James Edward Broadhead (25 August 1894 – 4 May 1955) 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 as a defender. Born in

Rotherham Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...

, he started his career with

Rotherham County Rotherham County F.C. was an English football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire. They spent a number of years in the English Football League before merging with rivals Rotherham Town in 1925 to form Rotherham United. History The club ...

in 1913, and then joined

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 2 ...

in 1919. He later had spells with

South Shields South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. Historically, it was known in Roman times as Arbeia, and as Caer Urfa by Early Middle Ages. According to the ...

and

Scunthorpe & Lindsey United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. The side currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The tea ...

before moving to

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 ...

, where he made 67 Football League appearances in two spells with the club. He played in

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 s ...

towards the end of his career, before retiring to become a coach in the early 1930s.

Biography

James Broadhead was born in

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

, on 25 August. After his football career ended, he settled in

Whiston, Merseyside Whiston is a town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley in Merseyside, England. Previously recorded within the historic county of Lancashire, it is located east of Liverpool. The population was 13,629 at the 2001 Census ...

, and worked for retail and gambling company

Littlewoods Littlewoods was a retail and football betting company founded in Liverpool, England, by John Moores in 1923. By the 1980s, it had grown to become the largest private company in Europe, but subsequently declined in the face of increased com ...

of Liverpool. He died in Whiston on 4 May 1955, at the age of 60.

Football career

Broadhead started his senior career with his hometown club

in 1913, having previously played junior football with Kimberworth Old Boys. His early career was interrupted by the First World War. After the conclusion of the war, Broadhead joined Southern Football League side

, where he scored eight goals in 31 matches during a solitary season at Carrow Road. In May 1920, he signed for

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 ...

club

. However, he failed to break into the first team and left in January 1921 without playing a single match for the club. He next joined

and played one-and-a-half seasons with them, scoring the club's last ever goal in the

Midland Football League The Midland Football League is an English football league that was founded in 2014 by the merger of the former Midland Alliance and Midland Combination. The league has four divisions that sit at levels 9–12 of the football pyramid. History ...

, in a 1–1 draw with

Harrogate Town Harrogate Town A.F.C. is a professional association football club in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, which competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed the Sulphurites, due to the ...

. In May 1922, Broadhead was recommended to

player-manager David Wilson by former

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament const ...

forward

Bob Whittingham Robert Whittingham (1888 – 9 June 1926) was an English footballer who played as an inside-forward for various clubs, mainly prior to the First World War. He played in the Football League for Stoke, Blackpool, Bradford City, and Chelsea. He h ...

, and became one of 11 new signings for Nelson at the start of the 1922–23 season. He made his Nelson debut on 26 August 1922 in the 2–6 defeat away at

Bradford Park Avenue Bradford (Park Avenue) Association Football Club is an association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in , at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The name derived from their former ho ...

. On 14 April 1923, he scored his first goal for the club, netting the winner in the 2–1 win against

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 ...

at Seedhill. Broadhead missed only two matches during the campaign as the team won the

Football League 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 ...

to gain promotion to the Second Division for the first time in their history. He did not make the team as regularly in a higher league, and was often second choice left-half behind new signing

Leigh Collins Leigh Richman Collins (5 March 1901 – 4 October 1975) was an English professional footballer who played as a half-back. He played in the Football League for Wigan Borough, Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' ( ...

. Broadhead found his first-team opportunities highly limited during the 1924–25 season. On 21 April 1925, he played his first match in almost a year when he was selected for the 2–1 home win over

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Iris ...

. He played in the first six games of the following campaign, but was then replaced by Ernie Braidwood and later by

Ambrose Harris Ambrose Harris (29 October 1902 – 1952) was an English professional footballer who played in a number of positions, mainly as a half-back. He played in the Football League with Nelson, making almost 60 first-team appearances for the club in a ...

. After a four-year spell, in which he played total of 66 league matches and scored one goal for Nelson, Broadhead left Nelson in July 1926 to join

non-league 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 s ...

side Barnoldswick Town. After one season with Barnoldswick, Broadhead returned to Nelson in a joint role as player and reserve team coach. After recovering from a knee injury, he played a number of matches for the second string as they were crowned champions 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 it ...

for the 1927–28 season. Broadhead did make one appearance in the league for the first team, playing in the 2–3 loss to Bradford Park Avenue on 15 October 1927.Dykes, p. 81 In the summer of 1928, he transferred to

Horwich RMI Horwich ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. Prior to 1974 in the historic county of Lancashire. It is southeast of Chorley, northwest of Bolton and northwest of Manchester. It ...

, before joining

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea. Name The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), ...

in July 1930.

After football

Following a short spell as a player with Morecambe, Broadhead retired from football to become a full-time coach. He returned to Nelson in the early 1930s as a trainer, before being appointed to the

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 ...

coaching staff in August 1935. After leaving Southampton, his final coaching job, Broadhead returned to the north of England.

Honours

;Nelson: *

: 1922–23

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Broadhead, Jimmy 1894 births 1955 deaths Footballers from Rotherham English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Rotherham County F.C. players Norwich City F.C. players Gateshead A.F.C. players Scunthorpe United F.C. players Nelson F.C. players Barnoldswick Town F.C. players Leigh Genesis F.C. players Morecambe F.C. players English Football League players