Fred Ryecraft
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Frederick Ryecraft[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 29 August 1939 | ||
| Place of birth | Southall, England[1] | ||
| Date of death | 26 September 2017 (aged 78)[2] | ||
| Place of death | Hampshire, England[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| –1959 | Southall | ||
| 1959–1964 | Brentford | 33 | (0) |
| Gravesend & Northfleet | |||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Frederick Ryecraft (29 August 1939 – 26 September 2017) was an English professional footballer who played in the Football League for Brentford as a goalkeeper. He was a member of the club's 1962–63 Fourth Division championship-winning squad.
Brentford
After a short spell at Athenian League club Southall,[3] Ryecraft joined Third Division club Brentford in September 1959.[1] First team goalkeeper Gerry Cakebread's durability meant that a spell doing national service saw Ryecraft confined to the club's reserve team, until the first team's relegation to the Fourth Division in 1962.[3] Ryecraft finally made his first team debut in a 2–1 defeat to Gillingham on 21 August 1962.[4] He went on to make 18 appearances during a 1962–63 season which saw the Bees return to the Third Division at the first time of asking.[4] Ryecraft made 20 appearances during the 1963–64 season,[4] but mainly appeared for the reserves and was released at the end of the campaign.[3] Ryecraft made a total of 38 first team appearances for the Bees and along with Micky Ball and Johnny Hales,[3] he is one of three players to make over 150 appearances for the Brentford reserve team.[5]
Gravesend & Northfleet
After his release from Brentford, Ryecraft dropped back into non-League football and played for Southern League First Division club Gravesend & Northfleet.[3]
Representative career
While undertaking his national service, Ryecraft played for the British Army representative team and the Combined Services.[2] He played on a tour of South East Asia in 1962 and was a member of the victorious Kentish Cup-winning team the same year.[3][6][7]
Personal life
While on national service in the British Army, Ryecraft was a member of the Royal Army Service Corps.[7]
