The club were saddened to learn of the passing of Gillingham Great Brian Gibbs
Everyone at Gillingham Football Club was deeply saddened to learn of the recent passing of prolific Gills goal scorer Brian Gibbs, who sadly passed away on Monday, aged 77.A powerful inside-left, Brian was born in Gillingham but began his career as an apprentice at Portsmouth. Following a brief spell with Gosport Borough, he spent five seasons with AFC Bournemouth before manager Freddie Cox splashed out £4,000 to bring him to Priestfield in October 1962.
Brian went on to justify that transfer fee many times over, finishing as Gillingham’s leading goal scorer for five seasons in a row, and becoming the first player in the club’s history to score a century of goals in the Football League.
In his second season at the club, 1963/64, Gibbs played in every league fixture, scoring 17 goals as Cox’s side clinched the Fourth Division Champion for the first time in Gillingham history, an achievement only equalled by Martin Allen’s team 50 years later in 2012/13.
After six seasons with the Gills, Brian moved to Colchester United in September 1968 for a fee of £6,000, having scored 110 goals in 284 appearances for the club.
To this day he remains the second highest goal scorer in Gillingham’s Football League history and, without question, one of the greatest players ever to pull on our shirt. Our thoughts are with Brian’s family and friends at this sad time.