607 Gary Gill

Biography

Midfielder Gill spent a month on loan at City in December 1983 and made a single appearance as a substitute, his first career appearance in senior football.

Gary Gill was born in Middlesbrough and educated in the Acklam Road area of the town, playing for Middlesbrough Boys as a teenager. He joined the apprentice scheme at his local league side Middlesbrough at the age of 16 and was promoted to the professional ranks at Boro in the summer of 1983. He was drafted into the first team squad in September 1983 but had to wait until March 1984, after his loan spell at Hull City, to be handed his Boro debut by manager Jack Charlton, coming on as substitute against Cardiff City. Gary ended the 1983/84 season with 6 Division Two appearances for his hometown club.

He was a regular starter for Middlesbrough in the early months of the 1984/85 Division Two campaign until December 1984 when a back injury ended his season prematurely. Gill returned to action in September 1985 and played a supporting role during the 1985/86 season as Middlesbrough were relegated to Division Three. Boro bounced straight back at the end of the 1986/87 season and Gary was a regular starter throughout the season, scoring his first goal for the club on Boxing Day 1986 against Carlisle United. Back in Division Two, and then promoted again to Division One in May 1988 after play-off victory over Chelsea, Gary returned to the fringes of the first team. A broken leg sustained in April 1989 halted his playing days for Middlesbrough and he left the Teesside club in December 1989 having scored two goals in 97 appearances.

In December 1989 Gill joined Conference National side Darlington and was a peripheral figure in his first season as the Quakers were promoted back into the Football League. He made his senior debut for Darlington in an August 1990 League Cup tie against Blackpool and was a first team regular during the 1990/91 season as the Feethams side lifted the Division Four title, a second successive promotion under the management of Brian Little. When Little moved on and was replaced by Frank Gray for the 1991/92 season the Quakers struggled, and Gill moved on in March 1992 having scored 11 goals in 84 appearances.

In March 1992 Gill transferred to Division Four side Cardiff City and scored once in 7 appearances during the remainder of the 1991/92 season, also helping the Bluebirds defeat Hednesford Town in the Welsh Cup final. Leaving Cardiff in the 1992 close season, he had an unsuccessful trial at Hartlepool United in July 1992 before hanging up his boots at the age of 27.

Gill then lived the ex-footballer dream, owning a pub in a North Yorkshire village, coaching in the United States and working the rag trade. His coaching career peaked in February 2002 when he was appointed manager at Gateshead, having been assistant manager for the past eight months, but that tenure lasted only until October 2002 as disputes with the club’s board led to Gill’s resignation.

Shortly after his spell at Gateshead, Gary was involved in a car accident in which he suffered serious and multiple injuries, which left lasting damage to his left leg that meant he was unable to resume his coaching career. He spent several years working in local radio punditry, then in 2011 Gill was appointed to the Middlesbrough’s scouting network and rose to become Boro’s Head of UK Recruitment in 2013. He left that role in 2020 and remained involved in football administration, in February 2024 he was appointed a recruitment consultant at Championship side Southampton where he worked under Head of Recruitment Darren Mowbray, the younger brother of former Middlesbrough player and manager Tony Mowbray.

Details

Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 28 November 1964, Middlesbrough
Hull City First Game: 27 December 1983, Rotherham United A (Division Three), 19 years, 29 days old
Hull City Final Game: 27 December 1983, Rotherham United A (Division Three), 19 years, 29 days old

Clubs

Middlesbrough (1981-1989), Hull City (1983, loan), Darlington (1989-1992), Cardiff City (1992)

Hull City Record

Career: 1 apps, 0 goals

Gary Gill
SeasonLGE
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OTH
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1983/840 (1)0

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