Bert Gray

Albert Gray (23 September 1900 – 16 December 1969) was a Welsh international footballer who played as goalkeeper for various clubs in the 1920s and 1930s, including Oldham Athletic, Manchester City, Tranmere Rovers and Chester. For his country, he made 24 appearances between 1924 and 1938, helping Wales win the British Home Championship three times.

Not to be confused with Bert Gray (rugby league).

Bert Gray
Personal information
Full name Albert Gray
Date of birth (1900-09-23)23 September 1900
Place of birth Tredegar, Wales
Date of death 16 December 1969(1969-12-16) (aged 69)
Place of death Blackpool, England
Height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Playing position(s) Goalkeeper
Youth career
Rhyd Welfare
Rhyd Athletic
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1921–1923 Ebbw Vale
1923–1927 Oldham Athletic 97 (0)
1927–1930 Manchester City 68 (0)
1929–1930 → Manchester Central (loan)
1930–1931 Coventry City
1931–1936 Tranmere Rovers 192 (0)
1936–1938 Chester 73 (0)
1938 Waterford
1938–1939 Congleton Town 39 (0)
National team
1924–1938 Wales 24 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Football career

Club career

Gray was born in Tredegar, Monmouthshire and first came to the attention of scouts from the Football League when he stood in for the injured goalkeeper for a local colliery side.[1] He spent two years with Ebbw Vale during which time the club won the Southern League Welsh Section in 1921–22, going one better the following year to win the Southern League championship.[2]

Standing at 6 ft 3ins, Gray was one of the tallest players at the time and used his height to great effect; he was described as "a very capable goalkeeper, (who) was cool and safe and inspired confidence in his defenders".[1]

In May 1923, he moved to the Football League Second Division with Oldham Athletic where he remained for four seasons, making over 100 first-team appearances before joining fellow Second Division club, Manchester City for a fee of £2,250 in January 1927,[1] where he displaced long-term custodians Jim Goodchild and James Mitchell. He soon became a regular for his new club, helping them to win the Second Division title in 1927–28.[1]

By the end of the first season in the First Division, Gray was out of favour at Maine Road and in August 1929 he was loaned for a season to the short-lived Manchester Central club.[1] There then followed a year with Coventry City where he never played a first-team game, before joining Tranmere Rovers.[1] Gray spent five seasons at the Prenton Park club, during which they twice reached the final of the Welsh Cup, losing to Bristol City in 1934,[3] but winning the trophy the following year with a 1–0 victory over Chester.[4]

In 1936, he applied for the manager's job at Tranmere but was turned down and moved to fellow Third Division North club, Chester.[1] After a brief spell in Ireland at Waterford in 1938, Gray wound up his career in the Cheshire League with Congleton Town.[1]

International career

Gray made his international debut for Wales in the 1924 British Home Championship match against Scotland on 16 February 1924. The game at Ninian Park, Cardiff ended in a 2–0 victory for Wales, with goals from Willie Davies and Len Davies.[5] Gray retained his place for the next two matches with victories over England and Ireland, thus enabling Wales to take the British Home Championship trophy for the second time in five years.[6] Gray only missed four Wales international matches between February 1924 and October 1929[7] during which time Wales again claimed the Championship trophy under captain Fred Keenor.[6]

On 28 November 1927, Gray featured in an eventful match against England at Burnley's Turf Moor ground, involving two own goals and a missed penalty. Wales opened the scoring with a goal from Wilf Lewis followed by an own goal by England's captain, Jack Hill, playing at his home stadium.[8] In the second half, Roy Goodall had the chance to bring England back into the game but missed his penalty.[9] When England finally scored, this was also an own goal as Fred Keenor deflected Louis Page's corner past Gray in the Wales goal.[10][11] (Some sources claim that it was Gray himself who turned the ball into the net.[12])

