His first came in a 5–0 victory over Liverpool in 1946, and in the 1948 FA Cup semi-final he scored all the goals when United won 3–1 against Derby County at Hillsborough in Sheffield.
[3] His hat-trick against Liverpool in September 1946 occurred at Maine Road (due to bomb damage to Old Trafford), and would be the last hat-trick by a Manchester United player against the Anfield club until September 2010, when Bulgarian Dimitar Berbatov scored all three of United's goals in a 3–2 league win at Old Trafford.
At 40 years, 101 days, Pearson remains the oldest player to make a Football League appearance for the club when he played his final match against Crewe Alexandra on 22 April 1959.
Despite making signings such as his former Manchester United colleague Frank Clempson,[7] Chester struggled during Pearson's reign in charge.
After finishing 20th and 24th in successive Division Four seasons, Pearson left the club following a 1–0 home defeat to non-league Morecambe in November 1961 in the FA Cup.