José Augustin "Joe" Gallego (8 April 1923 – 17 September 2006), was a Spanish

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 played as an

outside 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 ...

for various clubs in the

English 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 Engl ...

in the 1940s and 1950s.

Football career

Gallego was born in

Errenteria Errenteria ( eu, Errenteria/Orereta, es, Rentería) is a town located in the province of Gipuzkoa in the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Autonomous Community, in the north of Spain, near the French border. The river Oiartzun (rive ...

in the Basque Country in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. His father was a Spanish government worker who fled to England as a refugee in 1937 during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...

. Gallego arrived in England as a 14-year-old along with his three sisters and his younger brother, Antonio (Tony), who was also to have a short career as a professional footballer, 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 ...

with

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 ...

. Some of the other refugees also became footballers, including

Raimundo Pérez Lezama Raimundo Pérez Lezama (29 November 1922 – 23 July 2007) was a Spanish footballer who played as a goalkeeper. After beginning his professional career in England, he returned to his country, going on to later represent, mainly, Athletic Bilba ...

Sabino Barinaga Sabino Barinaga Alberdi (15 August 1922 – 19 March 1988) was a Spanish football forward and manager. He appeared in 205 La Liga matches and scored 92 goals over 13 seasons, almost exclusively for Real Madrid. He later embarked on a manager ...

and Emilio Aldecoa. The family settled in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

where José first played football with Cambridge Town in 1942. In 1945, he was joined by Antonio in the Cambridge Town side, now coached by former

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

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

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 ...

forward

Vic Watson Victor Martin Watson (10 November 1897 – 3 August 1988) was an English professional footballer who played most of his club football for West Ham United. Playing career Watson, a centre forward, played 505 times for West Ham between 1920 and ...

and in 1946 the team won the

East Anglian Cup The East Anglian Cup was a football competition that embraced East Anglian clubs in Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk, but also included clubs from a much wider geographical area, from Boston and Louth in Lincolnshire down to Oxford City, Chelsea and Gil ...

. In January 1947, Gallego moved to Brentford of the

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third t ...

, where he stayed for a season and a half, making six league appearances. In the summer of 1948, he moved to fellow Second Division club,

. Although he scored on his debut for the reserve team, he made only one first-team appearance when he replaced the injured

Wilf Grant Wilfred Grant (3 August 1920 – 17 July 1990) was an English professional footballer who played as a forward for Southampton, Cardiff City and Ipswich Town. Playing career Early career Grant was born in Bedlington and as a youth played for ...

outside-left Forwards (also known as attackers) are Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring Goal (sport)#Association footbal ...

in a 3–0 defeat at Barnsley on 2 October 1948. Gallego was the seventh player that season to have worn the No. 11 shirt, before Grant returned for the next match. Although his debut was described as "most promising" and "deserving another try", Gallego suffered from a cracked ankle after being given a "hard time" by the Barnsley full-back and decided to quit full-time professional football. Southampton tried to sell him to

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

in the summer of 1950, but Gallego refused and instead joined

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...

along with his Southampton team–mate

Bill Rochford William Rochford (27 May 1913 – 9 March 1984) was an English footballer. A member of the Portsmouth F.C., Portsmouth team that won the 1939 FA Cup Final, 1939 FA Cup, he played over 100 matches for Portsmouth and for their south coast rivals, ...

. Colchester were embarking on their first season in the Football League, but Gallego only made four appearances before dropping down to non-league football. He then enjoyed six seasons of part-time football back at Cambridge, this time with

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on Ne ...

and played minor league football until after his 50th birthday.

Career outside football

Gallego worked for thirty years for the Gas Board in Cambridge as a meter inspector and continued to play golf until well after his 80th birthday. Gallego died on 17 September 2006 at the age of 83.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gallego, Jose 1923 births People from Errenteria 2006 deaths Spanish men's footballers Cambridge City F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Colchester United F.C. players Cambridge United F.C. players Biggleswade Town F.C. players Spanish expatriate men's footballers Spanish expatriate sportspeople in England Exiles of the Spanish Civil War in the United Kingdom English Football League players Expatriate men's footballers in England Footballers from Cambridge Spanish refugees Men's association football outside forwards Footballers from Gipuzkoa