Peter Lorimer
Personal information
Full name Peter Patrick Lorimer
Date of birth (1946-12-14)14 December 1946
Place of birth Dundee, Scotland
Date of death 20 March 2021(2021-03-20) (aged 74)
Height 5 ft 9+1⁄2 in (1.77 m)[1]
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1962–1979 Leeds United 450 (151)
1971 → Cape Town City (loan) 6 (8)
1979 Toronto Blizzard 29 (9)
1979–1980 York City 29 (8)
1980 Toronto Blizzard 18 (2)
1981–1983 Vancouver Whitecaps 80 (22)
1983 → UCD (loan) 3 (0)
1983–1985 Leeds United 76 (17)
1985–1986 Whitby Town
1986 Hapoel Haifa
Total 691 (217)
International career
1963 Scotland Amateur 7 (7)
1969–1976 Scotland 21 (4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Peter Patrick Lorimer (14 December 1946 – 20 March 2021) was a Scottish professional footballer, best known for his time with Leeds United and Scotland during the late 1960s and early 1970s. An attacking midfielder and the club's youngest-ever player, he was renowned for his powerful strikes from distance. From 1984 to 1985 he was club captain. Lorimer is the club record scorer with 238 goals in all competitions. He was voted Leeds' ninth greatest player ever and on to the greatest Leeds United team of all time.

After retiring as a player, Lorimer became a member of the Leeds board of directors, provided match commentary on BBC Radio Leeds and Yorkshire Radio and wrote a regular column in the Yorkshire Evening Post. From April 2013 he held the position of club ambassador.[2]

Early life

Lorimer was born in Dundee[3] to Janet and Peter Lorimer and was brought up in Broughty Ferry on the edge of the city.[4] He attended Eastern Primary School and later Stobswell Secondary School, where he played for the school's football team.[5][6]

Club career

Leeds United

After playing junior football in Dundee for Stobswell Boys and Broughty YMCA, Lorimer signed for Leeds United in May 1962 after scoring for the Scotland Schoolboys team in a 4–2 win over England.[5][7] He made his Leeds debut on 29 September 1962 against Southampton, aged 15 years and 289 days, becoming the youngest player to play for the first team.[7][3]

Lorimer came to regular prominence in the 1965–66 season, making 34 League Championship appearances and scoring 19 goals, more than any other player at Leeds United managed that season. A skilful and industrious player who operated best in a drifting position either wide on the right (though not as an orthodox winger – he was more likely to cut in and shoot than stay wide and cross) or behind two main strikers (usually Allan Clarke and Mick Jones), Lorimer was a frequent and often spectacular goalscorer, earning himself several nicknames stemming from his powerful shooting – HotShot and Lash being two of the more prevalent.[8] He became renowned for these strikes, with his shots reaching speeds of up to 90 mph.[9] One penalty kick was recorded at 107 mph.[10]

In the 1966–67 season, Lorimer made his first major headlines when a free-kick equaliser against Chelsea in an FA Cup semi-final was controversially ruled out by referee Ken Burns and retaken, for the Chelsea players had not retreated the necessary 10 yards. Chelsea held on to win the game.[11] In the 1975 European Cup Final, Lorimer scored to give Leeds a 1–0 lead, only for the goal to be controversially disallowed by referee Michel Kitabdjian, with Leeds going on to lose the game.[8] In summer 1971, Lorimer had a short spell on loan at Cape Town City in South Africa.[12] Lorimer left the club in 1979, having scored 219 goals in 616 appearances.[13] During this time he had won two League titles, an FA Cup, a League Cup, a Charity Shield, and two Inter-Cities Fairs Cups.[12][14]

Later career

He played for York City and then tried his luck in the North American Soccer League (NASL). Lorimer played for two clubs: the Toronto Blizzard (1979–1980) and the Vancouver Whitecaps (1981–83). In January 1983 he signed for University College Dublin.[15]

