Peter Harris - International Honours

4. Peter Harris – International Honours

There is absolutely no question that Peter Harris did not receive the international honours that he undoubtedly deserved.

For a player that scored over 190 goals in the top division of English football, TWO caps was a ridiculous reward and shows what was wrong with the International hierarchy at FA Headquarters and their selection process.  Yes, Stanley Matthews and Tom Finney were both England Legends but with more recognition Peter would have attained superstar status further afield than Portsea Island.

Other than the two England Caps Peter was also selected for the Football League XI on four occasions. (The Football League XI was selected by the Football League and consisted of players irrespective of nationality and played regular games with other League sides, Scottish, Irish etc.)

On 4 May 1949 Peter was selected for the Football League to play the League of Ireland at Dalymount Park in Dublin.  The Football League won 5-0 with two goals each from Len Shackleton and Roy Bentley with Peter netting the fifth.  Peter should have been playing for Pompey at Arsenal that day but was pulled out and Pompey lost!

With that success it was natural that England would come calling and on 21 September 1949 Peter was selected for the England to play the Republic of Ireland.  The side picked was inexperienced with only Billy Wright and Neil Franklin having won over twenty caps. The game was also played at Goodison Park, Liverpool and with the Republic side having two Everton players and the game played in the alternative capital of Ireland the warning bells should have been ringing.  So it followed as England lost at home to foreign opposition for the first time in front of 51,487 slipping to a 2-0 defeat.  Jimmy Dickinson won his third cap in that game.

In the following 26 April 1950 Peter was selected again for the Football League to play the Irish Football League at Belfast’s Windsor Park.  Jackie Milburn scored a hat trick in a 3-0 win in front of 20,000 fans.     

Another four years would pass before international recognition would come Peter’s was again and it would occur twice in a month. On 28 April 1954 Peter played a third game for the Football League as they thrashed the Scottish League 4-0 at Stamford Bridge with 49,812 in attendance.

The following month England called for the second and final time.  The previous year England had suffered the ignominy of losing 6-3 at home to Hungary at Wembley.  They had agreed to play the return in Budapest in the run in to the 1954 World Cup.  England played another inexperienced side with only Billy Wright, Tom Finney and Jimmy Dickinson with over 30 caps meanwhile Hungary were at full strength and they romped to a 7-1 victory to the pleasure of 90,000 in the Nepstadion.

There was to be one final call for Peter as the Football League made their fourth selection with him included.  This time it was a returned to Belfast to play the Irish Football League on 25 April 1956 and the result was a big surprise.  The Irish League inspired by 19 year old Englishman George Eastham romped home 5-2 – Eastham joined Newcastle from Ards the following week.

So Peter’s  international career was to end on a tour of South Africa in the summer of 1956.  Peter would play 3 matches for the FA XI a 4-3 win in Johannesburg, a 4-2 win at Kingsmead and a goalless draw in Cape Town.  Peter scored three goals on that trip.

That was the end sadly for Peter he had played for his country twice but had failed to make his ambition of playing at Wembley.

Below are Peter's Football League Representative medals.