Edward Gaskell (19 December 1916 – 10 February 2009) 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 lea ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

. He is best remembered for his time in the

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 ...

with

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

, with whom he had a 15-year association as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), 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 i ...

and coach. He also held coaching positions at

non-League Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

clubs

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the London Borough of Barnet, northwest London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient Manorialism, manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has ...

Wealdstone Wealdstone () is a district located in the centre of the London Borough of Harrow, England. It is located just north of Harrow, London, Harrow town centre and is south of Harrow Weald, west of Belmont, Harrow, Belmont and Kenton, London, Kenton, ...

Southall Southall () is a large suburban town in West London, England, part of the London Borough of Ealing and is one of its seven major towns. It is situated west of Charing Cross and had a population of 69,857 as of 2011. It is generally divided ...

and with the

Football Association A football association, also known as a football federation, soccer federation, or soccer association, is a governing body for association football. Many of them are members of the sport's regional bodies such as UEFA and CONMEBOL and the world gov ...

Lilleshall Lilleshall is a village and civil parish in the Telford and Wrekin borough of Shropshire, England. It lies between the towns of Telford and Newport, on the A518, in the Wrekin constituency. There is one school in the centre of the village. ...

Playing career

Early years

, Gaskell began his career playing for local club Romiley St Chad's, before moving to

club

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in EFL League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton ...

, for whom he failed to make an appearance. He moved to

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

club Chesterfield in June 1936 and departed the following year, again without making an appearance. After writing to every Cheshire League club in a bid to find a new club, Gaskell was offered a trial at

Buxton Buxton is a spa town in the High Peak, Derbyshire, Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, in the East Midlands region of England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.Alston, Cumbria also claims this, but lacks a regu ...

in 1937 and remained with the club for a short period.

Brentford

After spurning interest from

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

and declining a trial with

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 ...

, Gaskell joined

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

club

on 30 October 1937 for a £500 fee. Third-choice behind James Mathieson and

Joe Crozier Joseph Richard Crozier (February 19, 1929 – October 11, 2022) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and head coach who played and coached primarily in the minor leagues. After playing the better part of 12 seasons in the minor leag ...

, 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 The Football Combination was a football competition for the reserve teams of English Football League clubs from Southern England, the Midlands and Wales; other clubs from the Midlands and those from the North playing in the Central League (it is ...

match for the reserves in 1938. In the meantime, manager Harry Curtis brought in Frank Clack, which pushed Gaskell even further down the pecking order. Gaskell ultimately failed to make a professional appearance for the club before the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in September 1939 saw professional football suspended. He remained with the club for a short time during the early part of the war and suffered the ignominy of conceding seven goals in the last 25 minutes of a

West London derby The West London derby is the name given to a football derby played between any two of Brentford, Chelsea, Fulham and Queens Park Rangers, all of whom are situated within West London. This particular derby is less prominent than other such derb ...

with

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

in December 1939. Following the end of hostilities in 1945 and past what he felt were his prime years, 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, which came over a decade since he signed for the club, in a 2–1 Second Division defeat to former club

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

. He managed just one further appearance during the 1947–48 season and just one in the following campaign. In recognition of over 10 years' service, Gaskell was given a benefit cheque for £750 in 1948 (worth £ in ). First-choice goalkeeper Joe Crozier departed

Griffin Park Griffin Park was a association football, football ground in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow, England. It was the home ground of Brentford F.C. from its opening in September 1904 to August 2020. The ground was in a predominantly resi ...

in May 1949 and Gaskell took over the position and played the first 14 games of the 1949–50 season, before suffering a

kidney In humans, the kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped blood-filtering organ (anatomy), organs that are a multilobar, multipapillary form of mammalian kidneys, usually without signs of external lobulation. They are located on the left and rig ...

injury in a 1–0 defeat to

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

on 22 October 1949. He failed to make another appearance during the 1949–50 season and lost his place in the team to Alf Jefferies. 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. 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 The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

run. He made up his mind to retire at the end of the season and despite manager Jackie Gibbons trying to persuade him otherwise, Gaskell retired in May 1952. He made just 38 appearances during 15 years with the Bees. He was awarded a joint-

testimonial In promotion and advertising, a testimonial or show consists of a person's written or spoken statement extolling the virtue of a product. The term "testimonial" most commonly applies to the sales-pitches attributed to ordinary citizens, whe ...

with Tom Manley in April 1954. Gaskell returned to Griffin Park in 2004, as part of the celebrations for the ground's 100th anniversary. At the time of his death in February 2009, Gaskell was Brentford's last-surviving pre-war player and he was posthumously inducted into the club's

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

in 2019.

