| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Stuart James Pearson | ||
| Date of birth | 21 June 1949 | ||
| Place of birth | Cottingham, England | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1966–1968 | Hull City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1968–1974 | Hull City | 129 | (44) |
| 1974–1979 | Manchester United | 139 | (55) |
| 1979–1982 | West Ham United | 34 | (6) |
| Total | 302 | (105) | |
| International career | |||
| 1976 | England U23 | 1 | (0) |
| 1976–1978 | England | 15 | (5) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Stuart James Pearson (born 21 June 1949) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward. He appeared in three FA Cup finals, two for Manchester United and one with West Ham United.
Pearson started his career with hometown club Hull City, whom he joined as an amateur while doing an apprenticeship as a telephone engineer. He scored 44 league goals for the Tigers after becoming a first team regular when record scorer Chris Chilton left in 1971.
An assistant manager to Terry Neill at the time was Tommy Docherty, who subsequently became manager of Manchester United and signed Pearson in May 1974 for £200,000, with reserve player Peter Fletcher moving to Hull as part of the deal.[1]
Pearson was bought by Manchester United after they were relegated to the Second Division and was instrumental in getting the club promoted back to the First Division the next season by scoring 17 goals. Every time he scored a goal he would celebrate with a raised right fist. He was in the team that lost 1–0 to Southampton in the 1976 FA Cup Final. The next year Pearson helped Manchester United win the 1977 FA Cup Final against Liverpool, scoring the first of Manchester United's goals in their 2–1 win. He was sidelined for nearly all of the 1978–79 season due to a knee injury but made a full recovery before leaving Manchester United for West Ham United in August 1979.
He helped the Hammers win the 1980 FA Cup Final, with his cross-shot setting up Trevor Brooking for the only goal in a 1–0 win over Arsenal. During interviews after the game, Barry Davies described him as "a big occasion player" and suggested that but for his injuries he would have been England's finest striker.[citation needed]
Pearson retired from league football in 1982 due to a knee injury, but continued to play at a lower level, in South Africa and the NASL.[2]
Pearson won 15 caps for England between 1976 and 1978, scoring five goals.[3]
After retiring as a player, Pearson moved into coaching, serving as coach of Stockport County in 1985–86 and manager of Northwich Victoria during the first half of 1986–87.[2] He became assistant manager/coach at West Bromwich Albion in 1988 and acted as caretaker manager for six games in 1991 following Brian Talbot's departure.[2] Pearson left Albion in 1992 and was assistant manager at Bradford City from 1992 to 1994.[2] He has also been a pundit for MUTV.[4] He moved to Spain in the mid-2000s.[5]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Hull City[6] | 1969–70 | Second Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1970–71 | Second Division | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1[c] | 0 | 13 | 1 | ||
| 1971–72 | Second Division | 38 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 39 | 15 | |||
| 1972–73 | Second Division | 37 | 17 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 3[d] | 0 | 45 | 17 | ||
| 1973–74 | Second Division | 41 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | — | 3[c] | 0 | 50 | 12 | ||
| Total | 129 | 44 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 1 | — | 7 | 0 | 148 | 45 | |||
| Manchester United[7][8] | 1974–75 | Second Division | 31 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 37 | 18 | ||
| 1975–76 | First Division | 39 | 13 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 49 | 14 | |||
| 1976–77 | First Division | 39 | 15 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 3[e] | 0 | — | 53 | 19 | ||
| 1977–78 | First Division | 30 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3[f] | 1 | 1[g] | 0 | 39 | 15 | |
| 1978–79 | First Division | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| Total | 139 | 55 | 22 | 5 | 12 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 180 | 66 | ||
| West Ham United[8] | 1979–80 | Second Division | 25 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 36 | 8 | ||
| 1980–81 | Second Division | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1[f] | 1 | — | 8 | 1 | ||
| 1981–82 | First Division | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 1 | |||
| Total | 34 | 6 | 10 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | 50 | 10 | |||
| Career total | 302 | 105 | 38 | 7 | 23 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 378 | 121 | ||
Manchester United
West Ham United