Peter Charles Allen, who played as a midfielder for Leyton Orient and held the club’s all-time appearance record, was an English footballer who played from 1 November 1946 to 6 February 2023. He is the only player to have appeared for Orient more than 400 times.
Peter Allen (Footballer) Obituary
When he was still in school, Allen joined Tottenham Hotspur, where Orient manager Dave Sexton first noticed him. In July 1965, Allen became a professional at Orient, and in September of that same year, he made his debut.
He started playing regularly for the first team in the late 1960s, appearing in more than 40 league games annually from 1968 to 1973. He declined an Everton offer in 1970.
As a versatile player who could play defense when necessary and score goals from midfield, Allen was well-known at Orient. In 1976, the year in which he surpassed Arthur Wood’s previous appearance record for Orient, he received a testimonial. Allen played 491 times for the club across all competitions, tallying 29 goals.
He joined Millwall after leaving Orient in March 1978, although he only stayed for a short time before retiring due to injury at the age of 32. He later earned his law degree, and in 1988 he founded his own partnership in Portslade.