Gerard "Gerry" Gray (born 20 January 1961) is a former soccer player. Born in Scotland, he represented and coached the Canadian national soccer team.

Club career

Born and raised in Scotland, Gray moved to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

with his family at the age of 12 and played for several teams in Canada and the United States in the NASL. In 1982 Gray was named to the NASL's first North American All-Star team. Gray also played

indoor soccer Indoor soccer or arena soccer (known internationally as indoor football, fast football, or showball) is five-a-side version of minifootball, derived from association football and adapted to be played in walled hardcourt indoor arena. Indoor socc ...

in the original

MISL The Misls (derived from an Arabic word wikt:مثل#Etymology_3, مِثْل meaning 'equal') were the twelve sovereign states of the Sikh Confederacy, which rose during the 18th century in the Punjab region in the northern part of the Indian ...

for the

Chicago Sting The Chicago Sting (1974–1988) was an American professional soccer team representing Chicago. The Sting played in the North American Soccer League from 1975 to 1984 and in the Major Indoor Soccer League in the 1982–83 season and again from 1 ...

as well as the Tacoma Stars. Gray played outdoors again in the

Canadian Soccer League The Canadian Soccer League (CSL; french: Ligue canadienne de soccer — LCS) is a semi-professional league for Canadian soccer clubs primarily located in the province of Ontario, and claims the history of the Canadian National Soccer League (C ...

with the

Ottawa Intrepid Ottawa Intrepid was a professional soccer team based in Ottawa, Ontario that competed in the original Canadian Soccer League. They were founded as the National Capital Pioneers (also spelled National Capitals Pioneers) and played in Aylmer, Que ...

in 1988, Hamilton Steelers in 1989,

Toronto Blizzard Toronto Blizzard may refer to: *Toronto Blizzard (1971–1984), the original soccer club, a franchise of the North American Soccer League *Toronto Blizzard (1986–1993), the later club and franchise of the Canadian Soccer League *Toronto Azzurri B ...

in 1990, the Steelers again in 1991, and then the Blizzard again in the same year. In April 2001, Gray was inducted into the

Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame The Canada Soccer Hall of Fame honours people and institutions for their contributions to Canadian soccer. It was founded in 1997 by the Ontario Soccer Association and was originally located in Vaughan, Ontario. As of 2019, the Canada Soccer Ha ...

International career

Gray was a member of the national youth team that played in the

1979 FIFA World Youth Championship The 1979 FIFA World Youth Championship, the second staging of the FIFA World Youth Championship, was held in Japan from 26 August to 7 September 1979. It was the first FIFA tournament played in Asia. The tournament took place in four cities — K ...

in Japan. He made his senior debut on 15 September 1980 for

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in a 4–0 victory against

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in a friendly match in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

. Gray earned a total of 35 caps, scoring 2 goals, one of which came via a stunning free kick versus

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

in a 1982 World Cup qualifier in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

. He represented Canada in 11

FIFA World Cup qualification The FIFA World Cup qualification is a competitive match that a national association football team takes in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the (men's) FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments are hel ...

matches and played in two of Canada's games at the

1986 FIFA World Cup The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia ha ...

finals, the country's only appearance at a World Cup finals. He also played for Canada at the 1984 Olympics. His final appearance came in a 0–2 defeat in a March 1991 North American Nations Cup match against the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Torrance, California Torrance is a city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area located in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay region of the m ...

. He was named

Mississauga Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...

's Professional Athlete of the Year in 1980, and he was inducted into the

Mississauga Sports Hall of Fame Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...

in 1995.

Managerial career

On 8 April 2010, Gray was appointed the head coach for the

Tacoma F.C. Sound FC is an American soccer team based in Tacoma, Washington. Founded in 2006, the team most recently played in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. History 2006–2009: Playoffs The Tacoma team was introduced i ...

of the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syste ...

International goals

:''Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first.''

References

External links

* / Canada Soccer Hall of Fame *
NASL/MISL stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Gerry 1961 births Living people People from Possilpark Footballers from Glasgow Soccer players from Mississauga Scottish emigrants to Canada Naturalized citizens of Canada Association football midfielders Canadian soccer coaches Canadian soccer players Canada men's international soccer players Canadian expatriate soccer players Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Canada Soccer Hall of Fame inductees Canadian Soccer League (1987–1992) players Chicago Sting (NASL) players Chicago Sting (MISL) players Kansas City Comets (original MISL) players 1986 FIFA World Cup players Olympic soccer players of Canada Footballers at the 1984 Summer Olympics Hamilton Steelers (1981–1992) players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players Montreal Manic players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players New York Cosmos players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Ottawa Intrepid players St. Louis Steamers (original MISL) players Tacoma Stars players Toronto Blizzard (1986–1993) players Vancouver Whitecaps (1974–1984) players Expatriate soccer players in the United States Canada men's youth international soccer players