Archibald Gray (18 April 1877 – 29 July 1943) was a Scottish

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 played as a defender. Having lived in several places in the vicinity of Glasgow during his childhood, Gray began his career at Govan Columbia juveniles and

Ashfield Ashfield may refer to: People * Ashfield (surname) Places Australia * Ashfield, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Municipality of Ashfield, a former local government area in Sydney ** Electoral district of Ashfield, a former electoral dist ...

in the junior leagues, before joining Edinburgh side Hibernian in 1899. He spent five seasons with Hibs, winning the Scottish Cup in

1902 Events January * January 1 ** The Nurses Registration Act 1901 comes into effect in New Zealand, making it the first country in the world to require state registration of nurses. On January 10, Ellen Dougherty becomes the world's f ...

. Gray made 18 league appearances and scored two goals as Hibs then won the

Scottish Football League The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km south ...

title in

1902–03 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

. He also won his one and only cap for Scotland on 21 March 1903, against Ireland; Scotland lost 2–0. A week earlier, Gray had represented the Scottish League XI and again finished on the losing side, against the Irish League. He was given one further opportunity to impress the selectors in the

Home Scots v Anglo-Scots Home Scots v Anglo-Scots was an annual association football trial match organised by the Scottish Football Association between the 1890s and 1920s to examine the abilities of possible players for upcoming full British Home Championship internationa ...

trial match in the same month, but was injured during the match. In the summer of 1904 Gray moved south to London to join Woolwich Arsenal, who had just been promoted to the First Division for the first time. Gray made his debut in Arsenal's very first First Division match, against

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

on 3 September 1904 and immediately became the club's first-choice right back for the next five seasons; Woolwich Arsenal reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup twice (in

1905–06 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

and

1906–07 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

), while in the League they usually occupied a comfortable spot in mid-table. Along with four other ''Gunners'' men – Roddy McEachrane, Tommy Hynds, Peter Kyle and

Jimmy Sharp James Sharp (11 October 1880 – 18 November 1949) was a Scottish international association football, footballer. Career Club Born in Alyth, Perthshire, Sharp began his career with East Craigie F.C., East Craigie and then joined Dundee F.C., ...

– Gray was invited to take part in the Anglo-Scots trial again in 1907,Football. International Trial Match.
The Glasgow Herald, 19 March 1907 but he did not receive any further international honours subsequently (of the five, only Sharp did so). Gray lost his regular place to fellow Scot Duncan McDonald in 1909, but he returned to the team during the 1910–11 season. He played in both full back positions, often as cover for Joe Shaw. However, having passed the age of 30 he found his place came under threat from younger players such as John Peart, and he was largely left out in the 1911–12 season. He played his final first-class match for Arseanal, his 200th, against Notts County on 23 December 1911. In spring 1912 he was transferred for £250 to Second Division

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

, where he played 25 matches in three seasons, before his retirement in 1915. He died in a traffic accident in 1943 while working as a chauffeur.

References

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External links

Archie Gray
www.ihibs.co.uk * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Archie 1877 births 1943 deaths Arsenal F.C. players Men's association football fullbacks Fulham F.C. players Hibernian F.C. players Footballers from East Dunbartonshire Scotland men's international footballers Scottish Football League players Scottish men's footballers English Football League players Scottish Football League representative players Ashfield F.C. players Road incident deaths in Scotland Scottish Junior Football Association players

See also

References

External links