Representative career

While with Buxton in 1937, Gaskell represented the Cheshire League representative team against their Southern League counterparts in the annual fixture between the two leagues.

Managerial and coaching career

Non-League football

Gaskell served as manager of

Athenian League The Athenian League was an England, English amateur association football, football league for clubs in and around London. The league was originally to be called the Corinthian League,Athenian Football League minutes 1912-1921 (National Football ...

clubs

and

in the mid-1950s.

Football Association

In the mid-1950s, Gaskell was one of the first instructors at

, at the time the FA's youth academy. He also took up an offer from former Brentford teammate George Smith to train and coach the

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

team at

Bisham Abbey Bisham Abbey is a Grade I listed manor house at Bisham in the English county of Berkshire. The name is taken from the now lost monastery which once stood alongside. This original Bisham Abbey was previously named Bisham Priory, and was the t ...

before international matches. Then-England manager

Walter Winterbottom Sir Walter Winterbottom (31 March 1913 – 16 February 2002) was an English football player and coach. He was the first manager of the England national team (1946–1962) and Director of Coaching for The Football Association (the FA). He r ...

included Gaskell in a coaching programme which visited schools around England and he also coached for the

London FA The London Football Association (LFA) is the regional Football Association for inner areas of London. The London FA was established in 1882 and is affiliated to The Football Association. The London FA administers all levels of men's, women's and ...

Brentford 'A'

In 1959, Brentford manager

Malky McDonald Malcolm MacDonald (26 October 1913 – 26 September 1999) was a Scottish professional footballer and manager, best remembered for his time as a utility player with Celtic and as a manager with Kilmarnock and Brentford. MacDonald managed the Sco ...

appointed Gaskell manager of the Brentford 'A', the club's third team. Two unremarkable seasons followed in the Seanglian League, though Gaskell identified future first team successes Peter Gelson, Tommy Higginson and John Docherty and played them in the team while they were progressing through the

youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood (Maturity (psychological), maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as bei ...

and reserve ranks.

Personal life

Gaskell was a

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

supporter. While playing

non-League football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

with Buxton, he combined his playing duties with digging holes for the local council. During his early period at Brentford, Gaskell shared a house in Windmill Road with Ted Farrelly. Gaskell served as PT Instructor at

Aldershot Barracks The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Gurkhas, 25,742 volunteer reserve personnel and 4,697 "other personnel", for a total of 108,41 ...

during the Second World War and was friends with

Frank Swift Frank Victor Swift (26 December 1913 – 6 February 1958) was an English footballer, who played as a goalkeeper for Manchester City and England. After starting his career with Fleetwood, near his hometown of Blackpool, in 1932 he was signed by ...

and

Matt Busby Sir Alexander Matthew Busby (26 May 1909 – 20 January 1994) was a Scottish football player and manager, who managed Manchester United between 1945 and 1969 and again for the second half of the 1970–71 season. He was the first manager of an E ...

while there. In later life, Gaskell worked for Platt's Grocers in

Hounslow Hounslow ( ) is a large suburban district of West London, England, west-southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hounslow, and is identified in the London Plan as one of the 14 metropolitan cen ...

and later for the

Customs service Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out of a country. Traditionally, customs ...

for 20 years. As of June 2004, he was retired and living in

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

. Gaskell married Patience in 1944 and they had six children – Paul, Clare, Julia, Philip, Sally and Lynn.

Career statistics

Honours

Hendon *

: 1952–53 Individual * Brentford Hall of Fame

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaskell, Ted 1916 births People from Bredbury Footballers from Greater Manchester Sportspeople from the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport English men's footballers Brentford F.C. players English Football League players Stockport County F.C. players Chesterfield F.C. players Buxton F.C. players Men's association football goalkeepers 2009 deaths Hendon F.C. managers Wealdstone F.C. managers Southall F.C. managers Brentford F.C. non-playing staff English football managers Military personnel from Manchester British Army personnel of World War II Royal Army Physical Training Corps soldiers 20th-century English sportsmen