Lorimer returned to Leeds United in 1983, aged 37, two seasons after Leeds had fallen into the Football League Second Division.[8] He played under former team-mate Eddie Gray (more than a year his junior) and broke the club's goalscoring record in the process, ending up with 238 goals from 705 appearances until retiring just before his 40th birthday at the end of the 1985–86 season.[8] However, Leeds were still a Second Division team when Lorimer played his final game for them and it would be another four years before they returned to the First Division.[16]

International career

Lorimer made his international debut for Scotland against Austria in November 1969.[11] He won 21 caps for Scotland and scored four goals, having played in all three of their matches at the 1974 FIFA World Cup.[17][8] His Scotland career was, however, affected by a ban imposed on him in 1971 after he spent a summer playing for Cape Town City in apartheid-era South Africa.[9]

After playing

In his retirement Lorimer ran the Commercial Inn pub in the Holbeck area of the city.[18] Lorimer remained a dedicated spokesman for Leeds United after retirement – he was always one of the first ex-players to whom broadcasters and journalists turned when the club was in the news.[19] He worked as a pundit at games for BBC Radio Leeds and as a columnist for the local paper, the Yorkshire Evening Post.[8] He wrote a column in the club's match programme (his final one being the match against Aston Villa on 27 February 2021) and acted as a summariser for Yorkshire Radio on every Leeds away match.[8]

On 26 February 2021, it was announced that Lorimer had been placed under hospice care due to a long-term illness.[20][21] He died on 20 March 2021, aged 74.[8]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[22][23][24]
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Continental[lower-alpha 1] Other[lower-alpha 2][25][26] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Leeds United 1962–63 Second Division 100000——10
1963–64 Second Division 000010——00
1964–65 First Division 100000——10
1965–66 First Division 3413230093—4519
1966–67 First Division 299622251—4214
1967–68 First Division 37165264128—6030
1968–69 First Division 299213073—4113
1969–70 First Division 3914823073105819
1970–71 First Division 38124210105—5319
1971–72 First Division 4223734221—5529
1972–73 First Division 4115835392—6323
1973–74 First Division 3712520050—4714
1974–75 First Division 369405384105316
1975–76 First Division 29102021——3311
1976–77 First Division 2632000——283
1977–78 First Division 2860043——329
1978–79 First Division 300010——40
Total 45015155203718743020618219
Cape Town City (loan) 1971 National Football League 68——68
Toronto Blizzard 1979 North American Soccer League 299——299
York City 1979–80 Fourth Division 298——298
Toronto Blizzard 1980 North American Soccer League 182——182
Vancouver Whitecaps 1981 North American Soccer League 278——278
1982 North American Soccer League 2810——2810
1983 North American Soccer League 254——254
Total 80228022
University College Dublin (loan) 1982–83 League of Ireland 30——30
Leeds United 1983–84 Second Division 2243000——254
1984–85 Second Division 4091031——4410
1985–86 Second Division 1440020—21185
Total 7617405100218022
Career total 69121759204219743041870287
  1. ↑ Includes matches in Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, European Cup, European Cup Winners' Cup, and UEFA Cup competitions.
  2. ↑ Includes matches in FA Charity Shield and Full Members' Cup competitions.

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year[23][27]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Scotland 196910
197120
197253
197330
197471
197530
Total214
Scores and results list Scotland goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Scotland goal.
List of international goals scored by Peter Lorimer[27][28]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 20 May 1972 Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland  Northern Ireland 2–0 2–0 1971–72 British Home Championship
2 24 May 1972 Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland  Wales 1–0 1–0 1971–72 British Home Championship
3 15 November 1972 Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland  Denmark 2–0 2–0 1974 FIFA World Cup qualification
4 14 June 1974 Westfalenstadion, Dortmund, Germany  Zaire 1–0 2–0 1974 FIFA World Cup

Honours

Leeds United[8][14]

