Joe Bradford

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Joe Bradford
Personnel
Surname Joseph Bradford
birthday January 22, 1901
place of birth Peggs Green , Coalville ,  England
date of death September 6, 1980
Place of death Birmingham ,  England
position Center Forward
Juniors
Years station
Peggs Green Victoria
Coleorton
Men's
Years station Games (goals) 1
1920-1935 Birmingham FC 414 (249)
1935-1936 Bristol City 5 00(1)
National team
Years selection Games (goals)
1923-1930 England 12 00(7)
1 Only league games are given.

Joseph "Joe" Bradford (born January 22, 1901 in Peggs Green , Coalville , † September 6, 1980 in Birmingham ) was an English football player . The former center forward was the key figure in the attacking game of Birmingham FC (since 1945: "Birmingham City") between the two world wars and scored 267 goals in 445 competitive games. Between 1923 and 1930 he scored seven goals in twelve international matches for the English national team and was also represented five times in the national team of the Football League .

Athletic career

Joe Bradford was born in Leicestershire on the anniversary of Queen Victoria's death . After his youth at the local club Peggs Green Victoria , the step into professional football was a bit bumpy at first, although he had made a name for himself with the major clubs in the vicinity during a performance with 14 goals in just one game. Trial training sessions at Aston Villa and Derby County initially did not result in the young Bradford being committed. Instead, he joined Birmingham FC in February 1920, to which the young talent was worth £ 100 - plus a further £ 20 after the first use.

At this time, Birmingham FC only played in the second division Second Division , but in his first full season in 1920/21 Bradford was promoted to the top English division straight away . In the total of 15 years with the "Blues" he played mostly in the midfield of the league and often only to keep up, but with his consistently high goal yields, Bradford catapulted himself into the English national team in 1923. Until 1933 he was in the twelve first division seasons only in the 1930/31 season not top scorer of his club (in terms of all competitions) and with his total of 267 goals Bradford is to this day the record scorer of Birmingham City.

Bradford, who had a similar shooting strength with both feet and also had a good header game, was characterized above all by an above-average acceleration and had reached his peak shortly before and around 1930. In September 1929 he scored eleven goals in just eight days. Three goals in a game against Newcastle United , he followed five goals in a selection game of the English Football League Association against the Irish counterpart . He scored three more goals in the next league game against Blackburn Rovers . With his club he moved into the final of the FA Cup on April 25, 1931 , where he also scored a goal, but was still defeated 2-1 by West Bromwich Albion .

He made his debut in the English national team in 1923 and already scored three goals after two games, but it was only with his third appearance against Scotland - almost 5½ years after his debut - that he became a permanent figure in the English selection. On November 22, 1930 he came to his twelfth and final international match against Wales (4-0) and said goodbye with his fifth goal.

In 1935 Bradford left his "Blues" and joined the third division Bristol City for a season before finally ending his active career in May 1936.

After the football career

Bradford opened a café and later ran a restaurant in Birmingham, Droitwich and Stourbridge . He also ran a sports shop with Eric Houghton , who played for Aston Villa.

He remained partially in football itself and worked as a scout for Arsenal FC in the 1946/47 season .

successes

  • FA Cup : Final participation in 1931

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ "BIRMINGHAM" (Football Club History Database)
  2. ^ "Top League Goalscorers" ( Memento from October 25, 2004 in the Internet Archive ) (The Birmingham City FC Archive)
  3. ^ "England Players - Joe Bradford" (englandfootballonline.com)

swell

personal data
SURNAME Bradford, Joe
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bradford, Joseph (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English football goalkeeper
DATE OF BIRTH January 22, 1901
PLACE OF BIRTH Peggs Green , Coalville
DATE OF DEATH September 6, 1980
Place of death Birmingham