Born on this day is former Sunderland forward Phil Gray. The striker also played for the Northern Ireland international team, making 26 appearances and scoring six goals.
Gray began his career at Tottenham, where he made just nine appearances in four years. He was then sent on loan to Barnsley and Fulham. In 1991, the forward signed for Luton Town permanently. He was impressive at Kenilworth Road, scoring 22 times in 59 games.
The Northern Irishman’s form was enough to tempt Sunderland into paying £800,000 for his services after just two years at the Hatters. Gray missed the beginning of the season famously, after being involved in a major car accident alongside fellow new signings Andy Melville and Ian Rogerson. Teammate Derek Ferguson had offered to give a number of players a lift home after a pre-season friendly against Middlesbrough. Ferguson proceeded to go the wrong way around a roundabout, inexplicably claiming that the roundabout was difficult to see!
Gray suffered the most damage from the accident, and was rushed to hospital. He had to undergo an emergency surgery to remove windscreen glass from his eye. He feared for losing his sight, as his eyelid was sewed back on.
He did eventually recover though, and scored his first goal in red and white in a 2-1 Coca Cola Cup win against top flight side Leeds United. It was a close-range tap in, from just two yards out. Gray believed it to be the beginning of a good partnership between himself and Don Goodman. However, in the next match his time at Sunderland took another turn, as he was sent off in a draw at Watford!
That season was successful for Gray, who ended the campaign on 17 goals in 47 appearances. His strike partner Goodman also found the net 16 times as the lads finished a respectable 12th. Overall, the Northern Ireland international scored 41 in 134 games before departing on a free in 1996.
He went on to sign for Dutch club Fortuna Sittard, where he played for a year before returning to Luton for around £400,000. He then went on to travel around the lower leagues, eventually retiring in 2005 after a spell with Maidenhead United.
