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]
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.
Referencesedit
^. Sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
^. hockeywa.org.au. Archived from the original on 10 December 2007. Retrieved 15 November 2007.
^. Sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
^. Sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
^. Sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
^ ab"Eric Pearce". Sport Australia Hall of Fame. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
^. Sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
eric, pearce, field, hockey, other, people, named, eric, pearce, eric, pearce, disambiguation, eric, robert, pearce, born, october, 1931, indian, born, australian, former, international, field, hockey, player, represented, australia, four, olympic, games, nume. For other people named Eric Pearce see Eric Pearce disambiguation 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 Medal recordMen s field hockeyRepresenting AustraliaOlympic Games1968 Mexico City Team1964 Tokyo TeamPlaying career editEric 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 edit Eric Pearce Biography and Olympic Results Olympics at Sports reference com Archived from the original on 18 April 2020 Retrieved 22 September 2012 Hockey WA Olympic Representatives hockeywa org au Archived from the original on 10 December 2007 Retrieved 15 November 2007 Mel Pearce Biography and Olympic Results Olympics at Sports reference com Archived from the original on 18 April 2020 Retrieved 22 September 2012 Gordon Pearce Biography and Olympic Results Olympics at Sports reference com Archived from the original on 18 April 2020 Retrieved 22 September 2012 Julian Pearce Biography and Olympic Results Olympics at Sports reference com Archived from the original on 17 April 2020 Retrieved 22 September 2012 a b Eric Pearce Sport Australia Hall of Fame Retrieved 27 September 2020 Colleen Pearce Biography and Olympic Results Olympics at Sports reference com Archived from the original on 18 April 2020 Retrieved 22 September 2012 a b c W A Hall of Champions inductee booklet 2006 Published by the Western Australian Institute of Sport p 86 Julian Pearce Sport Australia Hall of Fame Retrieved 27 September 2020 External links editEric Pearce at Olympedia nbsp Eric Pearce at the Australian Olympic Committee nbsp Eric Pearce at the Sport Australia Hall of Fame nbsp Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Eric Pearce field hockey amp oldid 1156650632, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
