Footballer tipped to be next George Best quit at 23 and become Jehovah's Witness
Not many footballers around the world are compared to the legendary George Best.
But in the 1960s, while the Manchester United icon was strutting his stuff at Old Trafford and for Northern Ireland, Wolves favourite Peter Knowles earned that comparison all before the age of 23. Tipped to be part of England's next great side in the wake of their World Cup win, Knowles would remarkably turn his back on the game to become a Jehovah's Witness.
In 1969, the talented forward announced that he'd be retiring - not that anyone truly believed him. Wolves even continued to lay out his kit each day for training, anticipating the Yorkshireman's return.
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But Knowles - now 77 - never came back, tempted into a different career following a chance encounter in the United States while on loan at Kansas Spurs. Two local Jehovah's Witnesses knocked on his door and would arguably change the course of English football history, with Knowles having already made 174 appearances for Wolves and bagging an impressive 61 goals.
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"At the time, I was an atheist," he explained to The Sun in 2018. "I didn't believe in a God. I was happy to be a professional footballer, to play for Wolves.
"I am not bragging here. But I loved it and I was good at it. One day, two Jehovah's Witnesses knocked on my door. I said to them: 'Why did my dad and my two sisters, who'd done nowt wrong, die?'
"They came in and answered that question. They answered another question and then another I had never got an answer to. That's how I became a Jehovah’s Witness. If I hadn't met them I'd have carried on playing football."
Peter Knowles was tipped to be a Wolves and England legend (Paul Popper/Popperfoto via Getty Images)
But he retired aged 23 (W & H Talbot Archive/Popperfoto via Getty Images)Initially, the striker returned to Molineux and scored three goals in Wolves' opening four games of the 1969-70 season. That put him on course to make Sir Alf Ramsey's England squad ahead of the following summer's World Cup, but Knowles had no interest in representing the Three Lions in Mexico.
"Everybody - the manager, the players, my family, all the Wolves supporters - they all said, 'He'll be back in six months," he added. "My family couldn't cope. My mum was upset, so angry. My brother, Cyril (who played for Tottenham) said, 'Give him six months'. They couldn't cope.
Peter Knowles and wife Jean have continued to preach the word of God for 50 years (Mirrorpix via Getty Images)"Wolves put my strip out for about a year. Contracts were sent to me for 10 years. They thought I'd sign it. It's the best decision I've ever made in my life. I've never regretted it. Not once."
Instead, Knowles performed odd jobs to make ends meet, such as being a milkman, a window cleaner, a tile salesman, and an M&S warehouseman. When, one day, Knowles returned to Molineux to pick up his old boots as he prepared to coach local children, Wolves manager Bill McGarry made an impassioned plea for him return, with his side missing former strike partners Derek Dougan and Frank Munro through suspension later that season.
Tempted by the offer, Knowles realised that he wouldn't be able to give up football for a second time, so turned McGarry down and continued with the church. Spending over 50 years since preaching the word of God alongside his wife, Jean, Knowles is adamant that he's lived a more fulfilled life than if he stuck to football.
"When I was younger I used to do all that, the nightlife, the cars. Well, I've done all that," he affirmed. "Basically I work, preach, read the Bible and go to meetings - that's my life. And I am dead chuffed with it."
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