In the summer of 1929, the Football Association of Wales sent a party of players to tour Canada,[6] with Gray and Len Evans sharing the goalkeeping duties. In an article welcoming the touring party, The Montreal Gazette described Gray as "well equipped for the position as he stands 6 feet 3 inches and should have little difficulty reaching high shots." Gray was "in the glory of his manhood at 29 years of age. His goalkeeping has been described as "majestic" and there is no exaggeration in this word".[13] During the tour, Wales played 15 matches in five weeks, winning them all with 61 goals scored and only ten conceded.[14]

During the two years between November 1929 and October 1931, Wales called upon several keepers, including Cardiff City's Len Evans and Wrexham's Dick Finnigan, who was called up for the match against Ireland in February 1930 because Manchester City refused to release Gray.[15] (The Irish won this match 7–0, with six goals from Joe Bambrick.[16])

Gray returned to the side for three matches in October/November 1931, in the 1932 British Home Championship. Gray was appointed captain in Keenor's absence for the match against Scotland on 31 October;[17] despite "(keeping) goal in fine style",[18] Gray conceded three goals with the Welsh only managing two in reply from Ernie Curtis.[19]

For five seasons, between October 1932 and March 1936, Roy John played in goal for Wales,[20] before Gray received a recall for the match against England on 17 October 1936. Gray retained his place for five matches and helped Wales take the British Home Championship once again. His final international appearance came against Ireland on 16 March 1938 when Gray was in his 38th year.[21]

International appearances

Gray made 24 appearances for Wales in official international matches, as follows:[7]

DateVenueOpponentResult[22]GoalsCompetition
16 February 1924Ninian Park, Cardiff Scotland2–001924 British Home Championship
3 March 1924Ewood Park, Blackburn England2–101924 British Home Championship
15 March 1924Windsor Park, Belfast Ireland1–001924 British Home Championship
14 February 1925Tynecastle Park, Edinburgh Scotland1–301925 British Home Championship
28 February 1925Vetch Field, Swansea England1–201925 British Home Championship
18 April 1925Racecourse Ground, Wrexham Ireland0–001925 British Home Championship
31 October 1925Ninian Park, Cardiff Scotland0–301926 British Home Championship
1 March 1926Selhurst Park, London England3–101926 British Home Championship
30 October 1926Ibrox Park, Glasgow Scotland0–301927 British Home Championship
29 October 1927Racecourse Ground, Wrexham Scotland2–201928 British Home Championship
28 November 1927Turf Moor, Burnley England2–101928 British Home Championship
27 October 1928Ibrox Park, Glasgow Scotland2–401929 British Home Championship
17 November 1928Vetch Field, Swansea England2–301929 British Home Championship
2 February 1929Racecourse Ground, Wrexham Ireland2–201929 British Home Championship
26 October 1929Ninian Park, Cardiff Scotland2–401930 British Home Championship
31 October 1931Racecourse Ground, Wrexham Scotland2–30 (Captain)1932 British Home Championship
18 November 1931Anfield, Liverpool England1–301932 British Home Championship
5 December 1931Windsor Park, Belfast Ireland0–401932 British Home Championship
17 October 1936Ninian Park, Cardiff England2–101937 British Home Championship
2 December 1936Dens Park, Dundee Scotland2–101937 British Home Championship
17 March 1937Racecourse Ground, Wrexham Ireland4–101937 British Home Championship
30 October 1937Ninian Park, Cardiff Scotland2–101938 British Home Championship
17 November 1937Ayresome Park, Middlesbrough England1–201938 British Home Championship
16 March 1938Windsor Park, Belfast Ireland0–101938 British Home Championship
Win Draw Loss

Later career

Gray was a keen golfer and won the Merseyside Footballers' title in 1933, 1934 and 1936.[1]

During the Second World War, he was a sergeant-instructor with South-Eastern Command.[1] In October 1942, he was goalkeeper for a South-Eastern Command team composed of professional footballers, including England internationals Bert Sproston, Cliff Britton and Albert Geldard, who played a 0–0 draw at Erith.[23] After the war, Gray became a bookmaker at Cleveleys, near Blackpool. He died in Blackpool on 16 December 1969.[1]

In April 2009, Gray's archives and collection of memorabilia were put up for auction; his caps, medals and photographs raised in excess of £4,000.[24] Several of the items were acquired by the Welsh National Football Collection, including his League medal from 1923,[25] a Wales Football Team Badge,[26] two medals from the Canadian tour of 1929,[27][28] one of Gray's international caps[29] and Gray's shirt from his final international appearance.[30]

Honours
Ebbw Vale
Manchester City
Tranmere Rovers
Wales
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References
  1. Davies, Gareth; Garland, Ian (1991). Who's Who of Welsh International Soccer Players. Bridge Books. p. 70. ISBN 1-872424-11-2.
  2. "Ebbw Vale". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
  3. "Bristol City 3 Tranmere Rovers 0". Welsh Cup Final (replay). Welsh Football Data Archive. 3 May 1934. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  4. "Tranmere Rovers 1 Chester 0". Welsh Cup Final. Welsh Football Data Archive. 4 May 1935. Archived from the original on 18 May 2012. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  5. "Wales 2 Scotland 0". Welsh Football Data Archive. 16 February 1924. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
  6. "1920s A Time of Extremes". The Story of Welsh Football. Wrexham Borough Council. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
  7. Samuel, Bill (2009). The Complete Wales FC 1876–2008. Soccer Books. pp. 25–32. ISBN 1-86223-176-1.
  8. "Own goals conceded by England". www.englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
  9. "Penalties missed by England". www.englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
  10. "Own goals scored in favour of England". www.englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
  11. "England 1 – 2 Wales (Match summary)". www.englandstats.com. 28 November 1927. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
  12. Samuel, Bill (2009). The Complete Wales FC 1876–2008. Soccer Books. p. 27. ISBN 1-86223-176-1.
  13. "Welsh Soccer Team Sailing Tomorrow". The Montreal Gazette. 23 May 1929. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
  14. Morrison, Neil (4 March 2011). "British "FA XI" Tours". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF). Archived from the original on 22 November 2011. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
  15. "On This Day in History". S4C. 1 February 2011. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
  16. Ryder, Chris. "Joe Bambrick: Footballer 1905 – 1983". Ulster History Circle. Archived from the original on 2 November 2011. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
  17. "Wales 2 Scotland 3". www.eu-football.info. 31 October 1931. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
  18. "Wales 2 Scotland 3 (match report)". www.londonhearts.com. 31 October 1931. p. 2. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
  19. "Wales 2 Scotland 3". Welsh Football Data Archive. 31 October 1931. Archived from the original on 21 April 2012. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
  20. "Goalkeepers (in chronological order)". www.welshfootballonline.com. 2008. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
  21. "Ireland 1 Wales 0". Welsh Football Data Archive. 16 March 1938. Archived from the original on 29 April 2012. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
  22. Wales score first
  23. "Bengal 1 Deres 9". www.erithandbelvederefc.co.uk. 21 January 2009. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  24. "If the cap fits – auction it!". Cardiff: Western Mail. 25 April 2009. Archived from the original on 18 November 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  25. "Welsh Football League Medal from the 1922–23 season awarded to Bert Gray". Gathering the Jewels. Culturenet Cymru. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  26. "Wales Football Team Badge belonging to Bert Gray". Gathering the Jewels. Culturenet Cymru. Archived from the original on 16 June 2012. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  27. "Welsh FA Canadian Tour Medal from 1929, presented to Bert Gray". Gathering the Jewels. Culturenet Cymru. Archived from the original on 16 June 2012. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  28. "FAW Tour of Canada, Welsh International Football Team Medal". Gathering the Jewels. Culturenet Cymru. Archived from the original on 16 June 2012. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  29. "Albert Gray Wales International Football Cap 1926–27". Gathering the Jewels. Culturenet Cymru. Archived from the original on 1 August 2012. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  30. "Welsh Full International Football Shirt – Bert Gray". Gathering the Jewels. Culturenet Cymru. Archived from the original on 16 June 2012. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
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