A product of the Leigh & District League, Alec Gaskell made his club début turning out in new boots at Blackburn when he helped the ‘A’ team to their first win of the season. Seven weeks later he scored on his Reserve début against Barrow Reserves and before the end of the campaign he had appeared in 7 Third Division games. A tireless player who gave defenders no rest, he had almost three years with Manchester United as a youngster before joining the RAF. At Haig Avenue he was unable to play regularly because of his National Service duties but following his demob he turned professional and scored hat-tricks in a trio of Reserve games. He began 1953—54 in excellent style, scoring 10 times in the opening 15 games. After a £2,500 bid from Burnley was turned down, he joined Newcastle United for £500. He had impressed a ‘Magpies’ scout at York who had gone to watch City’s Dave Dunmore. He only had one League opportunity at St. James’ Park but scored 9 goals in 12 Central League games. He joined Mansfield Town at a fee of £3,500 but regretted the move claiming he ‘never came good.’ After a further taste of League football at Prenton Park, he settled in at Mossley under Eddie Quigley, scoring 3 times in his first and last games. He packed in after breaking his wrist with Winsford United.

Profile reproduced with Permission from:
The Sandgrounders: The Complete League History of Southport F. C., by Michael Braham and Geoff Wilde (Palatine Books, 1995). ISBN 978-1-874181-14-9