Editing Gary Sprake

{{Short description|Welsh footballer (1945–2016)}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2016}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name= Gary Sprake
| image = 
| fullname = Gareth Sprake<ref name=Hugman>{{Hugman|18614|accessdate=3 March 2019}}</ref>
| birth_date  = {{birth date|df=y|1945|4|3}}<ref name=Hugman/>
| birth_place = [[Swansea]],<ref name=Hugman/> Wales
| death_date  = {{death date and age|df=y|2016|10|18|1945|4|3}}<ref name=Hugman/>
| death_place = [[Solihull]],<ref name=Hugman/> England
| height = 6 ft 0 in<ref>{{Cite book |title=Rothmans Football Yearbook 1971–72 |publisher=Queen Anne Press |year=1971 |isbn=978-0362000948 |editor-last=Williams |editor-first=Tony |edition=2nd |pages=256 |language=en |editor-last2=Peskett |editor-first2=Roy}}</ref>
| position = [[Goalkeeper (association football)|Goalkeeper]]
| currentclub =
| youthyears1 = 1962–1963 | youthclubs1 = [[Leeds United F.C.|Leeds United]]
| years1 = 1962–1973 | clubs1 = [[Leeds United F.C.|Leeds United]]       | caps1 = 381 | goals1 = 0
| years2 = 1973–1975 | clubs2 = [[Birmingham City F.C.|Birmingham City]] | caps2 = 16  | goals2 = 0
| totalcaps = 397 | totalgoals = 0
| nationalyears1 = 1963–1974 | nationalteam1 = [[Wales national football team|Wales]] | nationalcaps1 = 37 | nationalgoals1 = 0
}}

'''Gareth Sprake''' (3 April 1945 – 18 October 2016) was a Welsh professional [[Association football|footballer]]. A [[Goalkeeper (association football)|goalkeeper]], he played for [[Leeds United F.C.|Leeds United]] and [[Birmingham City F.C.|Birmingham City]] and also won 37 caps for [[Wales national football team|Wales]].

Sprake was a good goalkeeper who made occasional high-profile mistakes. He was especially known for his ability to come out to catch crossed balls floating into the box and his shot stopping. At Leeds, Sprake played 504 times, keeping more than 200 clean sheets.<ref name=Indepinterview>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/football-league/black-sheep-of-elland-road-wild-man-of-leeds-fights-to-clear-name-474948.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100122014710/http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/football-league/black-sheep-of-elland-road-wild-man-of-leeds-fights-to-clear-name-474948.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=22 January 2010 |title=Black sheep of Elland Road: Wild man of Leeds fights to clear name |first=Phil |last=Shaw |newspaper=The Independent |location=London |date=21 April 2006 |access-date=9 December 2009}}</ref><ref name=want>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/where-are-they-now-gary-sprake-1504720.html |title=Where are they now? Gary Sprake |first=Jon |last=Culley |newspaper=The Independent |location=London |date=16 November 1993 |access-date=9 December 2009}}</ref> He spent more than a decade at Leeds, much of it as number-one choice, during a period when the club was a dominant side in domestic and European football.

==Club career==
Sprake represented Swansea Schoolboys and was noticed by [[Leeds United F.C.|Leeds United]] soon after he left school and was playing for a local works team.<ref name=Golesworthy>{{cite book|title=Soccer Who's Who|author=Maurice Golesworth|publisher=The Sportsmans Book Club|year=1965}}</ref>

Sprake joined Leeds as an apprentice and made a last-minute debut in 1962 when the regular goalkeeper went down with a stomach complaint on the day of a game at [[Southampton F.C.|Southampton]]. Over the next two seasons Sprake became a regular as Leeds won the [[Football League Second Division|Second Division]] in 1964 and then challenged for the [[Football League]] championship title and [[FA Cup]] double the following year. Sprake only missed one game in both competitions that season, but Leeds ended with nothing. At Leeds, he was also known to be sick before each match but managed to play regularly and keep the starting goalkeeper position.

