football manager who managed Raith Rovers
, Stoke City
, Manchester City
and most notably Leicester City
(over two spells). He earnt promotion while in charge of all four clubs.
's junior side whom he took to the final of the Scottish junior cup in 1897. He then became a fully qualified referee and spent a 10 year stint refereeing matches in the Scottish league and also became honorary secretary of Dunfemline in 1906."
He was hired Raith Rovers
' first manager in 1907 and led them to the Second Division title in his first season in charge. Raith were then elected to the First Division in 1910, he was ousted by an "ambitious director" in October 1912.
hired him as a replacement for Alfred Barker
. He guided the club to the Southern League
Second Division title and successful re-admission to the Football League, but his chance of management in the higher sphere vanished with the outbreak of World War One and the suspension of fixtures. Hodge returned to Scotland
where he combined a job as a military recruiting officer with managing Raith. He never returned to the Potters, instead becoming manager of Leicester City
in 1919.
However, Hodge began to change the infra-structure of the club becoming the club's first full manager, as opposed to the secretary/managers before him, disbanding the "selection committee" at the club and taking over full control of player and staff recruitment, team selection and tactics. He built the club up over several seasons, instilling the traditional "Scottish passing style" into the club, finally winning the Second Division
in 1924-25 (only the second ever time the club would be playing in the top flight). He brought in players, several from has native Scotland, such as Arthur Chandler
, Johnny Duncan
, Adam Black
, Hugh Adcock
, Arthur Lochhead
and Ernie Hine
, all of whom would go on to become key players in the club's history and by the end of his stint average attendances had almost trebled from their pre-war averages.
This eventually culminated finishing in its highest ever league finish as runners-up in the 1928-29 season, though now under the stewardship of Willie Orr, Hodge is generally regarded as the "primary architect of [Leicester] City's rise to First Division respectability." and that "though it was Orr who took the club to its greatest ever league finishes, [Hodge] built up many of the systems and much of the side which saw the club go so close to its grail".
manager, where he once again guided a side to the Second Division
title in 1928 and took the club to 3rd in the First Division
two years later in 1930. During his time at Manchester City he reputedly signed on Matt Busby
as a trainee.
semi-final in 1933-34. Though he left on 31 July 1934 after suffering an illness during preparations for the 1934-35 season and died on 18 days later in his home town of Perth. He was held in such high esteem by both the club and the players at Leicester that six of his players past and present: Arthur Chandler
, Adam Black
, Hugh Adcock
, Arthur Lochhead
, Jim McLaren
and Roger Heywood were pall-bearers at his funeral.
Stoke
Leicester City
Manchester City
Raith Rovers F.C.
Raith Rovers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Kirkcaldy, Fife. They are members of the Scottish Football League, currently playing in the First Division, having secured promotion from the Second Division as champions in 2009. Rovers have won one national trophy, the...
, Stoke City
Stoke City F.C.
Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...
, Manchester City
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...
and most notably Leicester City
Leicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
(over two spells). He earnt promotion while in charge of all four clubs.
Early Career and Raith Rovers
Hodge began his career playing for a local youth team in 1890 then soon became secretary of Dunfermline AthleticDunfermline Athletic F.C.
Dunfermline Athletic Football Club are a Scottish football team based in Dunfermline, Fife, commonly known as just Dunfermline. They currently compete in the Scottish Premier League....
's junior side whom he took to the final of the Scottish junior cup in 1897. He then became a fully qualified referee and spent a 10 year stint refereeing matches in the Scottish league and also became honorary secretary of Dunfemline in 1906."
He was hired Raith Rovers
Raith Rovers F.C.
Raith Rovers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Kirkcaldy, Fife. They are members of the Scottish Football League, currently playing in the First Division, having secured promotion from the Second Division as champions in 2009. Rovers have won one national trophy, the...
' first manager in 1907 and led them to the Second Division title in his first season in charge. Raith were then elected to the First Division in 1910, he was ousted by an "ambitious director" in October 1912.
Stoke
In June 1914, StokeStoke City F.C.
Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...
hired him as a replacement for Alfred Barker
Alfred Barker
Alfred Barker was an English association football manager who managed Stoke City between 1908 and 1914.-Career:Barker became Stoke manager at a time when Stoke almost became extinct. In 1908 Stoke F.C. entered into liquidation and lost their Football League status. A new company was formed, Stoke...
. He guided the club to the Southern League
Southern League
Southern League may mean:*Southern League , a United States minor league baseball league**Southern Association, a United States minor league baseball league, was known as the Southern League from 1901–1919...
Second Division title and successful re-admission to the Football League, but his chance of management in the higher sphere vanished with the outbreak of World War One and the suspension of fixtures. Hodge returned to Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
where he combined a job as a military recruiting officer with managing Raith. He never returned to the Potters, instead becoming manager of Leicester City
Leicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
in 1919.
Leicester City
Leicester as a club had spent most of their pre-war history with a lowly reputation of lower league obscurity, getting small crowds and having had to, on a couple of occasions, apply for re-election. The club also often found itself financial troubles, having entered administration just before the war.However, Hodge began to change the infra-structure of the club becoming the club's first full manager, as opposed to the secretary/managers before him, disbanding the "selection committee" at the club and taking over full control of player and staff recruitment, team selection and tactics. He built the club up over several seasons, instilling the traditional "Scottish passing style" into the club, finally winning the Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
in 1924-25 (only the second ever time the club would be playing in the top flight). He brought in players, several from has native Scotland, such as Arthur Chandler
Arthur Chandler
Arthur Clarence Hillier Chandler was a professional footballer in the 1920s and 1930s. He is most famous at Leicester City, where he is the club's all time record goal scorer, with 273 goals, though he also played for Queens Park Rangers and Notts County....
