Wakeley Gage is a former 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 footballer who played as a defender

Defender (association football)

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

. He played 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 four clubs, with the majority of his appearances coming for hometown club Northampton Town

Northampton Town F.C.

Northampton Town Football Club are an English professional football club based in Northampton, Northamptonshire. They currently play in Football League Two, the lowest league division, after being relegated from League One on the last day of the 2008–09 season...

.

Playing career

Gage was playing non-league football for Desborough Town

Desborough Town F.C.

Desborough Town F.C. is an association football club based in Desborough, Northamptonshire, England. The club is currently a member of the United Counties League Premier Division.-History:...

 when he joined Northampton for a reported £8,000 in October 1979. He spent the next six years with the Cobblers, with his performances leading to him being voted the club’s player of the season in three of his last four seasons at the County Ground.

In the summer of 1985, Gage was unable to agree a new contract with Northampton and joined fellow Division Four side Chester City

Chester City F.C.

Chester City Football Club was an English football team from Chester. The club was founded as Chester F.C., and joined the Football League in 1931, spending most of their time in the lower divisions. They changed their name to Chester City in 1983. Chester won their first league title in 2004, the...

 under new manager Harry McNally

Harry McNally

Harry McNally was a football player, coach and manager, noted for his spells as manager of Wigan Athletic and Chester City.-The Non-League Background:...

. He made his debut in a 1–1 draw against Halifax Town

Halifax Town A.F.C.

Halifax Town Association Football Club were an English football team who most recently played in the Conference National, although prior to that they participated in the Football League for over eighty years...

 on the opening day of 1985–86

1985-86 in English football

The 1985–86 season was the 106th season of competitive football in England.- First Division :The championship crown went to Liverpool for the 16th time in their history at the end of their first season under the management of Kenny Dalglish, but they had to fight off some very stiff competition to...

 and a few weeks later would help Chester go more than 400 minutes without conceding a goal. But despite helping Chester on their way towards promotion, Gage moved to Peterborough United

Peterborough United F.C.

Peterborough United Football Club are a professional English football club based in Peterborough. Peterborough United formed in 1934 and played in the old Midland League, which they won six times; eventually being admitted to the Football League in 1960, replacing Gateshead. Their home ground is...

 in November 1985.

He remained with the Posh until June 1987, when he returned to Cheshire

Cheshire

Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...

 and joined Crewe Alexandra

Crewe Alexandra F.C.

Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional football club based in Crewe, Cheshire. Nicknamed The Railwaymen due to the town's links with the rail industry, they currently play in Football League Two, the fourth tier of English football, and are based at the Alexandra Stadium.The club...

. After more than 50 league outings for Crewe, he dropped into non-league football with Stewarts & Lloyds Corby.

At , Gage was one of the tallest Football League players during his career.

Honours

Northampton Town

• Player of the Season: 1981–82
  1981-82 in English football
  The 1981–82 season was the 102nd season of competitive football in England.It was also the first season that the Three points for a win system was introduced.- First Division :Three points for a win was introduced for the first time in England...
  
  ; 1983–84
  1983-84 in English football
  The 1983–84 season was the 104th season of competitive football in England.- First Division :Liverpool had a great first season under the management of Joe Fagan as they wrapped up their third successive league title and the 15th in their history...
  
  ; 1984–85
  1984-85 in English football
  The 1984–85 season was the 105th season of competitive football in England.-Bradford City disaster:56 spectators died and more than 200 were injured when a fire ripped through the Main Stand at Valley Parade during Bradford City's Third Division fixture with Lincoln City on 11 May...