Gerry Cakebread
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Gerald Cakebread[1] | ||
Date of birth | 1 April 1936 | ||
Place of birth | Acton, England | ||
Date of death | 24 September 2009 | (aged 73)||
Place of death | Taunton, England[1] | ||
Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1954–1964 | Brentford | 348 | (0) |
1965–1967 | Hillingdon Borough | ||
1966–1969 | Taunton Town | ||
Barnstaple Town | |||
1976 | Minehead | ||
International career | |||
1954 | England Youth | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Gerald "Gerry" Cakebread OBE (1 April 1936 – 24 September 2009) was an English football goalkeeper who played in the Football League for Brentford. He remained a part-time player throughout his professional career.[2] Cakebread was posthumously inducted into the Brentford Hall of Fame in May 2015.[3]
Club career
Brentford
Cakebread began his career as a junior at the club he supported as a boy, Brentford.[2] He was a part of the youth team which reached the semi-finals of the FA Youth Cup during the 1951/52 season.[2] During his National Service, Cakebread was preferred to future England international goalkeeper Eddie Hopkinson by the selectors of the Royal Air Force representative team.[4] While still an amateur, Cakebread made his first team debut in a 1-0 Division Three South defeat to Norwich City on 23 October 1954.[5] He made two further appearances during the 1954/55 season, while working a job outside football.[2] At the end of the campaign, Cakebread declined to sign a full professional contract and instead signed semi-professional terms.[2] For the 1955/56 season manager Bill Dodgin named Cakebread his first choice goalkeeper ahead of Sonny Feehan.[2]
Over five of the next six seasons, Cakebread would go on to make over 45 appearances a season and set a club record for consecutive appearances, playing 187 games in a row between November 1958 and March 1963.[2][6] His run was ended by a leg injury, which saw him miss the rest of Brentford's 1962/63 Division Four title-winning season.[2] Cakebread returned to action for the club's record 9-0 win over Wrexham on 15 October 1963, replacing Bill Slater in the lineup.[7] After a run of five games, he lost his place to Chic Brodie and made just one further appearance during the 1963/64 season, playing what would be his final game for the club in 2-2 draw with West London rivals Queens Park Rangers on 20 March 1964.[8] Cakebread dropped into the reserve team for the 1964/65 season and won the London Challenge Cup with the side.[9][10] He departed Griffin Park in June 1965, having made 374 appearances, a total which sees him eighth on the club's all-time list.[2] Cakebread was posthumously inducted into the Brentford Hall of Fame in May 2015.[3]
Hillingdon Borough
After his departure from Brentford, Cakebread dropped into non-league football and signed for Southern League Division One side Hillingdon Borough.[2] He helped the club to a second-place finish and promotion to the Premier Division in the 1965/66 season.[2]
Taunton Town
Cakebread joined Western League side Taunton Town in the late 1960s and played a part in the club's 1968/69 league title success.[2]
Barnstaple Town
Cakebread had a short spell with Western League side Barnstaple Town, joining in 1969.[11]
Minehead
Cakebread signed for Southern League Division One South club Minehead on a short-term emergency deal for the final game of the 1975/76 season. Needing a draw against second-place Dartford to win the league title, Cakebread kept a clean sheet in a 2-0 win.
International career
Cakebread won caps for England at youth level. He was twice named in the U23 squad, but did not play.[12]
Personal life
Cakebread worked for the Admiralty during his football career and beyond as a draughtsman.[11][12] He was awarded an OBE in 1995 for his work on Hydrographics at the Ministry of Defence.[12]
Honours
As a player
- Western League: 1968/69[2]
As an individual
References
- ^ a b "Barry Hugman's Footballers - Gerry Cakebread". hugmansfootballers.com. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920-2006. Harefield: Yore Publications. p. 33. ISBN 978-0955294914.
- ^ a b c Chris Wickham. "Kevin O'Connor and Marcus Gayle join others in being added to Brentford FC Hall of Fame". brentfordfc.co.uk. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
- ^ Official Brentford FC Matchday Programme versus Mansfield Town 1108/07. O Publishing. 2007. p. 46.
- ^ "Brentford Football Club History". brentfordfchistory.co.uk. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
- ^ "Brentford Football Club History". brentfordfchistory.co.uk. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
- ^ "Brentford Football Club History". brentfordfchistory.co.uk. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
- ^ "Brentford Football Club History". brentfordfchistory.co.uk. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
- ^ Haynes, Graham (1998). A-Z Of Bees: Brentford Encyclopaedia. Yore Publications. p. 46. ISBN 1 874427 57 7.
- ^ a b Haynes 1998, p. 82.
- ^ a b Official Matchday Magazine Of Brentford Football Club versus Oldham Athletic 14/08/99. Blackheath: Morganprint. 1999. p. 41.
- ^ a b c TW8 Matchday versus Oldham Athletic 25/08/03. London: The Yellow Printing Company Limited. pp. 32–33.
- English footballers
- The Football League players
- Brentford F.C. players
- 1936 births
- 2009 deaths
- Officers of the Order of the British Empire
- People from Acton, London
- Association football goalkeepers
- Hillingdon Borough F.C. players
- Taunton Town F.C. players
- Southern Football League players
- Western Football League players
- England youth international footballers
- Barnstaple Town F.C. players