Career
He was also on the books at Tottenham Hotspur but did not make a first-team appearance. Born in Bedford, Ames began his career at Tottenham Hotspur in 1951 having arrived from now-defunct club Bedford Avenue. He failed to make a first-team appearance for Spurs between 1951 and 1955, and on the advice of the Tottenham first-team and England goalkeeper Ted Ditchburn, Colchester United manager Benny Fenton signed Ames up in 1955 following a short trial.
Ames made his first-team and Football League debut on 20 August 1955 in a 0–0 away draw with Exeter City, where Ames announced his arrival by saving a penalty kick.
Over the period of ten years, Ames would make 397 Football League appearances for Colchester and made 422 appearances in all competitions. During one stint, he missed only three league games over a span of seven years, two of which were missed due to a fractured finger.
At one point during his career, West Bromwich Albion came in with an offer for Ames, but keen to keep his custodian, manager Fenton decided not to tell him until two years later. Ames" final appearance for the club he had dedicated ten years to came on 26 February 1965, unfortunately for Ames, a 5–0 defeat at the hands of Queens Park Rangers.
On leaving the U"s, he turned out for non-league Romford before returning to Bedford to play for his hometown club Bedford Town.
Percy Ames died at the age of 66 on 4 December 1998. He was posthumously inducted into the Colchester United "Hall of Fame" in 2010.