The first of Sprake's two major errors came in 1967 when Leeds played Liverpool in a League game at [[Anfield]]. Sprake was holding the ball and was set to throw it to left back [[Terry Cooper (footballer, born 1944)|Terry Cooper]], only to curtail his throw when he spotted Liverpool winger [[Ian Callaghan]] running towards the area he planned to throw the ball. Unfortunately for Sprake, the ball slipped out of his hands behind him and ended up in the net.<ref name=BBCinterview>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/leeds/content/articles/2006/03/09/sport_leeds_united_gary_sprake_feature.shtml |title=Gary Sprake speaks |publisher=BBC Leeds |date=9 March 2006 |access-date=9 December 2009}}</ref><ref name=nightmareref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.newswales.co.uk/index.php?section=Sport&F=1&id=8356 |title=Goalie Gary Sprake's nightmare game recalled in new biography |publisher=newswales.co.uk |date=14 February 2006 |access-date=2009-12-09 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130421073106/http://www.newswales.co.uk/index.cfm?section=Sport&F=1&id=8356 |archive-date=21 April 2013 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> At half-time, the Liverpool tannoy-announcer played "[[Careless Hands]]", a record by [[Des O'Connor]], apparently in reference to Sprake's mistake, and during the second half Liverpool supporters on the [[Spion Kop (stadiums)|Kop]] sang the song repeatedly to Sprake. Fans of rival clubs gave Sprake the nickname "Careless Hands" as a result.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/article2025420.ece |title=The 50 worst footballers |first=Alex |last=Murphy |newspaper=The Times |location=London |date=4 July 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111012163244/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/article2025420.ece |archive-date=12 October 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story/_/id/937531/first-xi:-own-goals?cc=5901 |title=Own goals |first=Robin |last=Hackett |website=ESPN FC |date=21 July 2011 |access-date=31 August 2015 |archive-date=26 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121026121419/http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story/_/id/937531/first-xi:-own-goals?cc=5901 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In the same season Sprake kept a clean sheet as Leeds beat [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]] in the [[Football League Cup|League Cup]] final. He was also in goals when Leeds won the [[Inter-Cities Fairs Cup|Fairs Cup]], the club's first European honour.<ref name=Indepinterview/> In 1969, Sprake was again a regular as Leeds won the League championship for the first time, with a new points record.

In the [[1970 FA Cup Final]], Leeds were playing [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]] and took an early lead through [[Jack Charlton]]. Chelsea chased an equaliser, but when attacking midfield player [[Peter Houseman]] hit a left foot shot shortly before the break, it seemed tame and directionless enough for Sprake to save it safely. He dived full length to save it but it squirmed through his grasp and rolled into the net. At the time, the Wembley surface was in poor condition, with the stadium having hosted the [[Horse of the Year Show]] days earlier and having much of the grass turned into hard turf lumps as a result,<ref name=Indepinterview/> as well as the presence of a vast covering of sand.

In the second half, [[Mick Jones (footballer, born 1945)|Mick Jones]] put Leeds ahead with just six minutes to go, but Chelsea again equalised. Sprake suffered a knee injury and was replaced by [[David Harvey (footballer)|David Harvey]] in the replay, which Chelsea won 2–1.

Sprake was still the first-choice keeper for Leeds in the following two seasons, but was replaced by Harvey at the tail of both, including the 1972 FA Cup Final. Sprake watched from the sidelines as Leeds defeated Arsenal 1–0. In the same year, due to his need of first-team football, Sprake publicly criticised Revie for his treatment of him and so his relationship with his manager, teammates and the Leeds supporters soured. He only played once in the 1972–73 season, missed a second FA Cup Final and the [[1973 European Cup Winners' Cup final|Cup Winners' Cup final]] and left Leeds at the end of that season. He signed for [[Birmingham City F.C.|Birmingham City]] for £100,000 (breaking the world record transfer fee for a goalkeeper in the process) to play first-team football and attempt to regain his place in the Welsh team.

==International career==

Sprake was the youngest-ever goalkeeper to appear for Wales when he made his international debut as an 18-year-old against [[Scotland national football team|Scotland]] on 20 November 1963.<ref name=Golesworthy/>

Sprake won 37 caps for [[Wales national football team|Wales]] between 1963 and 1974.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://eu-football.info/_player.php?id=19860 |title=Gary Sprake  |publisher=eu-football.info |access-date=19 October 2016}}.</ref>

==Retirement==
A back injury brought Sprake's career to an end at the age of 30, the injury resulting from a near fatal [[blood clot]] in his back which forced him to undergo [[spinal fusion]] surgery.<ref name=want/> His back problems were largely blamed on regular injections of [[cortisone]] he was given during his early career at Leeds. After retiring, he underwent seven operations on his back.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/aug/12/football.vivekchaudhary2 |title=Gary Sprake: "Club should pay" |first=Vivek |last=Chaudhary |newspaper=The Guardian |location=London |date=12 August 2000 |access-date=9 December 2009}}</ref> Sprake worked as a salesman for a short period before becoming a borough council training officer in [[Solihull]], where he remained for over 14 years.<ref name=want/> His biography, ''Careless Hands: The Forgotten Truth of Gary Sprake'' by Tim Johnson and Stuart Sprake (his nephew), was published in 2006.<ref name=nightmareref/> In November 2009, he was given an award by the [[Football Association of Wales]] for his contribution to Welsh football during the 1960s and 1970s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.faw.org.uk/news/FAW56477.ink |title=The FAW / SA Brains Football Awards Evening |publisher=Football Association of Wales |date=11 November 2009 |access-date=31 August 2015 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160109183422/http://www.faw.org.uk/news/FAW56477.ink |archive-date=9 January 2016 |df=dmy }}</ref>

