Peter Hodge

Career

Hodge began his playing career with a local youth team in 1890 and soon became secretary of Dunfermline Athletic's junior side, which he took to the final of the Scottish junior cup in 1897. He then qualified as a referee and spent ten years officiating in the Scottish league, also serving as honorary secretary of Dunfermline from 1906. In 1907 he was hired as Raith Rovers' first manager, leading them to the Second Division title in his first season; Raith were elected to the First Division in 1910, but Hodge was ousted by an ambitious director in October 1912.

Stoke hired him in June 1914 as a replacement for Alfred Barker. He guided Stoke to the Southern League Division Two title and successful re-admission to the Football League, but the outbreak of World War I and the suspension of competitive football ended his chance of managing in the higher leagues. Hodge returned to Scotland, combining a job as a military recruiting officer with managing Raith. Leicester City, which had spent most of its pre-war history in lower-league obscurity with small crowds and occasional re-election applications, often faced financial troubles and had entered administration just before the war.

Hodge became the club's first full manager, disbanding the selection committee and taking full control of player and staff recruitment, team selection, and tactics. He built the club over several seasons, instilling the traditional Scottish passing style, and finally won the Second Division in 1924–25, only the second time the club would play in the top flight. He brought in players from his native Scotland—Arthur Chandler, Johnny Duncan, Adam Black, Hugh Adcock, Arthur Lochhead, and Ernie Hine—who became key figures in the club's history; by the end of his stint, average attendances had almost trebled from pre-war averages.