| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William Patrick Gray[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1927-05-24)24 May 1927 | ||
| Place of birth | Dinnington, England | ||
| Date of death | 11 April 2011(2011-04-11) (aged 83)[1] | ||
| Place of death | Aspley, England | ||
| Position(s) | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| –1947 | Dinnington Colliery | ||
| 1947–1948 | Leyton Orient | 19 | (1) |
| 1948–1953 | Chelsea | 146 | (12) |
| 1953–1957 | Burnley | 120 | (30) |
| 1957–1963 | Nottingham Forest | 201 | (29) |
| 1963–1965 | Millwall | 20 | (1) |
| Total | 506 | (73) | |
| International career | |||
| 1950 | England B | 1 | (1) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1963–1966 | Millwall | ||
| 1966–1967 | Brentford | ||
| 1967–1968 | Notts County | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
William Patrick Gray (24 May 1927 – 11 April 2011) was an English professionalfootballer andmanager who made over 500Football League appearances in avariety of positions forNottingham Forest,Chelsea,Burnley,Millwall andLeyton Orient. He began his short management career while still a player with Millwall and later managedBrentford andNotts County.[2] Gray was capped byEngland B at international level.[2]
Anoutside right, Gray began his career with hometown Newcastle & District League club Dinnington Colliery and got his start inleague football withThird Division South clubLeyton Orient in May 1947.[2] He failed to make an impact atBrisbane Road, but made a surprise transfer toFirst Division clubChelsea for a nominal fee in March 1949.[2] Gray made 172 appearances and scored 14 goals in just over four seasons at Stamford Bridge,[3] before moving to First Division rivalsBurnley for a £16,000 fee in August 1953.[2] He made 130 appearances and scored 32 goals during four seasons atTurf Moor.[4]
At age 30, Gray transferred to top-flight clubNottingham Forest for a £4,500 fee in June 1957.[5] In 1958, managerBilly Walker moved Gray from outside toinside forward and he became the team's playmaker andpenalty taker, scoring three penalties in Forest's run to the1959 FA Cup Final and setting upTommy Wilson's winning goal in the 2–1 victory in the final overLuton Town.[2] Over time, Gray was moved toleft back and proved effective in the position, before departing theCity Ground at age 36 in November 1963.[2] In six seasons with Forest, Gray made 228 appearances and scored 35 goals.[6] He moved toThird Division strugglersMillwall asplayer-manager in November 1963 and after the club's relegation to theFourth Division at the end of the1963–64 season,[2] he played a bit-part role as a player in the Lions' immediate return to the Third Division at the first attempt.[7] Gray retired at the end of the1964–65 season.[8] He made a brief comeback forBrentford Reserves in early 1967.[9]
Gray won one cap forEngland B and scored in a 5–0 victory overSwitzerland in January 1950.[2]
Gray took over Third Division strugglers Millwall as player-manager in November 1963 and despite relegation to the Fourth Division, he guided the club to successive promotions during the 1964–65 and1965–66 seasons.[2] A falling-out with the club's directors led to his departure fromThe Den in May 1966, after promotion had been secured.[8] With five matches of the1965–66 season still to play, Gray moved acrossLondon to take over as manager of Third Division strugglersBrentford, but failed to save the Bees from relegation to the Fourth Division.[10] He kept the cash-strapped club afloat in mid-table for the majority of the1966-67 season,[11] before following chairmanJack Dunnett out ofGriffin Park toNotts County in March 1967.[10] He remained atMeadow Lane until September 1968.[12]
After leaving football management in 1968, Gray later worked as agroundsman at Meadow Lane and the City Ground.[2][10]
Gray was married and had five children.[13] His nephew wasJohn Richardson, whom he managed at Millwall and Brentford.[14] On retirement from football management, Gray ran agrocers on Wollaton Road inNottingham and he later ran afish and chip shop inBeeston Rylands.[13]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Chelsea | 1948–49[3] | First Division | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
| 1949–50[3] | First Division | 39 | 2 | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | 46 | 2 | ||||
| 1950–51[3] | First Division | 31 | 6 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | 36 | 6 | ||||
| 1951–52[3] | First Division | 42 | 1 | 9 | 3 | — | — | — | 51 | 4 | ||||
| 1952–53[3] | First Division | 32 | 3 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | 37 | 3 | ||||
| Total | 146 | 12 | 26 | 3 | — | — | — | 172 | 15 | |||||
| Burnley | 1953–54[4] | First Division | 42 | 19 | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | 45 | 20 | |||
| 1954–55[4] | First Division | 40 | 8 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 41 | 8 | ||||
| 1955–56[4] | First Division | 31 | 2 | 6 | 1 | — | — | — | 37 | 3 | ||||
| 1956–57[4] | First Division | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 7 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 120 | 30 | 10 | 2 | — | — | — | 130 | 32 | |||||
| Nottingham Forest | 1957–58[6] | First Division | 35 | 9 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 38 | 9 | ||
| 1958–59[6] | First Division | 40 | 7 | 9 | 5 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 49 | 12 | |||
| 1959–60[6] | First Division | 37 | 7 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 3[a] | 1 | 41 | 8 | |||
| 1960–61[6] | First Division | 30 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 1[b] | 0 | 34 | 3 | ||
| 1961–62[6] | First Division | 34 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | 2[6] | 0 | 40 | 2 | |
| 1962–63[6] | First Division | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 26 | 1 | ||
| Total | 201 | 29 | 17 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 228 | 35 | ||
| Millwall | 1963–64[15] | Third Division | 12 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 12 | 1 | ||||
| 1964–65[7] | Fourth Division | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 | |||
| Total | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 21 | 1 | ||||
| Career total | 487 | 71 | 53 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 551 | 83 | ||
| Team | From | To | Record | Ref | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Millwall | 1 November 1963 | 8 May 1966 | 138 | 68 | 40 | 30 | 049.28 | [16] |
| Brentford | 2 May 1966 | March 1967 | 42 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 035.71 | [17] |
| Notts County | March 1967 | September 1968 | 51 | 15 | 13 | 23 | 029.41 | [18] |
| Total | 231 | 98 | 65 | 68 | 042.42 | — | ||
Nottingham Forest
Millwall
Brentford