In 1978, Sprake was paid a substantial fee by the ''[[Daily Mirror]]'' to make allegations against former Leeds manager Don Revie and club captain [[Billy Bremner]] regarding match-fixing, though no charges ever arose from his accusations.<ref name=GuardianObit/> Allegations centred on the match between [[Wolverhampton Wanderers]] and Leeds at [[Molineux Stadium|Molineux]] on 8 May 1972. It was the final match of the 1971–72 season and Leeds needed one point to win the league title. They lost 2–1 and the title went to [[Derby County F.C.|Derby County]]. The paper alleged that Revie and Bremner had tried to bribe [[Danny Hegan]], a Wolves player, before the match. In 1982, Bremner sued for libel in the [[High Court]] and was awarded damages of £100,000. Among witnesses who supported Bremner was Wolves' [[Derek Dougan]], who asserted that he "never heard any Leeds player, or anyone else connected with them, offer bribes".<ref name="DT72">{{cite web |last=Tomlinson |first=Dave |url=http://www.mightyleeds.co.uk/matches/19720508.htm |title=8 May 1972 – Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 Leeds United 1 |work=The Definitive History of Leeds United |access-date=16 August 2024}}</ref> Sprake, who said in court that he "couldn't remember" Bremner offering a bribe, later claimed that the ''Mirror'' paid him £7,500.<ref name="DT72"/>

Paul Harrison, one of Bremner's biographers writing in 2010, remembered Sprake as a rude and arrogant individual whose attitude was in sharp contrast to the friendliness and approachability of Revie, Bremner, and many other Leeds players.<ref>{{cite book |last=Harrison |first=Paul |title=Keep Fighting. The Billy Bremner Story |publisher=Black & White Publishing |location=Edinburgh |year=2010 |pages=2–3 |isbn=978-1-8450-2324-9}}</ref> Harrison quoted Bremner saying of Sprake that he should have "tried harder" and "concentrated more" on improving his game because, "instead of believing he was the best, he would then have made a decent keeper".<ref name="PH196">Harrison, p. 196.</ref> Bremner made it clear that he had little respect for Sprake because of "things he has done in his life", and pointed out that, among professional footballers, Sprake was "not one of the wisest or most respected".<ref name="PH196"/> Bremner acknowledged that Sprake was capable of pulling off some "unbelievable" saves, before adding that this was "as positive as I can get about the man".<ref name="PH196"/> Bremner went on to say what he thought about twelve other Leeds players and, in every case, his comments were very positive.<ref>Harrison, pp. 196–201.</ref> Comparing Sprake with David Harvey, Bremner said Harvey was the better goalkeeper because he was reliable.<ref name="PH199">Harrison, p. 199.</ref>

Sprake died at the age of 71 on 18 October 2016.<ref name=GuardianObit>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/oct/20/gary-sprake-obituary |title=Gary Sprake obituary |first=Peter |last=Mason |newspaper=The Guardian |date=20 October 2016 |access-date=21 October 2016}}</ref>

==Honours==
'''Leeds United'''
*[[Football League First Division]]: [[1968–69 Football League First Division|1968–69]]
*[[Football League Second Division]]: [[1963–64 Football League Second Division|1963–64]]
*[[Football League Cup]]: [[1967–68 Football League Cup|1967–68]]
*[[FA Charity Shield]]: [[1969 FA Charity Shield|1969]]<ref>{{cite web |title=2 August 1969 - Leeds United 2 Manchester City 1|url=http://www.mightyleeds.co.uk/matches/19690802.htm|website=mightyleeds.co.uk|access-date=6 December 2020}}</ref>
*[[Inter-Cities Fairs Cup]]: [[1967–68 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup|1967–68]], [[1970–71 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup|1970–71]]
*[[FA Cup]] runner-up: [[1964–65 FA Cup|1964–65]]<ref>{{cite book |first1=Leslie |first2=Jack |last1=Vernon |last2=Rollin |title=Rothmans Football Yearbook 1977–78 |year=1977 |publisher=Brickfield Publications Ltd |location=London |isbn=0354-09018-6 |page=490}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{NeilBrownPlayers|player/garysprake}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sprake, Gary}}
[[Category:1945 births]]
[[Category:2016 deaths]]
[[Category:Welsh men's footballers]]
[[Category:Wales men's international footballers]]
[[Category:Wales men's under-23 international footballers]]
[[Category:Footballers from Swansea]]
[[Category:Leeds United F.C. players]]
[[Category:Birmingham City F.C. players]]
[[Category:Men's association football goalkeepers]]
[[Category:English Football League players]]