Gerald Cakebread OBE (1 April 1936 – 16 September 2009) was an English footballer who made over 340 appearances in the Football League for Brentford as a goalkeeper. He remained a part-time player throughout his professional career.[2] Cakebread was posthumously inducted into the Brentford Hall of Fame in May 2015 and was described as "arguably Brentford's finest ever goalkeeper".[3]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gerald Cakebread[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 1 April 1936 | ||
| Place of birth | Acton, England | ||
| Date of death | 16 September 2009 (aged 73)[1] | ||
| Place of death | Taunton, England[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1954–1965 | Brentford | 348 | (0) |
| 1965–1967 | Hillingdon Borough | ||
| 1966–1969 | Taunton Town | ||
| Barnstaple Town | |||
| 1976 | Minehead | ||
| International career | |||
| 1954 | England Youth | 3 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Club career
editBrentford
editCakebread 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 Third Division 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][5] His run was ended by a leg injury, which saw him miss the rest of Brentford's 1962–63 Fourth Division title-winning season.[2] Cakebread returned to action for the club's record 9–0 win over Wrexham on 15 October 1963, replacing Fred Ryecraft in the lineup.[5] After a run of five games, he lost his place to Chic Brodie and made just one further appearance during the 1963–64 season.[5] He played what would be his final game for the club in 2–2 draw with West London rivals Queens Park Rangers on 20 March 1964.[5] Cakebread dropped into the reserves for the 1964–65 season and won the London Challenge Cup with the team.[6][7] He departed Griffin Park in June 1965, having made 374 appearances, a total which places him eighth on the club's all-time list.[2] Cakebread was posthumously inducted into the Brentford Hall of Fame in May 2015.[8]
Non-League football
editAfter his departure from Brentford, Cakebread dropped into non-League football and signed for Southern League First Division club Hillingdon Borough.[2] He helped the club to a second-place finish and promotion to the Premier Division in the 1965–66 season.[2] Cakebread joined Western League club Taunton Town in the late 1960s and played a part in the club's 1968–69 league title success.[2] He followed with a short spell at Western League club Barnstaple Town, whom he joined in 1969.[9] Cakebread joined Southern League First Division South club Minehead on a short-term emergency deal for the final game of the 1975–76 season.[2] Needing a draw against second-place Dartford to win the league championship, Cakebread kept a clean sheet in a 2–0 win.[2]
International career
editCakebread won three caps for England at youth level.[10] He was twice named in the U23 squad, but did not play.[11]
Personal life
editCakebread worked for the Admiralty during and after his football career as a draughtsman.[9][11] He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1994 Birthday Honours for his work on Hydrographics at the Ministry of Defence.[11][12] He died in September 2009, after a long illness.[13]
Career statistics
edit| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Brentford | 1954–55[5] | Third Division South | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |
| 1955–56[5] | Third Division South | 45 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 47 | 0 | ||
| 1956–57[5] | Third Division South | 38 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 41 | 0 | ||
| 1957–58[5] | Third Division South | 45 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 46 | 0 | ||
| 1958–59[5] | Third Division | 45 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 49 | 0 | ||
| 1959–60[5] | Third Division | 46 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 48 | 0 | ||
| 1960–61[5] | Third Division | 46 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 51 | 0 | |
| 1961–62[5] | Third Division | 46 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 52 | 0 | |
| 1962–63[5] | Fourth Division | 28 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 31 | 0 | |
| 1963–64[5] | Third Division | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| Total | 348 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 374 | 0 | ||
| Minehead | 1975–76[2] | Southern League First Division South | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 349 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 375 | 0 | ||
Honours
editBrentford
Hillingdon Borough
- Southern League First Division second-place promotion: 1965–66[2]
Taunton Town
- Western League: 1968–69[2]
Individual
References
edit- ^ a b c "Gerry Cakebread". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006. Harefield: Yore Publications. p. 33. ISBN 978-0955294914.
- ^ Street, Tim (24 September 2009). "Brentford FC legend passes away". getwestlondon. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
- ^ Official Brentford FC Matchday Programme versus Mansfield Town. O Publishing. 11 August 2007. p. 46.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. pp. 381–385. ISBN 0951526200.
- ^ 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 Wickham, Chris. "Kevin O'Connor and Marcus Gayle join others in being added to Brentford FC Hall of Fame". brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
- ^ a b Official Matchday Magazine Of Brentford Football Club versus Oldham Athletic. Blackheath: Morganprint. 14 August 1999. p. 41.
- ^ "Gerry Cakebread". 11v11.com. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
- ^ a b c TW8 Matchday versus Oldham Athletic. London: The Yellow Printing Company Limited. 25 August 2003. pp. 32–33.
- ^ United Kingdom list: "No. 53696". The London Gazette (Supplement). 10 June 1994. p. 11.
- ^ "Bees great passes away". brentfordfc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 13 February 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2018.