Eric Pearce (field hockey)

Eric Robert Pearce (born 29 October 1931) is an Indian-born Australian former international field hockey player who represented Australia at four Olympic Games[1] and numerous other international matches. He was born in Jabalpur, India. In his home state of Western Australia, he played as a striker for 19 years.[2]

For other people named Eric Pearce, see Eric Pearce (disambiguation).

Medal record
Men's field hockey
Representing  Australia
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 1968 Mexico City Team
Bronze medal – third place 1964 Tokyo Team

Playing career

Eric is one of five international-level hockey playing brothers, the others being Cec, Mel,[3] Gordon[4] and Julian.[5][6] His daughter Colleen Pearce was part of the Australian national hockey team that came third at the 1983 World Cup and fourth at the 1984 Olympics.[7] He is considered to be one of the finest field hockey players to have represented Australia.[6][8]

Following the partition of India, his father Cec and elder brothers Cec and Mel settled in Perth, Western Australia in 1947.[9] His mother Gladys, Eric and his two other brothers followed in the following year. The Anglo-Indian family had intended on settling in Victoria but instead chose to stay in Western Australia.[8]

In the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne he joined with Gordon and Mel in the Australian team. He also competed in 1960 Olympics in Rome, the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo (Australia's first Olympic hockey medal - bronze) and the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City (silver). Eric was the Australian team flag-bearer at the 1968 Games. In the 1964 Games he scored Australia's only two goals allowing his team to beat Pakistan (2-1) for the first time. In the 1968 Games he scored all eight goals in one match against Japan (8-1), his biggest tally in an international match.

Pearce played in 12 national championships for Western Australia, winning seven, largely due to his own goal scoring abilities.[8] He was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame as a founding member in 1985 - the only hockey player to have been selected. He was inducted into the Western Australian Hall of Champions in 1986.

References
  1. "Eric Pearce Biography and Olympic Results | Olympics at". Sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
  2. "Hockey WA Olympic Representatives". hockeywa.org.au. Archived from the original on 10 December 2007. Retrieved 15 November 2007.
  3. "Mel Pearce Biography and Olympic Results | Olympics at". Sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
  4. "Gordon Pearce Biography and Olympic Results | Olympics at". Sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
  5. "Julian Pearce Biography and Olympic Results | Olympics at". Sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
  6. "Eric Pearce". Sport Australia Hall of Fame. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  7. "Colleen Pearce Biography and Olympic Results | Olympics at". Sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
  8. W.A. Hall of Champions inductee booklet. (2006) Published by the Western Australian Institute of Sport p. 86
  9. "Julian Pearce". Sport Australia Hall of Fame. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
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