Gerald Ward (5 October 1936 – January 1994) 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 ...

. Born in

Stepney Stepney is a district in the East End of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The district is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name appl ...

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, Ward joined

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 trainee in 1952 and was quickly propelled into the first team. He made his debut on the left wing in a home match against

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. The ...

on 22 August 1953 at the age of 16 years and 321 days, this made him at the time Arsenal's youngest-ever player (since surpassed by

Jermaine Pennant Jermaine Lloyd Pennant (born 15 January 1983) is an English former professional association football, footballer who played as a midfielder#Winger, winger. Pennant made over 350 league appearances for 15 clubs, and scored 25 league goals. Born ...

and then

Cesc Fàbregas Francesc "Cesc" Fàbregas Soler (; ; born 4 May 1987) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Italian Serie B club Como. Fàbregas came through ''La Masia'', Barcelona's youth academy, leaving at 16 when h ...

), and until 2008 he held the record for Arsenal's youngest-ever player in a league match, a record now held by

Jack Wilshere Jack Andrew Garry Wilshere (born 1 January 1992) is an English football coach and former professional player who played as a midfielder. He is the current head coach of the Arsenal U18s. Wilshere came up through Arsenal's youth academy and i ...

. As Wilshere's appearance was as a substitute, Ward remains the youngest Arsenal player to ever start a league match. Ward turned professional soon after his debut and made two more appearances in the 1953-54 season. However, he did not play for Arsenal for another four years after that; a large portion of that time was spent doing

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The l ...

, which prevented him from playing. He was demobbed in February 1957 and regained his place in the 1957-58 season, becoming a regular in 1958-59 at wing half. However, with competition from

Tommy Docherty Thomas Henderson Docherty (24 April 1928 – 31 December 2020), commonly known as The Doc, was a Scottish football player and manager. Docherty played for several clubs, most notably Preston North End, and represented Scotland 25 times betwe ...

he was only a bit-part player between 1960 and 1963, making just 21 appearances over the three seasons. He left Arsenal in July 1963 for

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 professio ...

; in all he played 84 times for Arsenal, scoring ten goals. He spent one season at Orient, making 44 appearances and scoring two goals. He had a career in non-league football after that, playing for both Cambridge City and

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) * Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; an ...

, whom he also managed for a brief period between 1973 and 1974. He died in 1994, aged 57.

References

* 1936 births 1994 deaths Footballers from Stepney English footballers Arsenal F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players English football managers Barnet F.C. managers Cambridge City F.C. players Barnet F.C. players Association football midfielders {{England-footy-midfielder-1930s-stub