Over the course of the season we have made a number of cap presentations, so with the final ball about to be kicked, it’s time to catch up with those we haven’t reported on.
Carl Gilbert, unfortunately, is not well and lives in a care home in Dover but that hasn’t prevented us from passing his cap on to his family and we send them, and Carl, our best wishes.
Carl bought himself out of the Army to begin his professional career with Gillingham, and it was from there that he joined Rovers, in November 1969, in an exchange deal that saw Ken Ronaldson move to the Priestfield Stadium.
Carl’s league debut for Rovers came on Boxing Day 1969, against Reading, and ended in a 1-1 draw at Eastville when he became the 406th player to appear for the club in the Football League. It was the first of his 45 league games for the club.
He scored 15 goals in those games and moved on to join Rotherham in March 1971 where he scored 37 goals in 94 league games, before his involvement with a number of non league clubs in the Kent area, most notably Folkestone.
His cap was kindly sponsored by Elliot Jackson, Chair of the Bristol Rovers Heritage Society
Michael Meaker made his Rovers league debut against Burnley, at Turf Moor, on August 8th 1998 when Rovers suffered a 2-1 defeat.
He had previously played for Queens Park Rangers and Reading before arriving at The Memorial Stadium just one week before his debut which was the first of 27 league games in a Rovers shirt. He scored twice in those games and was the 623rd player to represent Rovers in league football.
On leaving BS7 he played for Swindon Town and Plymouth Argyle before turning out for a number of non league clubs. He was, at one time, player manager of Mangotsfield United and assistant manager at Yate Town, Taunton Town and Truro City before a return to a coaching role with Taunton.
It was good to catch up with him again at The Mem earlier this season.
Another former player to receive his cap this season was Graeme Power, one of three players signed by Ian Holloway in the summer of 1996 from Queens Park Rangers.
An England Schoolboy and Youth international, Graham made his league debut for the club in a 1-0 home win against Plymouth Argyle on 21st September 1996, when he dislocated his shoulder after just 36 minutes.
He was the 604th player to appear in the league for Rovers and went on to play 26 league games for the club before signing for Exeter City in August 1998 and going on to make 167 league appearances for the St James Park outfit.
He later played non league football for Tiverton Town, Weymouth, Bath City and Truro City, for whom he played against AFC Totton when they won the FA Vase at Wembley in May 2007.
It was good to see Graeme back at The Mem and we hope that he, along with the other recipients of one of our caps, will treasure the small memento of their time as a Bristol Rovers player.