James Bradley (footballer)
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | James Edwin Bradley | ||
| Date of birth | 5 May 1881 | ||
| Place of birth | Goldenhill, Stoke-upon-Trent, England | ||
| Date of death | 12 March 1954 (aged 72) | ||
| Place of death | Blackpool, England | ||
| Playing position | Wing half | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| Goldenhill Wanderers | |||
| 1898–1905 | Stoke | 199 | (4) |
| 1905–1911 | Liverpool | 169 | (5) |
| 1911–1913 | Reading | ||
| 1913–1915 | Stoke | 30 | (2) |
| Goldenhill Wanderers | |||
| Total | 398 | (11) | |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. | |||
James Bradley (5 May 1881 – 12 March 1954) was an English footballer who played in the Football League for Liverpool and Stoke.
Born in Goldenhill, Stoke-upon-Trent, and joined Stoke from amateur side Goldenhill Wanderers as a 16-year-old in February 1898. Weighing 11 st (70 kg) and standing at 6 ft (1.83 m) Bradley played at wing half and oozed class. The Sentinel described him as having an old head on young shoulders with "a fine turn of speed who tackles with excellent judgement". As a consequence of Alex Raisbeck's transfer to Liverpool, Bradley found himself part of a youthful, hard working half-back line featuring 23-year-old Alf Wood and fellow teenager Edward Parsons and in the first season of this trio Stoke reached their first FA Cup semi-final losing out 3–1 to Derby County.
Following the departure of Parsons and Wood in 1900–01, 23-year-old Bradley found himself as the most experienced midfielder at the club. Now partnered by Tom Holford and George Baddeley this new half-back line helped keep Stoke in the First Division for five more years. The press described Bradley as 'a model of consistency' but he was also a skilful player who became one of the first to use tricks. He would swing hard at the ball with his right foot and dummy the player facing him by kicking the ball with the outside of his left. Despite the quality of their midfield, year after year Stoke narrowly clung on to their top-flight status. Improvements to the Victoria Ground in 1903 cost £2,000 swallowing the clubs already dwindling finances and so the board agreed to sell their best players with Bradley poised to join Plymouth Argyle in 1905. But he refused to join the Southern side was instead sold to Liverpool for £420.
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