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Henry Frederick Brophy (22 October 1916 – 6 November 1996) 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 ...
who played for
Southampton Southampton () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire, S ...
in the years immediately before
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. After the war, he emigrated to Australia where he coached and captained the national football team, including acting as team manager for two games in 1954 and 1955.


Early career

Brophy was born in Leicester, but moved to
North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nor ...
as a child. He captained
Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ...
schoolboys to the English Schools Shield in 1931 (aged 14) and his maturity was soon spotted by
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
who signed him up as a trainee in 1933. He never appeared for Arsenal's first team and was sent out on loan, firstly to Canterbury Waverley of the Kent League and then to
Margate Margate is a seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay and Westbrook. The town has been a significant m ...
(Arsenal's nursery team) for the 1935–36 season. He signed professional papers for Arsenal in May 1936, and was then sent out on loan again, this time to
Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...
. He broke a leg when playing in a reserve match for Brighton against
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
(in a tackle with Fred Briggs whom he was later to partner in Southampton's forward line). He returned to
Highbury Highbury is a district in North London and part of the London Borough of Islington in Greater London that was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads. The manor house was situ ...
but failed to break into the first team.


Southampton

Whilst with the "Gunners" his potential had been spotted by Tom Parker and in May 1938, now the Saints manager, Parker signed him for
Southampton Southampton () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire, S ...
. Although Brophy was normally a half back, he was drafted in as
centre forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...
for the first three games of the 1938–39 season in the absence of Reg Tomlinson. Brophy scored in each of the first three games of the season before injury sidelined him for two games. All three of the games ended as defeats, setting the tone for the rest of the season. He came back into the side, this time at
left half A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
and scored again. After that flurry of goals, he only scored once more. The outbreak of war then brought Brophy's playing career to a premature end. He initially joined the police before joining the Merchant Navy and served on the hospital ship "''
St Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Pete ...
''" during the
Dunkirk evacuation The Dunkirk evacuation, codenamed Operation Dynamo and also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, or just Dunkirk, was the evacuation of more than 338,000 Allied soldiers during the Second World War from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the n ...
in 1940. During the war he guested for several clubs including
Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. ...
,
Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandswo ...
and
Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...
and Clapton Orient.


Coaching in Australia

In 1949 he emigrated to
Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...
and joined
Corinthian F.C. Corinthian Football Club was an English amateur football club based in London between 1882 and 1939. Above all, the club is credited with having popularised football around the world, having promoted sportsmanship and fair play, and having ch ...
in
Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
. He graduated to coaching for Australia and took charge of the team in 1954 and 1955.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brophy, Harry 1916 births 1996 deaths Footballers from Leicester Men's association football fullbacks Men's association football defenders English men's footballers Arsenal F.C. players Canterbury Waverley F.C. players Margate F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. wartime guest players English football managers English expatriate football managers Australia men's national soccer team managers Mauritius national football team managers Fulham F.C. wartime guest players Crystal Palace F.C. wartime guest players Expatriate soccer managers in Australia Expatriate football managers in Mauritius English expatriate sportspeople in Mauritius English expatriate sportspeople in Australia Sydney FC Prague managers Sydney United 58 FC managers British Merchant Navy personnel of World War II English emigrants to Australia