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Stoke City 1914-1915 Jimmy Bradley is standing on the immediate left of the Goalkeeper Jimmy Bradley's grand nephew is married to Phil Walton's wife's third cousin once removed! |
James Edwin Bradley (Jimmy) was born in Goldenhill Staffordshire in May 1881. He signed for Stoke City from non-league Goldenhill Wanderers when he was 16. He was described in the Staffordshire Sentinel as having "an old head on young shoulders" with "a fine turn of speed who tackles with excellent judgment".
Jimmy played most of his game as a left half. His role was to disrupt the opposition's creative players, however he was also a precise passer of the ball and his clever promptings set his forwards moving.
Jimmy was described in the press as a model of consistency, he developed a trick whereby 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.
In 1903 Stoke developed the Butler Street Stand to accommodate 12,000 spectators at a cost of £2000. This swallowed Stokes sparse reserves and Jimmy was sold to Liverpool for £420. He won a championship medal in his first season at Anfield and played a total of 170 times for Liverpool.
In 1911 he moved on to Reading who released him in 1913, Jimmy was irate and he tossed the entire first team playing kit into the Elm Park baths. He rejoined Stoke on a free transfer and continued playing for them until 1915.