Players - James Bradley

James Bradley
Birthdate: 5 May 1881
Birthplace: Goldenhill, Staffordshire, England
Date of death: 12 March 1954
Other clubs: Goldenhill Wanderers (1897-98), Stoke (1898-1905), Reading (1911-13), Stoke (2 / 1913-15), Goldenhill Wanderers
Signed from: Stoke
Signed for LFC: 15.09.1905
Liverpool debut: 23.09.1905
Last appearance: 17.12.1910
Debut goal: 23.03.1907
Last goal: 13.02.1909
Contract expiry: 13 June 1911
Win ratio: 47.31% W:88 D:28 L:70
Honours: League Championship 1905/06
League games / goals: 170 / 5
Total games / goals: 186 / 8

Player Profile

"Bradley possesses a splendid idea of the requirements of a successful half back, and the forwards in front of him cannot complain of the accurate attention. He believes in keeping the ball on the turf, and his clever tackling is only equalled by the skilful manner in which he places to his front rank." (Club programme from 2 February 1908). Bradley started out with a local team, Goldenhill Wanderers, in the coal mining village of Goldenhill where he was born and raised. After only one season he signed for Stoke where he made 199 appearances in the First Division from 1898 to 1905. At the end of the 1904/05 season, he was supposed to join Plymouth Argyle but the Football Association wouldn't sanction the deal. He joined Liverpool a few months later despite having a run-in with one of their players in a first division match on 17 October 1903. Bradley got into a fight with Fred Buck and they were both sent off. Buck was banned for six weeks but Bradley only 14 days.

Bradley made his first appearance for Liverpool in a home first division fixture with Birmingham City on 23 September 1905 and played in 32 league matches in his debut season, collecting a championship medal in the process.  He would miss only 18 League matches over the next four seasons and it wasn't until the 1910/11 season that his position at left-half was threatened. On one unusual occasion, Bradley played in Liverpool's goal on 25 December 1909. He donned the goalkeeper's jersey in Sam Hardy's absence and the big England international must have been proud to see his unlikely understudy keep a clean sheet in a 3-0 win over Bolton Wanderers. In 1913 Bradley rejoined Stoke after the club had resigned from the Football League.
Appearances per season
Season League FA LC Europe Other Total
Totals 170 15 0 0 1 186
1905-1906 32 5 0 0 1 38
1906-1907 36 4 0 0 0 40
1907-1908 34 4 0 0 0 38
1908-1909 34 2 0 0 0 36
1909-1910 30 0 0 0 0 30
1910-1911 4 0 0 0 0 4
A more detailed look at the player's appearances
Apps Minutes Opponent
11 990 Everton
10 900 Sheffield United
10 900 Newcastle United
9 810 Bury
9 810 Blackburn Rovers
9 810 Middlesbrough
9 810 Sunderland
9 810 Sheffield Wednesday
9 810 Notts County
8 720 Manchester City
8 720 Aston Villa
8 720 Nottingham Forest
8 720 Preston North End
7 630 Bristol City
7 630 Arsenal
7 630 Birmingham City
7 630 Bolton Wanderers
6 540 Bradford City
6 540 Manchester United
5 450 Chelsea
5 450 Derby
4 360 Stoke City
3 270 Leicester City
2 180 Wolves
2 180 Brighton & Hove Albion
1 90 Lincoln City
1 90 Oldham Athletic
1 90 Southampton
1 90 Norwich City
1 90 Tottenham
1 90 Brentford
1 90 Barnsley
1 90 Corinthians
Total Venue
97 Home
87 Away
2 Neutral
Total Competition
170 League
15 FA Cup
1 Sheriff of London Charity Shield
Total W D L Win % Manager
186 88 28 70 47.3% Tom Watson
Goals per season
Season League FA LC Europe Other Total
Totals 5 3 0 0 0 8
1905-1906 0 0 0 0 0 0
1906-1907 1 0 0 0 0 1
1907-1908 3 3 0 0 0 6
1908-1909 1 0 0 0 0 1
1909-1910 0 0 0 0 0 0
1910-1911 0 0 0 0 0 0
A more detailed look at the player's goalscoring
Total Competition
5 League
3 FA Cup
Total Goal origin
8 Open play
Milestone Appearances
# Date Against Stadium Competition
1 23.09.1905 Birmingham Anfield League
50 10.11.1906 Preston North End Anfield League
100 25.01.1908 Birmingham St Andrews League
150 12.04.1909 Sunderland Anfield League
Milestone Goals
# Minute Date Against Stadium Competition
1 0 23.03.1907 Newcastle United Anfield League
Scrapbook
Biography in Liverpool match programme on 2 February 1908
Biography in Liverpool match programme on 2 February 1908
Other Clubs
Club Season Club rank League apps League goals Total apps Total goals
Goldenhill Wanderers 1897-1898 North Staffordshire and District League N/A N/A N/A N/A
Stoke City 1898-1899 England First Division 26 0 32 0
Stoke City 1899-1900 England First Division 33 0 35 0
Stoke City 1900-1901 England First Division 34 0 37 0
Stoke City 1901-1902 England First Division 23 0 25 0
Stoke City 1902-1903 England First Division 29 2 33 2
Stoke City 1903-1904 England First Division 29 2 30 2
Stoke City 1904-1905 England First Division 25 0 27 0
Reading 1911-1913 Southern League Division Two N/A N/A N/A N/A
Stoke City 1913-1915 Birmingham & District League N/A N/A N/A N/A
Goldenhill Wanderers 1915- North Staffordshire and District League N/A N/A N/A N/A
Total 199 4 219 4