| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | James Edwin Bradley | ||
| Date of birth | 5 May 1881 | ||
| Place of birth | Stoke-on-Trent, England | ||
| Date of death | 12 March 1954 (aged 72) | ||
| Place of death | Blackpool, England | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| 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. † Appearances (Goals). |
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James Bradley (5 May 1881 – 12 March 1954) was a footballer who played for Liverpool Football Club in the early 20th century, helping them to the Football League Championship in 1905.
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Born in Goldenhill, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, Bradley played for Stoke before being signed by Liverpool manager Tom Watson in September 1905. Making his debut in a Football League Division One match against Birmingham at Anfield on the 23 September 1905 a game that the Reds won 2-0, he scored his first goal, the opening goal of the 4–1 home victory over Newcastle, 18 months later on the 23 March 1907. Bradley, a left half-back, played 31 matches in his first season which saw him gain a championship medal as the Liverpool took the title by 4 points beating Preston into second spot. Bradley had an eventful Christmas Day in 1909, regular goalkeeper Sam Hardy's absence saw Bradley take on the role, Bolton were the opposition and they had a shock as Bradley kept a clean sheet as Liverpool went on to hit the net three times.
James remained a regular member of the Liverpool starting line-up over the next four years missing just 18 matches. Bradley lost his place during the 1910–11 season and left the club at the end of the season joining Reading in the Southern League.
He went on to rejoin his first club Stoke and even returned to Liverpool as a wartime guest, before retiring from the game, briefly serving as a coach back at Stoke City.
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Stoke | 1898–99 | 26 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 32 | 0 |
| 1899–1900 | 33 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 35 | 0 | |
| 1900–01 | 34 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 37 | 0 | |
| 1901–02 | 23 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 25 | 0 | |
| 1902–03 | 29 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 33 | 1 | |
| 1903–04 | 29 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 2 | |
| 1904–05 | 25 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 27 | 0 | |
| Total | 199 | 4 | 20 | 0 | 219 | 4 | |
| Liverpool | 1905–06 | 32 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 37 | 0 |
| 1906–07 | 36 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 40 | 1 | |
| 1907–08 | 34 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 38 | 6 | |
| 1908–09 | 34 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 36 | 1 | |
| 1909–10 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 0 | |
| 1910–11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 169 | 5 | 15 | 3 | 184 | 8 | |
| Reading | 1910–11 | ||||||
| 1911–12 | |||||||
| 1912–13 | |||||||
| Total | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
| Stoke | 1913–14 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 15 | 1 |
| 1914–15 | 18 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 22 | 1 | |
| Total | 30 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 37 | 2 | |
| Career Total | 398 | 11 | 42 | 3 | 440 | 14 | |
His brother, Martin (1886–1958) played at inside forward for Grimsby Town, Sheffield Wednesday and Bristol Rovers between 1907 and 1914.
Martin's son Jack (1916–2002) played at inside forward for various clubs in the 1930s and 1940s, including Swindon Town, Southampton and Bolton Wanderers.[1]