Joe Gadston
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Joseph Edward Gadston[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 13 September 1945 | ||
| Place of birth | Hanwell, England | ||
| Date of death | January 2026 (aged 80) | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1963 | West Ham United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1964–1966 | Brentford | 0 | (0) |
| 1966 | Corby Town | 12 | (6) |
| 1966–1968 | Cheltenham Town | ||
| 1968–1969 | Bristol Rovers | 11 | (5) |
| 1969–1972 | Exeter City | 85 | (30) |
| 1972–1973 | Aldershot | 4 | (0) |
| 1973 | → Hartlepool (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| Cheltenham Town | |||
| 1973–1974 | Wimbledon | 16 | (3) |
| 1975–1976 | Hillingdon Borough | ||
| 1976–1977 | Walton & Hersham | ||
| 1977–1978 | Slough Town | ||
| 1978–1979 | Hayes | ||
| 1979–1980 | Ruislip Manor | ||
| 1980 | Hanwell Town | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| 1979–1980 | Ruislip Manor (player-manager) | ||
| 1982–1985 | Hanwell Town | ||
| Swanage Town & Herston | |||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Joseph Edward Gadston (13 September 1945 – January 2026) was an English professional footballer who played as a forward in the Football League, most notably for Exeter City. He later became a director of the club.
Gadston began his career as a youth and amateur player for West Ham United, before moving to Third Division club Brentford,[3] for whom he failed to make a first team appearance and instead played for the reserves.[4][5] He had a brief spell with Corby Town before joining Southern League club Cheltenham Town for a fee of £22 and 10 shillings.[3] Gadston is cited as one of the greatest players to play for the Robins.[6][7] Gadston moved back to the Third Division to join Bristol Rovers for a £1,500 fee in 1968 and finally made his professional debut,[3] but he only completed one season with Rovers.[4] His most prolific spell came with Exeter City, whom he joined in November 1969,[1] before moving to Aldershot in July 1972.[8] After a brief loan spell with Hartlepool in February 1973, Gadston dropped back into non-League football with Wimbledon later that year.[3] He played out the remainder of the decade in non-League football.[2]
Managerial and coaching career
Gadston had a spell as player-manager of Ruislip Manor and as manager of Hanwell Town,[2][9] whom he managed to the 1983–84 London Spartan League Senior Division championship.[10] He subsequently served as general manager of Swanage Town & Herston and later returned to Brentford as Football in the Community Officer.[2]
Personal life and death
Gadston worked as a coach at a sports centre in Southall between 1966 and 1968.[2] He later became a businessman and launched a company to launch and operate Exeter City's St James Park stadium.[2] Gadston also served as a director at Exeter City between 1999 and 2002.[9] He ran a holiday apartment business in Dorset and served the community by running a youth football club and a ping pong tournament for pensioners.[11][12] Gadston taught sport at Sunninghill Preparatory School in Dorchester until July 2014.[2]
After a long battle with Parkinson's disease, Gadston died in January 2026, at the age of 80.[9]