Peter Greenwood – Obituary
Sadly we have heard of the death of Peter Greenwood at the age of 97 years, Lancashire Cricket's oldest former player. He was the last living player to have played in the side that shared the County Championship in 1950 and he also won the Minor Counties Championship in 1949.
Peter was a talented dual sportsman, playing professional football for Burnley and Chester City and cricket for Lancashire shortly after the Second World War. Born in Todmorden on 11 September 1924, the teenager played Lancashire League cricket for his hometown club in the early 1940s before joining the Navy.
He was a hard-working centre-forward who travelled to matches on the bus and pocketed £5 a week when he signed for Burnley after leaving the Navy in 1946. Chester signed him from Burnley’s reserves where he played at wing half and was a regular for the Sealand Road club between 1948-52. He scored Chester’s second goal as the Third Division side went 2-0 against top flight Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the 1952 FA Cup 3rd Round. A shock was on the cards but Chelsea scored twice to earn a replay and despite a spirited performance Chester lost 3-2 in the return. The following year Peter signed for Witton Albion and went on to play for Caernarfon Town and Nantle Vale before beginning a long association with Chester Nomads in the 1960s.
A good all-rounder, Peter made his Lancashire First-Class debut against Cambridge University in May 1948 and took eight wickets in his second game against Kent including 5-24 in the second innings with his right-arm medium-fast seamers. He took 44 wickets that season and followed with 75 at an average of 25.69 in 1949, winning his County Cap.
He played when football allowed and made 15 appearances in 1950 taking 42 wickets at 19.35 helping Lancashire win the County Championship title that was shared with Surrey. The following season he played in 14 games and scored his only first-class century batting at number 7 with 113 against Kent at Old Trafford where the next highest score was 24.
He finished in 1952 with a first-class record of 75 matches for Lancashire with 208 wickets, nine five-wicket hauls and a best of 6-35 against Northants in 1949 and also 6-68 in the 1948 Roses Match, both at Old Trafford.
After retiring from professional sport, Peter worked for Cheshire County Council. Peter was a regular attender at many Former Player Functions at Emirates Old Trafford, always talking about his beloved Chester City.
We send our condolences to Peter’s family and friends from all at Lancashire Cricket.
Written by Ken Grime & Rev. Malcolm Lorimer