William Patrick Gray (24 May 1927 – 11 April 2011) was an English professional

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 ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

who made over 500 Football League appearances in a variety of positions for

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, eas ...

and

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profession ...

. He began his short management career while still a player with Millwall and later managed Brentford and

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 25 November 1862, it is the ...

. Gray was capped by England B at international level.

Club career

outside right Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

, Gray began his career with hometown Newcastle & District League club Dinnington Colliery and got his start in

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

football with

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 ...

club

in May 1947. He failed to make an impact at Brisbane Road, but made a surprise transfer to First Division club

for a nominal fee in March 1949. Gray made 172 appearances and scored 14 goals in just over four seasons at Stamford Bridge, before moving to First Division rivals

for a £16,000 fee in August 1953. He made 130 appearances and scored 32 goals during four seasons at

Turf Moor Turf Moor is an association football stadium in Burnley, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Burnley F.C. since 1883. This unbroken service makes Turf Moor the second-longest continuously used ground in English professional footba ...

. At age 30, Gray transferred to top-flight club

for a £4,500 fee in June 1957. In 1958, manager Billy Walker moved Gray from outside to

inside forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

and he became the team's playmaker and

penalty Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) A p ...

taker, scoring three penalties in Forest's run to the

1959 FA Cup Final The 1959 FA Cup Final was contested by Nottingham Forest and Luton Town at Wembley. Forest won 2–1, with goals from Roy Dwight and Tommy Wilson just four minutes apart. Dave Pacey scored Luton's consolation goal. Forest were playing in th ...

and setting up Tommy Wilson's winning goal in the 2–1 victory in the final over

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

. Over time, Gray was moved to left back and proved effective in the position, before departing the

City Ground The City Ground is a football stadium in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England, on the banks of the River Trent. It has been home to Nottingham Forest Football Club since 1898 and has a capacity of 30,445. The stadium was a venue when En ...

at age 36 in November 1963. In six seasons with Forest, Gray made 228 appearances and scored 35 goals. He moved to Third Division strugglers

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the s ...

in November 1963 and after the club's relegation to the Fourth Division at the end of the 1963–64 season, he played a bit-part role as a player in the Lions' immediate return to the Third Division at the first attempt. Gray retired at the end of the 1964–65 season. He made a brief comeback for

Brentford Reserves Brentford F.C. Reserves was the reserve team of Brentford. The reserve team played at varying times from 1900 until 2011. During the 2012 off-season, the English reserve football pyramid and youth system was overhauled under the Elite Player Per ...

in early 1967.

International career

Gray won one cap for England B and scored in a 5–0 victory over Switzerland in January 1950.

Managerial career

Gray took over Third Division strugglers Millwall as player-manager in November 1963 and despite relegation to the Fourth Division, he guided the club to successive promotions during the 1964–65 and 1965–66 seasons. A falling-out with the club's directors led to his departure from

The Den The Den (previously The New Den) is a football stadium in New Cross, south-east London, and the home of Millwall Football Club. The Den is adjacent to the South London railway originating at , and a quarter of a mile from the Old Den, which i ...

in May 1966, after promotion had been secured. With five matches of the 1965–66 season still to play, Gray moved across

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

to take over as manager of Third Division strugglers Brentford, but failed to save the Bees from relegation to the Fourth Division. He kept the cash-strapped club afloat in mid-table for the majority of the 1966-67 season, before following chairman

Jack Dunnett John Jacob Dunnett (24 June 1922 – 26 October 2019) was a British Labour Party politician, solicitor, and football club chairman. He died in London in October 2019 at the age of 97. Early life and politics Dunnett was educated at Whitgift ...

out of Griffin Park to

in March 1967. He remained at

Meadow Lane Meadow Lane Stadium is a football stadium in Nottingham, England. It is the home ground of Notts County, who have played there since it opened in 1910. The stadium was also home to Notts County Ladies F.C. from 2014 until 2017. It currently h ...

until September 1968.

Coaching and other roles

After leaving football management in 1968, Gray later worked as a

groundsman Groundskeeping is the activity of tending an area of land for aesthetic or functional purposes, typically in an institutional setting. It includes mowing grass, trimming hedges, pulling weeds, planting flowers, etc. The U.S. Department of Labor e ...

at Meadow Lane and the City Ground.

Personal life

Gray was married and had five children. His nephew was John Richardson, whom he managed at Millwall and Brentford. On retirement from football management, Gray ran a

grocers The Worshipful Company of Grocers is one of the 110 Livery Companies of the City of London and ranks second in order of precedence. The Grocers' Company was established in 1345 for merchants occupied in the trade of grocer and is one of the Gr ...

on Wollaton Road in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

and he later ran a

fish and chip shop A fish and chip shop, sometimes referred to as a chip shop, is a (often fast food) restaurant that specialises in selling fish and chips. Usually, fish and chip shops provide takeaway service, although some have seating facilities. Fish and c ...

in Beeston Rylands.

Career statistics

Player

Manager

Honours

As a player

Nottingham Forest *

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

: 1958–59

As a manager

Millwall *

Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following th ...

second-place promotion: 1965–66 * Football League Fourth Division second-place promotion: 1964–65 Brentford *

London Challenge Cup The London Challenge Cup was a football tournament formerly organised by the London FA. It was first contested in 1908, and other than during the World Wars, was contested every season until 1974, when the tournament was disbanded. After a 16- ...

: 1966–67

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Billy 1927 births 2011 deaths Sportspeople from Ashington Footballers from Northumberland English footballers England B international footballers English football managers Association football outside forwards Leyton Orient F.C. players Chelsea F.C. players Burnley F.C. players Nottingham Forest F.C. players Millwall F.C. players Millwall F.C. managers Brentford F.C. managers Notts County F.C. managers English Football League players English Football League managers Association football wing halves Association football fullbacks Notts County F.C. non-playing staff Nottingham Forest F.C. non-playing staff Fulham F.C. non-playing staff FA Cup Final players