Richard Gray was a professional association footballer, who played as a goalkeeper in The Football League

The Football League

The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...

 for Burton Swifts

Burton Swifts F.C.

Burton Swifts were an English football club from Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire. The club ceased to exist in 1901 when they merged with Burton Wanderers to form Burton United.-History:...

 and Burton United

Burton United F.C.

Burton United Football Club was an English football club from Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire that played in The Football League between 1901 and 1907, before folding in 1910.-History:...

, and in the Southern League

Southern Football League

The Southern League is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales...

 for Bristol Rovers

Bristol Rovers F.C.

Bristol Rovers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Bristol, that competes in Football League Two. The team plays its home matches at the Memorial Stadium, in the Horfield area of the city....

.

Gray started his career playing for Burton Swifts, for whom he managed to score three goals in his 93 Football League appearances, before moving to Bristol Rovers in 1899. Rovers had just turned professional, and joined the newly created Southern League, and Gray was the first choice 'keeper in his two seasons in the West Country

West Country

The West Country is an informal term for the area of south western England roughly corresponding to the modern South West England government region. It is often defined to encompass the historic counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset and the City of Bristol, while the counties of...

. He played in 53 of Rovers 56 League matches during this spell. In the mean time, his former club had merged with Burton Wanderers

Burton Wanderers F.C.

Burton Wanderers were a football club from Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England that spent three seasons in The Football League. In 1901, the club merged with Burton Swifts and formed a new club, Burton United.-History:...

to form Burton United, and Gray moved to the new club in 1901, going on to play 50 times for them in the Football League.