Gerald Gurr (born 20 October 1946 in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

) is an English former

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

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

Playing career

Gurr began his career at

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

as a young player, initially as a forward player, in 1962 before moving to join

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

's academy in 1963. While at QPR, Gurr had trials at other league clubs including

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

and

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...

. After leaving QPR he joined

Guildford City Guildford City Football Club (formerly Guildford United and AFC Guildford) is a football club based in Guildford, Surrey, England. The club was established in 1921, folded in 1974 and was reformed in 1996. Guildford City play in the . Histo ...

in late 1963. While playing for Guildford he was spotted by

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

and handed a trial in January 1964. This trial proved successful, and he joined Southampton as a professional later that year. However, it was to be another three years before Gurr made his debut for Southampton against Leicester City at The Dell on 14 January 1967 in a 4–4 draw. In this game the then 20-year-old Gurr saved a penalty. His performance in this game despite conceding four times was good with manager Ted Bates promising the young keeper that he would keep his place. However, an injury meant he missed out and on his return in a reserve friendly against local rivals

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

he again performed well, but not well enough to stop manager Bates signing Eric Martin from

Dunfermline Athletic Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently play in Scottish League One after being relegated from the 2021–22 Scottish Championship. Dunfermline ...

. It would be 20 months before Gurr got a chance in the First Division again. Gurr's performances over the 1968–69 season and at the beginning of the 1969–70 season were significant enough for some suggestions that he should receive a call-up to the

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

side; however, injury would again provide a cruel blow with a shoulder injury effectively ending his Southampton career and international hopes. Gurr made 49 appearances in all competitions for Southampton, with 42 of those in the league. After Southampton, Gurr was persuaded to move to Fourth Division

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alders ...

, then managed by former Southampton teammate

Jimmy Melia James Melia (born 1 November 1937) is an English former footballer who spent most of his career playing for Liverpool and went on to become a manager. Playing career Liverpool Melia joined the Reds straight from St. Anthony's School as a 15- ...

. He played 55 league games in the Fourth Division under Melia before ending his football career in 1972.

After football

Gurr had always been an accomplished musician, having played the guitar since the age of eight, and while at Southampton had assembled a band called "The Sunsets" with teammates Mick Judd and Dave Paton. He now lives with his wife, Lee Ann, and daughter, and is now writing and recording his own material after being on the road with his wife for many years in many musical guises.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gurr, Gerry 1946 births Living people English men's footballers Guildford City F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Aldershot Town F.C. players English Football League players Men's association football goalkeepers Footballers from Brighton