Portsmouth's oldest-living player and First Division champion Peter Higham passes away at 95

Pompey are mourning the loss of their oldest-living player.

Peter Higham, who also represented Bolton, Preston, Doncaster Rovers and Nottingham Forest, this morning passed away at his Wigan home at the age of 95.

Higham featured in Pompey’s 1949-50 First Division title-winning season as an amateur while in National Service.

Stationed in Portsmouth with the Royal Marines, he replaced injured leading scorer Ike Clarke against Birmingham in February 1950 and assisted Peter Harris in the 2-0 victory.

It would prove to be the striker’s only Blues outing and, once he had completed National Service in November 1950, he turned down a professional deal to return up north.

Speaking to The News last month, Higham reflected on his time at Fratton Park: ‘Well, I set up Peter Harris for the first of his two goals that day. I received a pass and burst through two Birmingham defenders, then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Peter. I pushed the ball for him to run onto and score.

‘I still remember it very clearly, an assist on my Football League debut in a 2-0 win wasn’t bad - and then Clarke replaced me the following game at Derby County.

‘Bob Jackson had me in the office and he said: “Peter, when your National Service is over, we would like to sign you as a professional”. The problem was I was aged 19 and hadn’t been home for ages, I missed my mum’s cooking!

‘So I turned them down - the champions of England.’

Jackson’s men would go on become First Division champions once again on the final day of that 1949-50 season, following a 5-1 triumph over Aston Villa in front of 42,295 at Fratton Park.

Higham later won promotion from Division Two with Nottingham Forest in 1956-57, marking their return to the top flight after an 18-year absence.

In his three seasons at the City Ground, he totalled 21 goals in 68 appearances, before being sold to Division Two strugglers Doncaster Rovers in March 1958, where future comedian Charlie Williams, then a centre-half, would become his team-mate.

He would also represent Wigan Athletic, Morecambe, Stalybridge Celtic, Rhyl, Buxton and Mossley, before hanging up his boots at the age of 37 and later working as a male model and coaching in America, Zambia and Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe).

However, it was as a PE teacher which became Higham’s true calling after football, after spending two years studying physical education and geography as a mature student at Chorley College.

He returned to Fratton Park in April 2025 and attended the Blues’ Hall of Fame along with son-in-law Sean as guests of the Pompey History Society.

It proved to be a popular return, with Higham stealing the show after being invited up on stage, regaling an appreciative audience with his playing stories during a brilliant impromptu speech.

Last month, in what would prove to be his final interview, Higham spoke to The News about his football career, demonstrating his playful nature, excellent memory and love of crosswords.

Peter Higham (November 8, 1930 - July 3, 2026)