Thomas Bradshaw

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Thomas Bradshaw
image:Thomas Bradshaw.jpg
Personal information
Full name Henry Thomas Bradshaw
Date of birth August 24, 1873
Place of birth    Liverpool, England
Date of death    December 25, 1899 (aged 26)
Place of death    Tottenham, London, England
Playing position Forward
Youth clubs
1889-1891 Liverpool Nomads
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1891-1893
1893-1898
1898
1898-1899
1899		 Northwich Victoria
Liverpool
Northwich Victoria
Tottenham Hotspur
Thames Ironworks
118 (45)


005 0(0)   
National team
1897 England 001 0(0)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only.
* Appearances (Goals)
Another Thomas Bradshaw played for Liverpool, in the 1930s. See Tom Bradshaw

Henry Thomas Bradshaw (24 August 1873 – 25 December 1899) was an English international footballer who played in the outside-left and centre-forward positions for Liverpool F.C., Northwich Victoria, Tottenham Hotspur and Thames Ironworks during the late 19th century.

Contents

[edit] Life and playing career

Bradshaw was born in Liverpool, Merseyside and signed for Liverpool F.C. from Northwich Victoria in October 1893 by manager John McKenna. Originally playing as a centre-forward, Bradshaw made his debut against Woolwich Arsenal, in a Football League Division Two game, scoring the last goal in a 5-0 victory. He went on to score seven in the remaining fourteen matches of the 1893-94 season, helping Liverpool to the Second Division title and promotion to the top tier of English football, after a Test Match victory over Newton Heath.

During the following season Bradshaw was the only ever present and scored seventeen times, in a Liverpool team that struggled and were eventually relegated back down to Division 2. Liverpool again topped the Second Division at the end of the 1895-96 season with Bradshaw scoring twelve goals from his new position on the left-wing, his versatility giving Liverpool an extra dimension to their attack.

Tom gained one England cap when he played against Ireland on 20 February 1897 and holds the distinction of being Liverpool's first ever player to achieve International recognition.

Bradshaw left Liverpool in May 1898, returning briefly to Northwich Victoria before joining Tottenham Hotspur. His brief stay at Northumberland Road was marked with a little piece of history when his goal in an F A cup tie in 1899 helped Spurs become the first lower division club ever to come from behind to beat top flight opposition in the shape of Sunderland[1] . Tom then made the journey from North to East London that summer, joining Thames Ironworks, the team that would later become West Ham. He was immediately appointed as the club's captain.

During a Southern League match on 7 October 1899, Tom Bradshaw sustained an injury in The Irons 1-0 win over Bedminster that would begin a series of events that would see the condition of his health deteriorate. He still managed to make a strong contribution, scoring a goal in The Irons biggest win of the season, 7-0 away to Dartford. Bradshaw played his last Southern League game ever, in a 0-0 home draw against New Brompton on 11 November. Only a week later, The Irons had to play New Brompton again, this time in the FA Cup, and a 0-0 draw, was followed by 2-0 replay win, setting up a next round tie against Thames Ironworks' arch-rivals Millwall. The clearly ailing Tom Bradshaw was rested for the next two games, in preparation for the tie against Millwall, which was to follow 16 days later. In the game on 9 December, Bradshaw made his comeback, scoring the only goal in a 1-2 defeat. This would be his last game for the club, and indeed in football in general.

Tom Bradshaw finally succumbed to his lengthy illness on Christmas Day 1899. His cause of death was recorded as consumption. Bradshaw's passing was remembered by Thames Ironworks player and future West Ham manager Syd King, in his brief history of the club:

"The record of 1899-1900, however, would not be complete without some reference to poor Tom Bradshaw, who came from Spurs with Joyce. How well I remember that match with Queens Park Rangers during the Christmas holidays, when Joyce brought over the sad message to the Memorial Grounds that our comrade had passed away. Poor Tom was one of the cleverest wing forwards I have ever known and he was immensely popular with everybody." - Syd King, 'Book Of Football' (1906)

Tom Bradshaw's close friends Bill Joyce and Kenny McKay left for Portsmouth and Fulham respectively.

[edit] Career details

  • Liverpool FC (1893 - 1898): 138 appearances, 53 goals
  • Football League Division Two winner's medal (1894, 1896)
  • Thames Ironworks F.C. (1899): 12 appearances, 2 goals
  • England (1897): 1 appearance

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Giant Killers 1899

[edit] External links


Persondata
NAME Bradshaw, Henry Thomas
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bradshaw, Thomas
SHORT DESCRIPTION English international footballer
DATE OF BIRTH August 24, 1873
PLACE OF BIRTH Liverpool, England, United Kingdom
DATE OF DEATH 25 December 1899
PLACE OF DEATH Tottenham, London, England, United Kingdom