Considered by many to be one of the best goalkeepers Canada has ever produced, Ken Pears was a product of the BC juvenile soccer program. One of his greatest personal triumphs on the soccer field was a 2-0 shutout of the Tottenham Hotspurs of the English First Division at Empire Stadium in 1957. In the 1958-59 season playing in the Mainland League, Pears was responsible for an amazing eight straight shutout games.

In 1952, at age seventeen, Pears played on his first BC all-star team and did so on a yearly basis from 1954-64.

Pears started with the Westminster Royals from 1952-54. He played goal for the Vancouver Firefighters from 1954-79 and helped the team win at the provincial, regional, and national level. For a number of years, he played for the Firefighters in the winter and the Halecos in the summer.

Pears was on five Dominion Cup teams: 1952 Western Sports (junior championships), 1953 Westminster Royals, 1956 Vancouver Halecos, 1964 Vancouver Columbus, and 1965 Vancouver Firefighters. He was also a member of four other teams that reached the finals.

Pears was selected as Canada’s starting goaltender on the 1957 Canadian World Cup qualifying team for games in Mexico. This was the first time Canada entered a national team attempting to qualify for the World Cup.

Pears played goalkeeper for the Canadian national team that toured Russia and Britain in 1960.

He was voted the Pacific Coast League’s “Most Valuable Player” in 1962 and 1964. He played one season of pro soccer in 1968 with the Vancouver Royals.

Later Pears was extremely active in coaching juvenile soccer. He also later refereed for the Pacific Coast and Mainland Leagues and was director of the Firefighter’s Athletic Club in 1982.