Peter Gelson

Peter William John Gelson (born 18 October 1941) is an English retired football centre back and wing half who played in the Football League for Brentford. A cult hero amongst the club's supporters, he is third on the all-time Brentford appearances list with 516. In 2013, Gelson placed second in a Football League 125th Anniversary poll of Brentford's all-time fan favourites and was inducted into the Brentford Hall of Fame in November 2014.[2]

Peter Gelson
Personal information
Full name Peter William John Gelson[1]
Date of birth (1941-10-18) 18 October 1941
Place of birth Hammersmith, England
Position(s) Centre back, wing half
Youth career
1958–1960 Brentford
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1960–1975 Brentford 471 (17)
1974–1977 Hillingdon Borough
1977 Hounslow
1977–1978 Hillingdon Borough
1978–1979 Walton & Hersham
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Career

Brentford

Joining Brentford at a young age,[3] Gelson progressed through the club's youth, 'A' and reserve teams before making his professional debut at age 19 in a 2–0 Third Division defeat to Halifax Town on 22 August 1961.[4] Despite still being a part-time player,[3] Gelson quickly established himself in the first team as a wing half, making 28 appearances during the 1961–62 season, a campaign which saw Brentford relegated to the Fourth Division.[4]

Gelson was a key player in Brentford's 1962–63 Fourth Division title-winning season and made 32 appearances,[4] but he remained part-time and did not sign a professional contract until 1964.[5] He was awarded the captaincy in August 1966,[6] but a loss of form saw him lose it to Bobby Ross four months later.[7] Gelson was known for his long-range goals and scored three times from behind the halfway line.[8] A "hard man" as a player, in 1970 he ended the career of Colchester United's Bobby Howlett in a challenge which resulted in a broken leg for the Us defender.[9] Gelson would go on to be a fixture at centre back until his final appearance for the club in September 1974.[4] He left Brentford shortly after, having made 516 appearances in all competitions for the club.[3] In recognition of his service to the club, Gelson was awarded testimonials in 1970 and 1975,[5] earning him £3,630.[10] He was inducted into the Brentford Hall of Fame in November 2014.[11]

Non-league football

After his departure from Brentford, Gelson played on in non-league football, appearing for Hillingdon Borough (two spells), Hounslow and Walton & Hersham.[8]

Personal life

In his early days as a part-time player at Brentford, Gelson worked in telecommunications for the Post Office.[12] After retiring from football, Gelson found work at Heathrow Airport and worked in security with British Airways and Qatar Airways.[13] He worked for a number of years in Doha, Qatar as a loadmaster for Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani's multiple private aircraft.[14] He retired and returned to the UK in 2007.[14] Gelson is married and as of June 2010, has five grandchildren.[14]

Honours

Brentford

Individual

Career statistics
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoals Apps GoalsAppsGoals
Brentford 1961–62[4] Third Division 24 1 4 0 0 0 28 1
1962–63[4] Fourth Division 29 0 1 0 1 0 31 0
1963–64[4] Third Division 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
1964–65[4] 42 1 4 0 0 0 46 1
1965–66[4] 34 2 2 0 0 0 36 2
1966–67[4] Fourth Division 45 0 4 0 3 0 52 0
1967–68[4] 43 5 2 0 1 0 46 5
1968–69[4] 43 2 2 0 5 0 49 2
1969–70[4] 43 4 2 0 3 1 48 5
1970–71[4] 45 0 5 0 1 0 51 0
1971–72[4] 37 2 0 0 1 0 38 2
1972–73[4] Third Division 42 0 1 0 2 0 45 0
1973–74[4] Fourth Division 40 0 1 0 1 0 42 0
1974–75[4] 3 0 0 0 1 0 4 0
Career total 47117280 19 151618

References
  1. "Peter Gelson". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  2. The Football League. "Brentford – Football League 125". Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  3. Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006. Harefield: Yore Publications. pp. 63–64. ISBN 978-0955294914.
  4. White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. pp. 385–393. ISBN 0951526200.
  5. Croxford, Lane & Waterman 2011, p. 254.
  6. "Gelson Is Captain". The Brentford & Chiswick Times. 12 August 1966.
  7. "Ross Takes Over As Captain". The Brentford & Chiswick Times. 23 December 1966.
  8. Official Matchday Magazine Of Brentford Football Club versus Oldham Athletic 14/08/99. Blackheath: Morganprint. 1999. p. 41.
  9. "Brentford 2–0 Colchester Utd – Player Match List – Colchester United". www.coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  10. Griffin Gazette: Brentford's Official Matchday Magazine versus Crewe Alexandra 06/04/96. Quay Design of Poole. 1996. p. 20.
  11. Wickham, Chris. "Bob Booker, Peter Gelson, Keith Millen, Alan Nelmes and Danis Salman honoured at Brentford FC 125 Year Anniversary Dinner". Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  12. "Brentford FC First, Best, Worst: Peter Gelson". Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  13. Croxford, Mark; Lane, David; Waterman, Greville (2011). The Big Brentford Book of the 70s. Legends Publishing. p. 295. ISBN 978-1906796709.
  14. Bruzon, Nick. "Brentford | News | Latest News | Latest News | WHERE ARE THEY NOW? PETER GELSON – PART 2". Archived from the original on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 26 March 2017.
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