John Atyeo
Encyclopedia
John Atyeo was an English
football
striker
who spent the majority of his career at Bristol City
. He won six England
caps between 1955 and 1957, scoring five goals. Atyeo made 645 appearances for Bristol City and scored a record 351 goals for them.
He remained a semi-professional throughout his sporting career, working also as a quantity surveyor and a mathematics teacher.
, just outside of the town of Westbury, Wiltshire
. As a schoolboy he excelled at football, rugby
and cricket
. His first competitive games were for Westbury United F. C., then Football League
champions Portsmouth
gave him two first team appearances in the 1950/51 season as an amateur, but he signed as a professional for Bristol City in the following season.
He enjoyed a fifteen year career with Bristol City despite offers from Chelsea
, Spurs
, Liverpool
and AC Milan which were worth around £20 million in today's money and could have made him the most expensive player in England, making 645 appearances and became Bristol City's all time top scorer with 351 goals by the time he retired in May 1966. He captained the team during their promotion winning season in 1965.
Throughout that period he played as a part-timer, working firstly as a quantity surveyor and then training to become a teacher. Atyeo won six England
caps from 1955 to 1957. It was conjectured that his part time status led to his being dropped by the England selectors despite never having been on a losing side in his six international appearances, scoring five goals and having scored the goal that enabled England to qualify for the 1958 FIFA World Cup
in Sweden
.
Following his retirement from football, Atyeo became a full time mathematics
teacher at Kingdown School
, Warminster
, where he served for over 20 years, rising to head of mathematics. He was regarded as a dedicated teacher. Atyeo also wrote a regular football column for the Plymouth based Sunday Independent newspaper.
He died at home in Warminster of heart failure on 8 June 1993, survived by his wife Ruth and five children: Julie, Carol, Alison, Linda and Philip.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
striker
Striker
Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals...
who spent the majority of his career at Bristol City
Bristol City F.C.
Bristol City Football Club is one of two football league clubs in Bristol, England . They play at Ashton Gate, located in the south-west of the City...
. He won six England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
caps between 1955 and 1957, scoring five goals. Atyeo made 645 appearances for Bristol City and scored a record 351 goals for them.
He remained a semi-professional throughout his sporting career, working also as a quantity surveyor and a mathematics teacher.
Biography
Peter John Walter Atyeo was born in Dilton MarshDilton Marsh
Dilton Marsh is a village and parish in the County of Wiltshire, in the south west of England.-Location:Its closest town is Westbury, which lies due east of the village....
, just outside of the town of Westbury, Wiltshire
Westbury, Wiltshire
Westbury is a town and civil parish in the west of the English county of Wiltshire, most famous for the Westbury White Horse.-Name:The most likely origin of the West- in Westbury is simply that the town is near the western edge of the county of Wiltshire, the bounds of which have been much the same...
. As a schoolboy he excelled at football, rugby
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
and cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
. His first competitive games were for Westbury United F. C., then Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
champions Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...
gave him two first team appearances in the 1950/51 season as an amateur, but he signed as a professional for Bristol City in the following season.
He enjoyed a fifteen year career with Bristol City despite offers from Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
, Spurs
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
, Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
and AC Milan which were worth around £20 million in today's money and could have made him the most expensive player in England, making 645 appearances and became Bristol City's all time top scorer with 351 goals by the time he retired in May 1966. He captained the team during their promotion winning season in 1965.
Throughout that period he played as a part-timer, working firstly as a quantity surveyor and then training to become a teacher. Atyeo won six England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
caps from 1955 to 1957. It was conjectured that his part time status led to his being dropped by the England selectors despite never having been on a losing side in his six international appearances, scoring five goals and having scored the goal that enabled England to qualify for the 1958 FIFA World Cup
1958 FIFA World Cup
The 1958 FIFA World Cup, the sixth staging of the World Cup, was hosted by Sweden from 8 June to 29 June. The tournament was won by Brazil, who beat Sweden 5–2 in the final for their first title. To date, this marks the only occasion that a World Cup staged in Europe was not won by a European...
in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
.
Following his retirement from football, Atyeo became a full time mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
teacher at Kingdown School
Warminster Kingdown
Kingdown Community School is a dual Sports College and Vocational College in Warminster, Wiltshire.There are currently about 1428 pupils attending.- School :...
, Warminster
Warminster
Warminster is a town in western Wiltshire, England, by-passed by the A36, and near Frome and Westbury. It has a population of about 17,000. The River Were runs through the town and can be seen running through the middle of the town park. The Minster Church of St Denys sits on the River Were...
, where he served for over 20 years, rising to head of mathematics. He was regarded as a dedicated teacher. Atyeo also wrote a regular football column for the Plymouth based Sunday Independent newspaper.
He died at home in Warminster of heart failure on 8 June 1993, survived by his wife Ruth and five children: Julie, Carol, Alison, Linda and Philip.