Born in Stratford, Grotier started playing as a goalkeeper at primary school but his early career was curtailed once he moved on to West Ham Tech (presumably South West Ham Technical School), with the presence of the West Ham Schools goalkeeper restricting him to the role of understudy.[3]
Grotier made his first team debut for West Ham on 19 April 1969, a First Division encounter against Tottenham Hotspur.[4] The game was the culmination of an eight-day period in which he also played for the youth team and the 'A' team, as well as two reserve games.[5]
On 22 September 1970 Grotier played in an exhibition match in New York between West Ham and Santos of Brazil where he faced the legendary Brazilian striker, Pele. [6]
He played for the club until 1974, mostly as understudy to Bobby Ferguson. He went loan to Cardiff City in 1973, and then spent a month at Lincoln City at the start of the 1974–75 season. West Ham were asking for at least £20,000 for his transfer and his stay at Lincoln was only made permanent after fans raised money for the fee.[7][8]
Grotier made a total of 263 League and cup appearances for Lincoln, including a run of 134 consecutive appearances, and was an ever-present during the 1975–76 season. His first two seasons at the club earned him spots in the PFA Division Four Team of the Year in both seasons.[8]
He signed for Cardiff City for £25,000 in 1979, but made only 38 League appearances for the Welsh side before moving on to Grimsby Town in 1982.[1][8] He later became reserve-team coach at the club, and had a spell as caretaker manager in 1985. He made an appearance for the Mariners in an FA Cup game against Watford in 1986, at the age of 36.[7]
Other appearances
Grotier appeared on BBC TV The Repair Shop (series 12, episode 9, 2023) asking for his programme from the West Ham vs Santos match, autographed by Pele, to be repaired.
Notes
^Barry Hugman's Footballers states a transfer date of August 1974 with only one set of statistics.
References
^ ab"Peter Grotier". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 2 May 2018.