Ernie Gregory, who has died aged 90, was the goalkeeper for West Ham United in the 1940s and 1950s and later served on the coaching staff; his professional association with the club lasted for more than 50 years.
A Cockney born and bred, Gregory was a tall, rugged figure well capable of withstanding the robust challenges to which goalkeepers were subjected in the days before the laws of the game became more discriminating.
Ernie Gregory
In his book West Ham United: The Making of a Football Club (1986), Charles Korr remarks: “[Gregory] gave the impression of solid imperturbability, although anyone standing close enough to the West Ham goal might have heard some rather colourful language.”
Ernest Gregory was born on November 10 1921 in Stratford, east London, and as boy earned a reputation among his peers as a formidable streetfighter. His career in football was sealed when West Ham’s manager, Charlie Paynter, saw him in goal for West Ham Boys against Preston in the final of the English Boys’ Trophy at Upton Park.
Paynter went to the boy’s home, where Ernie’s mother told the manager that her son would soon be leaving school and would have to get a job — so he would not be playing much football in future. Paynter assured her that, as a member of West Ham’s ground staff, her son would be earning a wage. The Gregorys’ neighbours were delighted by the news and clubbed together to buy the boy a pair of shin pads.
Having joined West Ham in 1936, Gregory was briefly loaned to the east London amateur club Leytonstone, helping them to win the Isthmian League title in 1938. Although he served with the RAF during the Second World War, Gregory was still able to turn out for some 60 games for West Ham between 1939 and 1945.
In 1946 he succeeded Harry Medhurst as West Ham’s first-choice goalkeeper, making his league debut that December against Plymouth Argyle, a game which the Hammers won 4-1. In the 1947-48 season Gregory played in all 42 of the club’s league matches.
At this time West Ham were in the Second Division, where they would remain until 1958. In August 1950 Paynter was replaced as manager by Ted Fenton, who, according to Gregory, made a number of useful changes: “We were the first team to eat steak before meals ... We used to train at Forest Gate skating rink — it was narrow, so you could practise working in tight situations.”
Finally, in 1958, the club won promotion to the First Division ; but Gregory would enjoy only a short period in the top flight — a year later he lost his place as goalkeeper to the young Irishman Noel Dwyer. By now he was 38 years old, and after West Ham went down 3-0 to Birmingham City in February 1959, he was dropped. He played his last match, against Leeds United, in September that year. He had made 481 appearances for the club, and had once made it on to the international stage, for the England B side against France in 1952.
Gregory joined the club’s coaching staff, where his first job was looking after the reserves team. He was later appointed first-team coach with special responsibility for goalkeeping, and among those he mentored was Phil Parkes, who later recalled: “When I arrived at Upton Park I was 30, so I knew how to keep goal, Ernie didn’t need to tell me how to be a keeper. But it was the mental side of the game that he knew so well and without him, my career would not have lasted anywhere near as long as it did.”
Gregory finally retired in May 1987, but he continued to be a familiar figure at West Ham’s home games at Upton Park.
Ernie Gregory died in a nursing home at Basildon. His wife, Yvonne, and a daughter predeceased him.
Ernie Gregory, November 10 1921, died January 21 2012
At this time West Ham were in the Second Division, where they would remain until 1958. In August 1950 Paynter was replaced as manager by Ted Fenton, who, according to Gregory, made a number of useful changes: “We were the first team to eat steak before meals ... We used to train at Forest Gate skating rink — it was narrow, so you could practise working in tight situations.”
Finally, in 1958, the club won promotion to the First Division ; but Gregory would enjoy only a short period in the top flight — a year later he lost his place as goalkeeper to the young Irishman Noel Dwyer. By now he was 38 years old, and after West Ham went down 3-0 to Birmingham City in February 1959, he was dropped. He played his last match, against Leeds United, in September that year. He had made 481 appearances for the club, and had once made it on to the international stage, for the England B side against France in 1952.
Gregory joined the club’s coaching staff, where his first job was looking after the reserves team. He was later appointed first-team coach with special responsibility for goalkeeping, and among those he mentored was Phil Parkes, who later recalled: “When I arrived at Upton Park I was 30, so I knew how to keep goal, Ernie didn’t need to tell me how to be a keeper. But it was the mental side of the game that he knew so well and without him, my career would not have lasted anywhere near as long as it did.”
Gregory finally retired in May 1987, but he continued to be a familiar figure at West Ham’s home games at Upton Park.
Ernie Gregory died in a nursing home at Basildon. His wife, Yvonne, and a daughter predeceased him.
Ernie Gregory, November 10 1921, died January 21 2012
No comments:
Post a Comment