Roy Gratrix (9 February 1932 – 2002) was an English professional

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 ...

. He played as a defender. Gratrix began his professional career with Blackpool as a 20-year-old in September 1952, joining from

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

side Taylor Bros. He made his debut for Blackpool on 13 March 1954, succeeding

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Bloomfield Road Bloomfield Road is a single-tier football stadium in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Blackpool F.C. since 1901. It is the third stadium in the club's existence, the previous two being Raikes Hall Gardens and the At ...

. The following campaign, 1954–55, he retained his position, teaming-up with Tommy Garrett, although occasionally being asked to play at left-back. In 1955–56, with

Harry Johnston Sir Henry Hamilton Johnston (12 June 1858 – 31 July 1927), known as Harry Johnston, was a British explorer, botanist, artist, colonial administrator, and linguist who travelled widely in Africa and spoke many African languages. He publishe ...

leaving to manage

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, Gratrix moved to centre-half and remained there for the rest of his career. Also during the 1955–56 season, Gratrix represented England at " B" level, playing against Switzerland at The Dell. England B won 4–1.England - International Results B-Team - Details
- RSSSF.com For the 1956–57 campaign, Gratrix was an ever-present in Blackpool's 46 league and cup fixtures, helping them to their second consecutive top-four finish in Division One. He repeated the feat the following season and also in 1961–62 (52 league and cup games). On 19 October 1957, Gratrix had the chance to open his scoring account with the club. He took a penalty against Manchester United at Bloomfield Road, but he put it over the bar. He remained without a goal in his 436 games for Blackpool. In 1964, after eleven years and four hundred league appearances for Blackpool, Gratrix was sold to Manchester City. He made fifteen league appearances for City before trying his hand at playing in Canada with

Toronto City Toronto City was a Canadian soccer team based in Toronto, Ontario. Between 1961 and 1967, teams using this name competed in both the Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League and the United Soccer Association. History ECPSL In 1961, along with ...

, where he finally experienced the sweet sensation of scoring a goal (away v Montreal Italica, 4 July 1965). He returned to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

to finish his playing career with Welsh club Bangor City and Lancashire Combination club

Fleetwood Fleetwood is a coastal town in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England, at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 25,939 at the 2011 census. Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830s, when the principal lando ...

, who were at that time managed by his old Blackpool team mate Jimmy Kelly. Gratrix died in 2002.

References

;Specific ;General
Gratrix's Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Transfer Database profile's statistics site
* 1932 births 2002 deaths Footballers from Salford English men's footballers Blackpool F.C. players Manchester City F.C. players England men's B international footballers English Football League players English Football League representative players Men's association football central defenders Bangor City F.C. players Fleetwood Town F.C. players Toronto City players English expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada English expatriate sportspeople in Canada Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League players {{England-footy-defender-1930s-stub