Gerry Francis (footballer, born 1933)

Gerry Francis

Personal information
Date of birth	(1933-12-06)6 December 1933
Place of birth	Johannesburg, Transvaal, South Africa
Date of death	10 May 2025(2025-05-10) (aged 91)
Place of death	Ontario, Canada
Position(s)	Right winger
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1957–1961	Leeds United	52	(9)
1961–1962	York City	16	(4)
1962–1964	Tonbridge
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Gerry Francis (6 December 1933 – 10 May 2025) was an English professional footballer who played as a right winger for Leeds United, York City and Tonbridge. He was the first black footballer to play for Leeds.

Career

Francis, who was a shoe-repairer from South Africa, began his footballing career in England as an amateur with Leeds United before being given a professional contract in July 1957. He made his debut in the 1959–60 season, becoming the first black footballer to play for Leeds. He joined a declining side that was relegated at the end of the 1959–60 season and despite a spectacular goal against Everton in October 1959 and a memorable performance in a 3–2 victory at Lincoln City in December 1960, he struggled to make an impression, and was released in October 1961 to join York City where he scored four goals in 16 appearances in the 1961–62 season.

In three years at Tonbridge, he made 174 appearances and scored 61 goals.

Personal life

In 1962, Francis married Gloria, a Trinidadian-born bookkeeper. Together they had two children, born in 1968 and 1973. In 1971, Francis, his wife and his children migrated to Ontario, Canada, where he died on 10 May 2025, at the age of 91.

References

• Mourant, Andrew (1992). Leeds United: Player by Player. Guinness Publishing Ltd. p. 17. ISBN 0-85112-568-9.