Name Ken Pears | Role Soccer player | |
Ken Pears (born April 12, 1934 in Vancouver, Canada) is a former Canadian elite professional soccer player. He was a four-time national champion with Canadian clubs Westminster Royals (1953), Vancouver Halecos (1956), Vancouver Columbus (1964) and Vancouver Firefighters (1965). He was also Canada's starting goalkeeper for the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in 1957. After his retirement, he was part of the inaugural class honoured by the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame in 2000.
Pears was the top goalkeeper in Canada in the 1950s and early 1960s. He made six appearances for the British Columbia All-Stars including shutting out English First Division club Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 at Empire Stadium in 1957.
Pears played club soccer with Capilanos and the Vancouver Halecos. He had ten shutouts in helping Capilanos win the Imperial and Provincial Cups and the Mainland League's first division title.
Pears was Canada's first World Cup goalkeeper, appearing in all four qualifying games played in 1957. He was inducted into the British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame in 1986 and in April 2000, the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame.