Alfred Gray (13 August 1910 – 1974) was an English

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who made 54 appearances in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

playing for

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

and Lincoln City. He played as a

wing half A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

centre half In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

Life and career

Gray was born in

Westhoughton Westhoughton ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, southwest of Bolton, east of Wigan and northwest of Manchester.Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

. He began his career with his local team, Daisy Hill, and was on the books of

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic ...

before making his Football League debut in the

Third Division South The Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to on ...

with Torquay United in 1932. By the end of the season, he and full-back

Jack Tennant John William Tennant (3 August 1907 – 1978) was a footballer who played in the Football League for Bolton Wanderers, Liverpool, Torquay United and Stoke City. Career Tennant was born in Newcastle upon Tyne and played for his works team Wash ...

had attracted the attention of First Division

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, whom they joined for an undisclosed but reportedly "very substantial" fee, to include a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

. Gray never appeared for Liverpool's first team, and he signed for Lincoln City, newly

relegated In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

from the Second Division, in June 1934. He played regularly in his first season with Lincoln, but made only seven appearances in 1935–36, and finished his career in

non-league football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

with Newark Town. Gray died in 1974.

References

1910 births 1974 deaths People from Westhoughton Footballers from Greater Manchester Sportspeople from the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton English men's footballers Men's association football wing halves Men's association football defenders Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players Liverpool F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players Newark Town F.C. players English Football League players Date of death missing Place of death missing Daisy Hill F.C. players {{England-footy-defender-1910s-stub