Charles Broadhurst 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 ...

. A

centre forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on be ...

, he played for two

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 ...

clubs during the 1920s and 1930s.

Career

Moston-born Broadhurst began his career with Ashton National, before turning professional with

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

in the 1926–27 season. He scored on his professional debut, a 2–2 draw at

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

in April 1927. He played again in the return match three days later, and this time scored four goals in a 7–0 win. At this time Manchester City were in contention for promotion to the

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

. The race for promotion went to the final match, with Manchester City and

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

chasing the second of the two promotion places. Broadhurst scored twice in a resounding City win, an 8–0 victory against

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The club competes in , the third tier of English football, and is managed by Graham Alexander. The club was founded in 1903 and ...

. The watching crowd believed the result to be sufficient for promotion, but Portsmouth's match had been delayed by 15 minutes and was still in progress. A late Portsmouth goal meant the final scoreline in their match was a 5–1 win, enough to give Portsmouth second place on

goal average A goal or objective is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan, and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to ...

by a margin of one two-hundredth of a goal.James, ''Manchester City – The Complete Record'', p. 116. The following season Broadhurst scored 20 goals in 28 appearances as Manchester City won the Second Division championship. However, he made no appearances after February, and made just five appearances in the 1928–29 season. In total, he made 33 League appearances and scored 25 goals in his two years with the

Maine Road Maine Road was a football stadium in Moss Side, Manchester, England, that was home to Manchester City from 1923 to 2003. It hosted FA Cup semi-finals, the Charity Shield, a League Cup final and England matches. Maine Road's highest attenda ...

club. In 1929 he moved to nearby

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, for whom he made eighteen League appearances and scored six goals in his season-and-a-half with the club.

References

;Specific ;General * {{DEFAULTSORT:Broadhurst, Charles Year of birth missing People from Moston, Manchester English men's footballers Ashton National F.C. players Manchester City F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Year of death missing Men's association football forwards