ON THIS DAY...

Richard Day reviews this day in the club's history

News relevant to Gillingham FC on this day in history, games, players, debuts etc...

FIXTURES...


1896 - Sheppey Utd 0-2 New Brompton      KSL

1908 - Northampton T 2-0 New Brompton SLD1

1913 - Gillingham 0-0 Stoke                          SLD1

1914 - Merthyr Town 2-0 Gillingham           SLD1

1925 - Merthyr Town 0-0 Gillingham           D3S

1931 - Swindon T 5-2 Gillingham                 D3S   Att: 4,112
Bill White and Harry Loasby were the scorers at the County Ground

1936 - Torquay Utd 4-2 Gillingham              D3S   Att: 2,875
Goals from George Tadman and Dick Doncaster weren't enough at Plainmoor

1953 - Leyton Orient 1-1 Gillingham           D3S   Att: 11,418
Trevor Long scored to earn a point at Brisbane Road

1959 - Port Vale 3-1 Gillingham                  D4   Att: 11,119
A goal from Cliff Payton couldn't prevent a loss at Vale Park

1970 - Gillingham 1-0 Bury                          D3   Att: 4,559
Mike Green was the match winner against the Shakers

1972 - Bury 5-0 Gillingham                          D4   Att: 3,276

1981 - Gillingham 2-0 Brentford                D3   Att: 3,916
John Overton and a penalty from Dean White saw off the Bees

1987 - Gillingham 2-1 Bournemouth        D3   Att: 7,577
Mark Weatherly and Dave Shearer scored as the champions-elect were beaten

1992 - Maidstone Utd 1-1 Gillingham      D4   Att: 3,264
The Kent derby ended all-square, Steve Lovell netting for the Gills

1998 - Blackpool 2-1 Gillingham               D2   Att: 4,344
Leo Fortune-West notched his final goal for the club in this defeat at Bloomfield Road

2000 - Bournemouth 0-1 Gillingham        D2   Att: 4,443
The only goal at Dean Court came from Iffy Onuora

2006 - Gillingham 3-2 Brentford                 L1   Att: 5,745
Goals from Brent Sancho and Darren Byfield (2), including a penalty, ensured victory in a game both Alan Pouton and Sean Clohessy were sent off

2009 - Grimsby T 3-0 Gillingham                L2   Att: 6,406
A poor performance at Blundell Park saw Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro, Nick Hegarty and Barry Conlon net for the struggling Mariners
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DEBUTS...

The following players made their Gillingham debuts in the above games...

1959 - Cliff Payton away at Port Vale

1998 - Vince Bartram at Blackpool

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BIRTHS...

1936 - John Ballagher

The former Stalybridge Celtic, Sheffield Wednesday and Doncaster Rovers forward was signed by Gills manager Freddie Cox in the summer of 1962.

He made his debut against Aldershot at home n the September and went on to make 45 appearances and score 12 times in two seasons at the club, the second of which (1963-64) saw the Gills lift the Division Four title.

In October 1964 he moved to Margate where he scored a remarkable 66 goals in 88 games including 50 in the 1964-65 campaign.

John later played for Folkestone Town and Ramsgate Athletic before retiring.


1961 - Gary Micklewhite

Gary progressed through the ranks at Manchester United before playing for QPR and Derby County.

While at Loftus Road he appeared in the 1982 FA Cup Final against Spurs, as a substitute in the first game and starting the replay.

Having made 288 appearances for the Rams, the experienced midfielder joined the Gills in July 1993 and made his debut against Chesterfield at home on the opening day of the season.

He scored four times in 113 games for Gillingham and helped them gain promotion in 1995-96.

On leaving Priestfield he joined Slough Town before holding coaching roles at QPR and Wycombe Wanderers.
 
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DEATHS...

1973 - George Pateman

The local lad joined the Gills from Canterbury Waverley in June 1929 but didn't make his debut until the October at Northampton Town when he scored in a 3-1 defeat.

After scoring five goals in 17 games he moved to Portsmouth in July 1931.

George died in Rochester on this day in 1973.