Roy Gratrix was an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 professional football

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

er. He played as a defender

Defender (football)

Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....

.

Gratrix began his professional career with Blackpool

Blackpool F.C.

Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...

 as a 20-year-old in September 1952, joining from Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

 side Taylor Bros. He made his debut for Blackpool on March 13, 1954, succeeding Eddie Shimwell

Eddie Shimwell

Edmund "Eddie" Shimwell was an English professional footballer.-Playing career:Born in Birchover, Derbyshire, Shimwell was a trainee with Sheffield United in 1939, but failed to break into the first team before the outbreak of World War II...

 in the right-back berth in a goalless draw against Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough F.C.

Middlesbrough Football Club , also known as Boro, are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Football League Championship. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889...

 at Bloomfield Road

Bloomfield Road

Bloomfield Road is an all-seater football stadium in the English town of Blackpool, Lancashire. It has been the permanent home of Blackpool F.C. since 1901 and is named after the road on which the stadium's main entrance used to stand. The stadium has been in a process of redevelopment since 2000...

.

The following campaign, 1954–55

Blackpool F.C. season 1954-55

The 1954-55 season was Blackpool F.C.s 48th season in the Football League. They competed in the 22-team Division One, then the top tier of English football, finishing nineteenth....

, he retained his position, teaming-up with Tommy Garrett

Tommy Garrett

Thomas "Tommy" Garrett was an English professional footballer. He represented his country on three occasions....

, although occasionally being asked to play at left-back.

In 1955–56

Blackpool F.C. season 1955-56

The 1955-56 season was Blackpool F.C.s 49th season in the Football League. They competed in the 22-team Division One, then the top tier of English football, finishing second, their highest finish in the English league system to date, despite losing their final four League games.Jackie Mudie was...

, with Harry Johnston

Harry Johnston (footballer)

Henry "Harry" Johnston was an English footballer. He was the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year in 1951. He spent his entire professional playing career with Blackpool, with whom he appeared in three FA Cup Finals...

 leaving to manage Reading

Reading F.C.

Reading Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Reading, Berkshire who currently play in the Championship...

, Gratrix moved to centre-half and remained there for the rest of his career.

Also during the 1955–56 season, Gratrix represented England at "B

England B national football team

England B is a secondary football team run occasionally as support for the England national football team. At times they have played other nations' full teams; they have also played matches against 'B' teams from other football associations...

" level, playing against Switzerland

Switzerland national football team

The Swiss national football team is the national football team of Switzerland...

 at The Dell. England B won 4–1.

For the 1956–57

Blackpool F.C. season 1956-57

The 1956-57 season was Blackpool F.C.s 50th season in the Football League. They competed in the 22-team Division One, then the top tier of English football, finishing fourth....

 campaign, Gratrix was an ever-present in Blackpool's 46 league and cup fixtures, helping them to their second consecutive top-four finish in Division One

Football League First Division

The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....

. He repeated the feat the following season

Blackpool F.C. season 1957-58

The 1957-58 season was Blackpool F.C.s 51st season in the Football League. They competed in the 22-team Division One, then the top tier of English football, finishing seventh....

 and also in 1961–62

Blackpool F.C. season 1961-62

The 1961-62 season was Blackpool F.C.s 55th season in the Football League. They competed in the 22-team Division One, then the top tier of English football, finishing thirteenth....

 (52 league and cup games).

On 19 October 1957, Gratrix had the chance to open his scoring account with the club. He took a penalty against Manchester United

Manchester United F.C.

Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...

 at Bloomfield Road, but he put it over the bar. He remained without a goal in his 436 games for Blackpool.

In 1964, after eleven years and four hundred league appearances for Blackpool, Gratrix was sold to Manchester City

Manchester City F.C.

Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...

. He made fifteen league appearances for City before trying his hand at playing in Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 with Toronto City. He returned to the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 to finish his playing career with Welsh

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 club Bangor City

Bangor City F.C.

Bangor City Football Club are a semi-professional Welsh football club from the City of Bangor. The club compete in the Welsh Premier League, being ever present since the league was founded in 1992....

.

Gratrix died in 2002.