Frank Grayer (13 February 1890 – 21 January 1961) 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 lea ...

who played as a full-back for

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

and

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

in the period prior to

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Football career

Grayer was born in

. He was educated at St. Denys school and played football for the school and later with St Mary's Athletic. Described as "''a modest and unassuming youngster''", he was selected to join

's professional staff after a successful trial in August 1908. He spent his early years at The Dell playing in the reserves and it was not until two days before his 21st birthday, on 11 February 1911, that he eventually made his first-team debut in a Southern League match at

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...

, replacing Jack Eastham at

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

. Although he was a "''solid, reliable performer at full back with a good turn of speed''", he found first-team chances hard to come by, making only six appearances in his four years with the "Saints". The return of Dan Gordon in 1911 reduced his chances of regular football even further and in July 1912, the Saints accepted an offer of £100 from

of the

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was the top division of the Football League in England from 1888 until the end of the 1991–92 season, when its teams broke away to form the Premier League. From 1992 to 2004, the name First Division was g ...

. On

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial and metropolitan county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south, the Wales, Welsh county of Flintshire across ...

, he again found few opportunities of first-team football and in three seasons at

Anfield Anfield is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Anfield (suburb), Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since its formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276, making it the ...

, his only

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

appearance came on 15 April 1914 when he replaced regular right-back Ephraim Longworth in a 2–1 defeat against

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

Later career

During

, he enlisted in the Army and was badly injured at

Ypres Ypres ( ; ; ; ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres/Ieper ...

. He never fully recovered from his injuries and was unable to resume his football career after the cessation of hostilities. Instead, he found employment with a furniture company, Shepherd & Hedger, where he remained until his retirement in 1955.

Notes

References

External links

Profile
at LFCHistory.net {{DEFAULTSORT:Grayer, Frank 1890 births 1961 deaths Footballers from Southampton English men's footballers Men's association football fullbacks Southampton F.C. players Liverpool F.C. players English Football League players Southern Football League players British Army personnel of World War I 20th-century English sportsmen