Gerald Cakebread OBE (1 April 1936 – 16 September 2009) 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 ...

who made over 340 appearances in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

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 ...

. He remained a part-time player throughout his professional career. Cakebread was posthumously inducted into the Brentford

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

in May 2015 and was described as "arguably Brentford's finest ever goalkeeper".

Club career

Brentford

Cakebread began his career as a junior at the club he supported as a boy,

. He was a part of the

youth team In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team in the future i ...

which reached the semi-finals of the

FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...

during the 1951–52 season. During his

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 ...

, Cakebread was preferred to future England international goalkeeper

Eddie Hopkinson Edward Hopkinson (29 October 1935 – 25 April 2004) was an English association football, football goalkeeper (football), goalkeeper. He was born in Wheatley Hill, near Peterlee, County Durham. During his club career he played for Oldham At ...

by the selectors of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

representative team. While still an amateur, Cakebread made his first team debut in a 1–0

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 ...

defeat to

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

on 23 October 1954. He made two further appearances during the 1954–55 season, while working a job outside football. At the end of the campaign, Cakebread declined to sign a full professional contract and instead signed semi-professional terms. For the 1955–56 season manager Bill Dodgin named Cakebread his first choice goalkeeper ahead of

Sonny Feehan John Ignatius "Sonny" Feehan (17 September 1926 – 11 March 1995) was an Irish footballer who played as a goalkeeper for several clubs in both Ireland and England. Born in Dublin, Feehan began his football career as an amateur with Dublin-bas ...

. Over five of the next six seasons, Cakebread would go on to make over 45 appearances a season and set a club record for consecutive appearances, playing 187 games in a row between November 1958 and March 1963. His run was ended by a leg injury, which saw him miss the rest of Brentford's 1962–63 Fourth Division title-winning season. Cakebread returned to action for the club's record 9–0 win over

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

on 15 October 1963, replacing Fred Ryecraft in the lineup. After a run of five games, he lost his place to Chic Brodie and made just one further appearance during the 1963–64 season. He played what would be his final game for the club in 2–2 draw with West London rivals

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 ...

on 20 March 1964. Cakebread dropped into the reserves for the 1964–65 season and won the

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- ...

with the team. He departed Griffin Park in June 1965, having made 374 appearances, a total which places him eighth on the club's all-time list. Cakebread was posthumously inducted into the Brentford

in May 2015.

Hillingdon Borough

After his departure from Brentford, Cakebread dropped into

non-League football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

and signed for Southern League First Division club Hillingdon Borough. He helped the club to a second-place finish and promotion to the Premier Division in the 1965–66 season.

Taunton Town

Cakebread joined Western League club

Taunton Town Taunton Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Taunton, Somerset. They compete in the , the sixth tier of English football and play their home matches at Wordsworth Drive, which they moved into during the 1953 season. ...

in the late 1960s and played a part in the club's 1968–69 league title success.

Barnstaple Town

Cakebread had a short spell with Western League club Barnstaple Town, whom he joined in 1969.

Minehead

Cakebread signed for Southern League First Division South club

Minehead Minehead is a coastal town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It lies on the south bank of the Bristol Channel, north-west of the county town of Taunton, from the boundary with the county of Devon and in proximity of the Exmoor National P ...

on a short-term emergency deal for the final game of the 1975–76 season. Needing a draw against second-place

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...

to win the league title, Cakebread kept a clean sheet in a 2–0 win.

International career

Cakebread won three caps for

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 ...

youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. You ...

level. He was twice named in the U23 squad, but did not play.

Personal life

Cakebread worked for the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

during and after his football career as a

draughtsman A draughtsman (British spelling) or draftsman (American spelling) may refer to: * An architectural drafter, who produced architectural drawings until the late 20th century * An artist who produces drawings that rival or surpass their other types ...

. He was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in the 1994 Birthday Honours for his work on Hydrographics at the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

. He died in September 2009, after a long illness.

Career statistics

Honours

Brentford *

Football League Fourth Division The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Whilst the division disappeared in name ...

: 1962–63 *

: 1964–65 Hillingdon Borough * Southern League First Division second-place promotion: 1965–66 Taunton Town * Western League: 1968–69 Individual * Brentford Hall of Fame

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cakebread, Gerry English footballers English Football League players Brentford F.C. players Southall F.C. players 1936 births 2009 deaths Officers of the Order of the British Empire Footballers from Acton, London Association football goalkeepers Hillingdon Borough F.C. players Taunton Town F.C. players Southern Football League players Western Football League players England youth international footballers Barnstaple Town F.C. players Minehead A.F.C. players