Harry Hadley (26 October 1877 – 22 October 1947) was an English professional football player and manager. He played once for the England national team.

Playing career

Hadley was born in

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 202 ...

. Having had little junior football experience, he joined

Halesowen Halesowen ( ) is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the county of West Midlands, England. Historically an exclave of Shropshire and, from 1844, in Worcestershire, the town is around from Birmingham city centre, and fro ...

in 1895 from Colley Gate United. In February 1897 he joined

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional Association football, football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English foo ...

where he established himself at wing-half. He won a

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

title medal with the Baggies in 1902 and in February 1903 won his only

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

cap in the 4–0 win against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

at Molineux. During a match against Aston Villa in September 1904, Hadley sustained a severe injury which put "grave doubt" on his ability to play again, following comments by a club director. Having been retained at West Brom by club directors at great sacrifice, in February 1905, after 167 league games, he left the club to join

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa P ...

for a fee of £250, but played just 11 times before joining

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

in April 1906. A year later he moved again, this time to Southern League club

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 ...

. According to Holley & Chalk's "The Alphabet of the Saints" he was "a methodical yet energetic half-back, dedicated to looking after the forwards by supporting, feeding and directing them into advantageous positions". At the end of the 1907–08 season he moved to

Croydon Common Croydon Common Football Club was an amateur and, later on, professional football club based in Croydon. History The team formed in 1897 as an amateur church team competing in local leagues. They turned professional in 1907, joining the Southern ...

, rejoining

in February 1910. He finished his playing career with

Merthyr Town Merthyr Town Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Tref Merthyr) is a Welsh semi-professional football club based in Merthyr Tydfil, currently playing in the , in the seventh tier of the English football league system. The football club was orig ...

Managerial career

Hadley's first managerial job was with

where he was appointed in May 1919. He oversaw their promotion to the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

in 1920 and guided them to 8th place in

Division Three (South) The Third Division South 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 North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to ...

in their first season. He left Merthyr in April 1922 to manage Chesterfield, but left in August the same year. In 1924, he was named the secretary of

Accrington Stanley Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England. The club competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They have spent their complete histor ...

. In November 1927 he took over at

Aberdare Athletic Aberdare Athletic Football Club were a Welsh football club founded in 1893 and based in Aberdare. They joined the Football League in 1921 but were replaced by Torquay United after failing to be re-elected in 1927. History Founded in 1893, Aber ...

, who had failed to gain re-election to the Football League the previous season. He left in April 1928, returning to Merthyr Town as manager, but left again in November the same year. He began a third spell as Merthyr manager in 1930, leaving in September 1931. His final managerial job was with Bangor City who he joined in July 1935 and left in April 1936 when he retired. Hadley's brother

Ben Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin, Benedict, Bennett or Benson, and is also a given name in its own right. Ben (in he, בֶּן, ''son of'') forms part of Hebrew surnames, e.g. Abraham ben Abraham ( ...

also played professionally for West Bromwich Albion, but had left before Harry's arrival at the Hawthorns.

Honours

As a player

West Bromwich Albion *

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third t ...

: 1901–02

References

External links

*
Croydon Common career details
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hadley, Harry 1877 births Footballers from Barrow-in-Furness 1947 deaths English footballers Association football defenders England international footballers Southern Football League players Halesowen Town F.C. players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. players Nottingham Forest F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Croydon Common F.C. players Merthyr Town F.C. players English football managers Merthyr Town F.C. managers Aberdare Athletic F.C. managers Chesterfield F.C. managers Bangor City F.C. managers Footballers from Cumbria