18 Facts About Gary Sprake

Gareth Sprake was a Welsh professional footballer.

Gary Sprake became known during his career as a brilliant goalkeeper who was prone to occasional mistakes.

Gary Sprake was especially known for his ability to come out to catch crossed balls floating into the box and his shot stopping.

At Leeds, Gary Sprake played 504 times, keeping more than 200 clean sheets.

Gary Sprake spent more than a decade as the number 1 keeper at Leeds during a period when they were a dominant side in the English domestic game.

Gary Sprake represented Swansea Schoolboys and was noticed by Leeds United soon after he left school and was playing for a local works team.

Gary Sprake joined Leeds as an apprentice, and made a last-minute debut in 1962 when the regular goalkeeper went down with a stomach complaint on the day of a game at Southampton.

Gary Sprake only missed one game in both competitions that season, but Leeds ended with nothing, missing out on the League title on goal average to Manchester United and losing the FA Cup final to Liverpool.

Gary Sprake was holding the ball and was set to throw it to the Leeds left back Terry Cooper, only to curtail his throw when he spotted Liverpool winger Ian Callaghan running towards the area he planned to throw the ball.

In 1969, Gary Sprake was again a regular as Leeds won the League championship.

Chelsea chased an equaliser, but when attacking midfield player Peter Houseman hit a left foot shot shortly before the break, it seemed tame and directionless enough for Gary Sprake to save it safely.

Gary Sprake dived full length to save it but it squirmed through his grasp and rolled into the net.

Gary Sprake was still the first-choice keeper for Leeds in the following two seasons, but was replaced by Harvey at the tail of both, including the 1972 FA Cup Final.

Gary Sprake was the youngest-ever goalkeeper to appear for Wales when he made his international debut as an 18-year-old against Scotland on 20 November 1963.

Gary Sprake won 37 caps for Wales between 1963 and 1974.

Gary Sprake worked as a salesman for a short period before becoming a borough council training officer in Solihull, where he remained for over 14 years.

In 1978, Gary Sprake was paid a substantial fee by the Daily Mirror to make allegations against former Leeds manager Don Revie and club captain Billy Bremner regarding match-fixing, though no charges ever arose from his accusations.

Bremner acknowledged that Gary Sprake was capable of pulling off some "unbelievable" saves, before adding that this was "as positive as I can get about the man".