Ted Gaskell
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Edward Gaskell[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 19 December 1916 | ||
| Place of birth | Bredbury, England | ||
| Date of death | 10 February 2009 (aged 92)[2] | ||
| Place of death | Maidenhead, England[2] | ||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Romiley St. Chad's | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| Stockport County | |||
| 1936–1937 | Chesterfield | ||
| Buxton | |||
| 1937–1952 | Brentford | 34 | (0) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1952–1954 | Hendon | ||
| Wealdstone | |||
| Southall | |||
| 1959–1961 | Brentford 'A' | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. | |||
Edward "Ted" Gaskell (19 December 1916 – 10 February 2009) was an English professional football goalkeeper, coach and manager. He is best remembered for his time in the Football League with Brentford, staying with the club for 15 years and managing the short-lived 'A' team. He also held coaching positions at non-league sides Hendon, Wealdstone, Southall and with the Football Association at Lilleshall.
Playing career
Early years
A goalkeeper, Gaskell began his career playing for local side Romiley St Chad's, before moving to Football League club Stockport County.[3] He secured a move to Division Two side Chesterfield in 1936 and departed the following year.[3] After writing to every Cheshire League side in a bid to find a new club, Gaskell was offered a trial at Buxton in 1937 and remained with the club for a short period.[3]
Brentford
After spurning interest from Aston Villa and declining a trial with Manchester United,[3] Gaskell signed for Division One side Brentford in 1937 for a £500 fee.[1][3] Third-choice behind Jimmy Mathieson and Joe Crozier, Gaskell's hopes of a quick first team debut were delayed due to being forced to undergo an operation to correct an injury suffered in a London Combination match for the reserves in 1938.[3] In the meantime, manager Harry Curtis brought in Frank Clack, pushing Gaskell even further down the pecking order.[3]
Gaskell ultimately failed to make a professional appearance for the club before the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939 saw professional football suspended.[1] He remained with the club for a short time during the early part of the war, suffering the ignominy of conceding seven goals in the last 25 minutes of a West London derby with Queens Park Rangers in December 1939.[3] Following the end of hostilities in 1945 and past what he felt were his prime years,[3] Gaskell still found himself behind Joe Crozier in the pecking order and had to wait until 27 December 1947 to make his debut for the Bees, over ten years after signing, which came in a 2–1 Division Two defeat to former club Leicester City.[4] He managed just one further appearance during the 1947–48 season and just one in the following campaign.[5]
In recognition of over ten years' service, Gaskell was given a benefit cheque for £750 in 1948.[3] Crozier departed Griffin Park in May 1949 and Gaskell took over the number one jersey, playing the first 14 games of the 1949–50 season,[5] before suffering a kidney injury in a 1–0 defeat to Leeds United on 22 October 1949.[3] He failed to make another appearance during the 1949–50 season and lost his place in the team to Alf Jefferies.[3] After recovering, Gaskell made just two appearances during the 1950–51 season and fell to third in the pecking order behind Jefferies and Reg Newton.[5] Gaskell managed a run of 19 appearances during the 1951–52 season, which included appearances in the third and fourth rounds of the Bees' FA Cup run.[6] He made up his mind to retire at the end of the season and despite manager Jackie Gibbons trying to persuade him otherwise, Gaskell called time on his career in May 1952.[3] He made just 38 appearances during 15 years with the Bees.[5] He was awarded a joint-testimonial with Tom Manley in April 1954.[1] Gaskell returned to Griffin Park in 2004, as part of the celebrations for the ground's 100th anniversary.[7]
Representative career
While with Buxton in 1937, Gaskell represented the Cheshire League against their Southern League counterparts in the annual fixture between the two leagues.[3]
Managerial and coaching career
Non-league football
Gaskell served as manager of Athenian League sides Hendon, Wealdstone and Southall in the mid-1950s.[8]
Football Association
In the mid-1950s, Gaskell was one of the first instructors at Lilleshall, at the time the FA's youth academy.[1] He also took up an offer from former Brentford teammate George Smith to train and coach the England team at Bisham Abbey before international matches.[3] Then-England manager Walter Winterbottom included Gaskell in a coaching programme which visited schools around England and he also coached for the London FA.[3]
Brentford 'A'
In 1959, Brentford manager Malky McDonald appointed Gaskell manager of the Brentford 'A', the club's third team.[1] Two unremarkable seasons followed in the Seanglian League, though Gaskell identified future first team stalwarts Peter Gelson, Tommy Higginson and John Docherty as they played for the team while progressing through the youth and reserve ranks.[1]
Personal life
Gaskell was a Manchester City supporter.[3] While playing Non-League football with Buxton, he combined his playing duties with digging holes for the local council.[3] During his early period at Brentford, Gaskell shared a house in Windmill Road with Ted Farrelly.[3] Gaskell served as PT Instructor at Aldershot Barracks during the Second World War and was friends with Frank Swift and Matt Busby while there.[3] In later life, Gaskell worked for Platt's Grocers in Hounslow and later for the Customs service for twenty years.[3] At the time of his death in February 2009, Gaskell was Brentford's last-surviving pre-war player.[9] Ted Gaskell married Patience Gaskell in 1944 and they had six children – Paul, Clare, Julia, Philip, Sally and Lynn.
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006. Harefield: Yore Publications. p. 62. ISBN 978-0955294914.
- 1 2 "Barry Hugman's Footballers - Ted Gaskell". hugmansfootballers.com. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Lane, David (2005). Cult Bees & Legends: Volume Two. Hampton Hill: Legends Publishing. pp. 98–115. ASIN B00NPZL58S. ISBN 0954368282.
- ↑ "Brentford Football Club History". brentfordfchistory.co.uk. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 "Brentford Football Club History". brentfordfchistory.co.uk. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
- ↑ "Brentford Football Club History". Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- ↑ "Bill, 100, to be at centenary walk of fame". Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- ↑ "Greensnet – Official Hendon FC: Former Staff – Ted Gaskell". Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- ↑ Vitalnetwork Ltd. "Brentford – Ted Gaskell". Retrieved 24 November 2014.