Individual

References

  1. ↑ Butler, Frank; Collins, Patrick (1973). News of the World Football Annual 1973–74. London. p. 274.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. ↑ "Leeds United legend Lorimer appointed club ambassador". Yorkshire Evening Post. 26 April 2013. Archived from the original on 13 March 2014. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  3. 1 2 Rayner, Stuart (20 March 2021). "Peter Lorimer, Leeds United's record goalscorer, has died". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  4. ↑ Mason, Peter (20 March 2021). "Peter Lorimer obituary". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  5. 1 2 Strachan, Graeme (20 March 2021). "Peter Lorimer: The Dundee boy who overcame homesickness to become a Leeds legend". The Courier. Dundee. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  6. ↑ Brown, John (6 June 2020). "BLETHER: Dundee Primary Schools Select, plea from Down Under to find boxing pal and World Cup winners who played on Dundee Violet's pitch". Evening Telegraph. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  7. 1 2 Mewis, Joe (20 March 2021). "Leeds United legend Peter Lorimer has died, aged 74". LeedsLive. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Peter Lorimer: Leeds United's record goalscorer dies aged 74". BBC Sport. 20 March 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  9. 1 2 Taylor, Louise (20 March 2021). "Peter Lorimer: a Leeds legend who had dynamite in his boots". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  10. ↑ Lorimer, Peter; Rostron, Phil (9 September 2002). Peter Lorimer: Leeds and Scotland hero. Edinburgh: Mainstream. ISBN 1-84018-612-7. OCLC 51194080.
  11. 1 2 McNulty, Phil (20 March 2021). "Peter Lorimer obituary: An 'explosive and influential member of the greatest Leeds side in history'". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Peter Lorimer: a career in words". Leeds United FC. 20 March 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  13. ↑ "RIP Peter Lorimer". leedsunited.com. Leeds United F.C. 20 March 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  14. 1 2 "Peter Lorimer 1946–2021". efl.com. English Football League. 20 March 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  15. ↑ "The Irish Times - Monday, January 17, 1983 - Page 003". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012.
  16. ↑ "Football photographic encyclopedia, footballer, world cup, champions league, football championship, olympic games & hero images by sporting-heroes.net". www.sporting-heroes.net.
  17. ↑ Smyth, Graham (20 March 2021). "Peter Lorimer obituary: Leeds United's record scorer with one of hardest shots in football who won it all". Yorkshire Evening Post. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  18. ↑ "Leeds United legend Don Revie showed his eye for detail long before Marcelo Bielsa". The Yorkshire Post. 18 January 2019. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  19. ↑ "Peter Lorimer: Leeds United's all-time record goalscorer dies aged 74 following a long-term illness". Eurosport. 20 March 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  20. ↑ "Leeds United's record goalscorer Peter Lorimer in hospice as he battles illness". The Athletic. 26 February 2021. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  21. ↑ Doyle, Tom (27 February 2021). "Peter Lorimer: Leeds United legend receiving hospice care due to long-term illness". Evening Standard. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  22. ↑ Jarred, Martin; MacDonald, Malcolm (1986). Leeds United: a complete record, 1919–1986. Derby: Breedon Books Sport. p. 332. ISBN 0-907969-17-8. OCLC 20934819.
  23. 1 2 "Peter Lorimer". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  24. ↑ "Lorimer: Peter Patrick". www.ozwhitelufc.net.au. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  25. ↑ "The Definitive History of Leeds United - Matches - 2 August 1969 - Leeds United 2 Man City 1". www.mightyleeds.co.uk. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  26. ↑ "The Definitive History of Leeds United - Matches - 10 August 1974 - Liverpool 1 Leeds United 1". www.mightyleeds.co.uk. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  27. 1 2 "Peter Lorimer". scottishfa.co.uk. Scottish Football Association. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  28. ↑ Brown, Alan; Tossani, Gabriele. "Scotland – International Matches 1971–1975". RSSSF. Rec.Sports.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  29. ↑ Mewis, Joe (29 April 2019). "Every Leeds United Player of the Season winner since award was first handed out in 1970". Leeds Live. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
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