, Johnny Duncan
Johnny Duncan (footballer)
John 'Johnny' Duncan was a Scottish football player and manager, who is most notable for his time at Leicester City.He captained the club to its greatest ever league finishes of 3rd and 2nd place in the First Division in 1927-28 and 1928-29 respectively...
, Adam Black
Adam Black (footballer born 1898)
Adam Black was a Scottish-born footballer who played for Leicester City in the Football League in the 1920s and 1930s....
, Hugh Adcock
Hugh Adcock
Hugh "Hughie" Adcock was an English footballer.-Career:-Club:Adcock played for Ravenstone United, Coalville Town, Loughborough Corinthians Bristol Rovers, Folkestone and Ibstock Penistone Rovers and most famously Leicester City.He made his debut for Leicester on the same day as club record...
, Arthur Lochhead
Arthur Lochhead
Arthur Lochhead was a Scottish football player. He played as a forward.Lochhead started his career with Heart of Midlothian before transferring to Manchester United in a swap deal in 1921, with Hearts exchanging him for £530 and Tom Miller...
and Ernie Hine
Ernie Hine
Ernest "Ernie" William Hine was a professional footballer, who played for Barnsley, Leicester City, Huddersfield Town and Manchester United....
, all of whom would go on to become key players in the club's history and by the end of his stint average attendances had almost trebled from their pre-war averages.
This eventually culminated finishing in its highest ever league finish as runners-up in the 1928-29 season, though now under the stewardship of Willie Orr, Hodge is generally regarded as the "primary architect of [Leicester] City's rise to First Division respectability." and that "though it was Orr who took the club to its greatest ever league finishes, [Hodge] built up many of the systems and much of the side which saw the club go so close to its grail".
Manchester City
He later became Manchester CityManchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...
manager, where he once again guided a side to the Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
title in 1928 and took the club to 3rd in the First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
two years later in 1930. During his time at Manchester City he reputedly signed on Matt Busby
Matt Busby
Sir Alexander Matthew "Matt" Busby, CBE, KCSG was a Scottish football player and manager, most noted for managing Manchester United between 1945 and 1969 and again for the second half of the 1970–1971 season...
as a trainee.
Return to Leicester and Death
He again joined Leicester in 1932, leading the club reach its first ever FA CupFA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
semi-final in 1933-34. Though he left on 31 July 1934 after suffering an illness during preparations for the 1934-35 season and died on 18 days later in his home town of Perth. He was held in such high esteem by both the club and the players at Leicester that six of his players past and present: Arthur Chandler
Arthur Chandler
Arthur Clarence Hillier Chandler was a professional footballer in the 1920s and 1930s. He is most famous at Leicester City, where he is the club's all time record goal scorer, with 273 goals, though he also played for Queens Park Rangers and Notts County....
, Adam Black
Adam Black (footballer born 1898)
Adam Black was a Scottish-born footballer who played for Leicester City in the Football League in the 1920s and 1930s....
, Hugh Adcock
Hugh Adcock
Hugh "Hughie" Adcock was an English footballer.-Career:-Club:Adcock played for Ravenstone United, Coalville Town, Loughborough Corinthians Bristol Rovers, Folkestone and Ibstock Penistone Rovers and most famously Leicester City.He made his debut for Leicester on the same day as club record...
, Arthur Lochhead
Arthur Lochhead
Arthur Lochhead was a Scottish football player. He played as a forward.Lochhead started his career with Heart of Midlothian before transferring to Manchester United in a swap deal in 1921, with Hearts exchanging him for £530 and Tom Miller...
, Jim McLaren
Jim McLaren
James E. MacLaren was a motivational speaker and author, noted for his record-breaking performances in the marathon and Ironman triathlon after having his left leg amputated below the knee....
and Roger Heywood were pall-bearers at his funeral.
Career statistics
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| Stoke Stoke City F.C. Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts... |
June 1914 | April 1915 | 30 | 21 | 4 | 5 | |
| Leicester City Leicester City F.C. Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester... |
September 1919 | May 1926 | 310 | 125 | 84 | 101 | |
| Manchester City Manchester City F.C. Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894... |
May 1926 | March 1932 | 256 | 120 | 58 | 78 | |
| Leicester City Leicester City F.C. Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester... |
March 1932 | August 1934 | 100 | 34 | 26 | 40 | |
| Total | 696 | 300 | 172 | 224 | |||
As a manager
Raith RoversRaith Rovers F.C.
Raith Rovers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Kirkcaldy, Fife. They are members of the Scottish Football League, currently playing in the First Division, having secured promotion from the Second Division as champions in 2009. Rovers have won one national trophy, the...
- Scottish Football League Second DivisionScottish Football League Second DivisionThe Scottish Football League Second Division is the second highest division of the Scottish Football League and the third highest overall in the Scottish football league system....
Champions: 1907–08
Stoke
Stoke City F.C.
Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...
- Southern League Division TwoSouthern Football LeagueThe Southern League is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales...
Champions: 1914–15
Leicester City
Leicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
- Football League Second DivisionFootball League Second DivisionFrom 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
Champions: 1924–25
Manchester City
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...
- Football League Second DivisionFootball League Second DivisionFrom 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
Champions: 1927–28