Howard Anthony Gayle was born on 18 May 1958 and is an English former footballer who played for Birmingham City, Blackburn Rovers, Fulham, Halifax Town, Liverpool, Newcastle United, Sunderland and Stoke City.
11 Facts About Howard Gayle
2.
Howard Gayle then played for Sunderland and had a short spell in the United States playing indoor football with the Dallas Sidekicks.
3.
Howard Gayle returned to England and played for Stoke City, Blackburn Rovers and ended his career with Halifax Town.
4.
Howard Gayle was born in Toxteth and joined the youth ranks at local side Liverpool in 1974.
5.
Howard Gayle signed a professional contract with the club in 1977, becoming the first black player to play for Liverpool, which was seen as a "victory" for the black community in Liverpool.
6.
Howard Gayle then signed for Len Ashurst's Sunderland, where he became a popular player playing in two seasons before moving to the United States to play for Dallas Sidekicks in the Major Indoor Soccer League.
7.
Howard Gayle then spent five years at Blackburn Rovers, signing for them in 1987 and being a regular striker in their quest for top flight football.
8.
However, by the time Blackburn were promoted to the newly-created Premier League in 1992, Howard Gayle had fallen down the pecking order in favour of expensive new signings Mike Newell and David Speedie, and with the arrival of national record signing Alan Shearer that summer, it was clear that Blackburn manager Kenny Dalglish felt that Howard Gayle was surplus to requirements at Ewood Park.
9.
Howard Gayle joined Halifax Town in the newly renamed Division Three but managed just five league appearances as they were relegated to the Football Conference.
10.
Howard Gayle was born to a father from Sierra Leone and a mother from Ghana.
11.
Howard Gayle released his autobiography in October 2016 titled 61 Minutes in Munich.