| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Darren Edward James Pitcher | ||
| Date of birth | (1969-10-12)12 October 1969 | ||
| Place of birth | Stepney,London, England | ||
| Date of death | 25 November 2018(2018-11-25) (aged 49) | ||
| Place of death | Essex, England | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Defender,midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1988–1994 | Charlton Athletic | 173 | (8) |
| 1989 | →Galway United (loan) | 4 | (1) |
| 1994–1999 | Crystal Palace | 64 | (0) |
| 1998 | →Leyton Orient (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 1999–2000 | Romford | 15 | (2) |
| Purfleet | |||
| Carshalton Athletic | |||
| Chelmsford City | |||
| Ilford | |||
| International career | |||
| 1985 | England U16 | 8 | (2) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Darren Edward James Pitcher (12 October 1969 – 25 November 2018) was an English professionalfootballer who played as adefender and amidfielder.
He notably played in thePremier League forCrystal Palace during the 1994–95 and 1997–98 seasons, he also played in theFootball League for bothCharlton Athletic andLeyton Orient as well as a brief loan spell inIreland withGalway United. He retired from professional football due to injury but later spent time in Non-League football and turned out forRomford,Purfleet,Carshalton Athletic,Chelmsford City andIlford.
Pitcher played forCharlton Athletic,Crystal Palace andLeyton Orient. Pitcher started his career as a right full back at Charlton, but then converted to an effective defensive midfielder.
He signed on loan forSeamus McDonagh atGalway United in January 1989 and made hisLeague of Ireland debut at Athlone on the 16th. WhenFrank Worthington made his debut on 12 February Pitcher scored the equaliser atSt Patrick's Athletic.[1]
Pitcher joined Crystal Palace in 1994. In his first season at the club he helped Palace to the semi-finals of both domestic cups. It was in these cup runs that he scored his only two goals for Palace. In theLeague Cup quarter final againstManchester City he scored his first goal,[2] and his second came in anFA Cup quarter final replay againstWolverhampton Wanderers.[3] However Palace's runs were ended byLiverpool in the League Cup semi final andManchester United in the FA Cup semi final. His career was ended at Crystal Palace in a match againstHuddersfield Town in August 1996, after a challenge byPaul Reid. He attempted to bring a case of negligence against Huddersfield Town, which he lost.[4] He never played for Palace again, and never played professional football again except for a brief loan spell at Leyton Orient in January 1998. Pitcher later played inNon-League football, forRomford,Purfleet,Carshalton Athletic,Chelmsford City andIlford.[5]
After retiring from football, Pitcher worked in the building trade.[6]
On 26 November 2018, it was announced that Pitcher had died.[7][8]
