It's sad to report the passing of former Nottingham Forest, Coventry City and Peterborough United defender Peter Hindley. Peter, who appeared in over 400 games for Forest, played only 33 games for the Sky Blues in 2 ½ seasons at the club in the 1970s but was a popular player and a big influence in the dressing room. Affectionately known at the City Ground as 'The Tank', Hindley was a tough, uncompromising full-back who switched to a central defensive role after his move to Coventry.
Born in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, Peter was the son of a professional football, Frank, who was making his way in the game with Forest when World War 2 started in 1939. By the time hostilities ceased Frank, a centre-forward, was past his best and briefly played for Brighton.
Peter too started as a centre-forward in school where he was an outstanding natural athlete and scored heaps of goals for Worksop Boys Club including 50 in one season. When he went for trials at Forest they told him they didn't need any more centre-forwards but would he try out in defence. He quickly adapted his game and became one of the outstanding right-backs in the country during the mid 1960s. He made his first team debut as an 18-year-old but after playing in a variety of positions he became the regular right-back in 1964-65 and was a virtual ever present for nine seasons. In 1966-67 he was a member of an outstanding Forest team that finished second to Manchester United in the league and reached the FA Cup semi final before losing to Tottenham. Manager Johnny Carey was able to put out a virtually unchanged team throughout the season with four members, including Peter, playing every single match. Players like Joe Baker, Ian Storey-Moore, Terry Hennessey and Peter Grummitt were part of the finest Forest team in the pre-Clough era. Peter's performances earned him an Under 23 tour place and he won one cap in a 0-0 draw in Greece alongside future full internationals such as Allan Clarke, Ralph Coates and Colin Harvey.
After Forest were relegated from Division One in 1972 Peter retained his place but in January 1974 Coventry manager Gordon Milne, looking for defensive cover, signed him for £35,000 and he went straight into the first team. In an inauspicious debut City were thumped 5-1 at Newcastle however Neville Foulger in the Coventry Telegraph described his performance as 'impressive...showing real strength in the tackle'. He initially played at right-back but soon moved to central defence alongside either Larry Lloyd or Alan Dugdale. He rarely had a bad game for the Sky Blues but is more often unfairly remembered for a 35-yard own goal in a home defeat to Leeds.
Colin Stein was at the club at the same time as Peter and remembers him fondly: 'Pete was one of the fastest full-backs I've ever seen. He was strong and quick and loved to attack on the overlap. When he moved to centre-back he was a great partner for Larry Lloyd who wasn't the quickest. He loved his greyhounds and the horses and used to tell me to back any horse trained by Fred Winter.'
Another former playing colleague David Cross recalls Peter as: ' an unsung hero who was a proper player, hard but not dirty and very consistent not only on the pitch but off the pitch too. If you were in the trenches he was the sort of guy you'd want with you. We had a lot of fun in those days and really bonded on our end of season tour to Singapore. 'Honk', as he was known at the club, was always telling us which of his greyhounds was going to win and which to avoid because he'd been feeding them meat pies to slow them down.'
His former manager Gordon Milne cannot speak more highly of him: 'He had a great attitude to the game, he always gave 100% and really enjoyed his work. He had a smiley personality that rubbed off on his team-mates in the dressing room. For a big man he was quick and I was only sorry he picked up an injury at Coventry as he would have played a lot more games.'
Peter suffered a groin injury at Bramall Lane in December of that year and struggled to regain his place when he was fit, making only two further appearances before his final game, again at Newcastle, in December 1975. Playing in the Central League side however he helped nurture future first teamers such as Harry Roberts, Paul Dyson and Garry Thompson.
Whilst at Highfield Road Peter was granted a testimonial by Forest and manager Gordon Milne's Sky Blue team played out a 1-1 draw at the City Ground with the Forest fans giving him a warm send off.
His widow Sandra told me: 'We loved our time at Coventry. We moved from Nottingham to Dunchurch and enjoyed living there, making lots of friends. The club was so friendly and the players and wives mixed a lot. We always enjoyed the annual Soccer Ball.'
After being given a free transfer in the summer of 1976 Hindley signed for Peterborough United, then managed by former City boss Noel Cantwell. Over the next three seasons he played 129 games for Posh but, at the age of 35, he was released after the club's relegation to Division Four in 1979. He went on to play one season for Southern league Burton Albion, managed by his former Forest team-mate Ian Storey-Moore.
After his football life he set up in business as a painter and decorator in the Peterborough area and continued with his hobby of training greyhounds. Sandra and Peter trained several dogs that won prestigious events at Wembley. He was first diagnosed with dementia thirteen years ago and had to give up his work and had been in a nursing home. He passed away last Monday and is survived by his wife Sandra , daughters Leanne and Francine and four grandchildren. RIP Peter
(thanks to Mike Young for pictures)
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