Frederick Broadhurst (30 November 1888 – 9 May 1953) was an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a full-back. In a career spanning almost 20 years, he made almost 250 appearances in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

for five different clubs.

Early life

Born in Hindley,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, as a youth Broadhurst played for his hometown club, Hindley Central, before joining

side

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...

in April 1910.

Career

He signed his first professional contract with North End in August of the same year and went on to make two league appearances during the 1910–11 season. Broadhurst returned to Hindley Central on

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

in March 1913, before his career was interrupted by the outbreak of the First World War, which halted all competitive football in England for four seasons between 1915 and 1919. Upon the recommencement of League football in 1919–20, Broadhurst was awarded £400 () by Preston for completing ten seasons with the team. In the summer of 1922, having played 107 league matches and scored 3 goals for North End, Broadhurst moved to

Stalybridge Celtic Stalybridge Celtic Football Club is an English football club based in Stalybridge, Greater Manchester. They are currently members of the and play at Bower Fold. The team traditionally plays in a blue and white strip. In 1921, Stalybridge Celti ...

, who had joined the Football League the previous year following the formation of the

Third Division North The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated to ...

. He missed only two matches of the 1922–23 campaign, making 36 league appearances for the side as they finished 11th in the league.Joyce (2004), p. 298 However, Stalybridge left the League at the end of the season, and Broadhurst subsequently moved to Second Division outfit

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in EFL League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton ...

. He did not feature regularly with his new club, however, and played only four matches for them. A return to the Third Division North with Barrow followed in June 1924, and Broadhurst was almost ever-present during the 1924–25 season as the side ended the campaign in 14th position. Broadhurst joined

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

in June 1925 and made his debut for the club on 29 August 1925 in the 2–1 win against

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...

at Seedhill. He retained his place in the starting eleven for some time, playing in 36 competitive league matches before being replaced by Walter Chadwick for the 0–3 loss to

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "the Mariners", the club was f ...

on 17 April 1926. Throughout the 1926–27 campaign, Broadhurst shared right-back duties with Clement Rigg and James Pearson. His final appearance for Nelson came on 7 May 1927, in the 0–2 defeat at home to

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ...

. He left the club at the end of the season and, at the age of 38, moved into

non-league football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

with

Chorley Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth ca ...

of the

Lancashire Combination The Lancashire Combination was a football league founded in the North West of England in 1891–92. It absorbed the Lancashire League in 1903. In 1968 the Combination lost five of its clubs to the newly formed Northern Premier League. In 1982 i ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Broadhurst, Fred 1888 births 1953 deaths English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Preston North End F.C. players Stalybridge Celtic F.C. players Stockport County F.C. players Barrow A.F.C. players Nelson F.C. players Chorley F.C. players English Football League players People from Hindley, Greater Manchester Sportspeople from the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan Footballers from Greater Manchester