Joe Brough

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Joe Brough
Brough, whilst with Port Vale
Personal information
Full name Joseph Brough[1]
Date of birth (1886-11-09)9 November 1886[1]
Place of birth Burslem, England[1]
Date of death 5 October 1968(1968-10-05) (aged 81)[1]
Place of death Stockton Brook, Stoke-on-Trent, England[1]
Height 5 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1.74 m)[2]
Position(s) Half-back; forward
Youth career
Burslem Park Boys
Smallthorne
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1906–1907 Burslem Port Vale 11 (1)
1907 Stoke 1 (0)
1908 Tottenham Hotspur 1 (0)
1909–1910 Port Vale 20 (22)
1910–1912 Liverpool 10 (3)
1912 Bristol City 22 (11)
1913–1922 Port Vale 115 (41)
Total 180 (78)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Joseph Brough (9 November 1886 – 5 October 1968) was an English footballer. He was also an accomplished cycler and sprinter.

Able to play at half-back or as a forward, he began his professional career with Burslem Port Vale in February 1907. He transferred to Stoke later in the year, before finding himself at Tottenham Hotspur. Failing to make an impression in London, he returned to Port Vale in 1909, and scored a club record 43 goals in the 1909–10 season. This won him a move to Liverpool in August 1910, though after falling from the first-team picture he moved on to Bristol City in January 1912. He again returned to Port Vale in May 1913, before he saw action in World War I in 1917. He retired from professional football in 1922, having featured in 209 competitive games for Port Vale.

Career[edit]

Brough played for Smallthorne, before he joined Burslem Port Vale as an amateur in the autumn of 1906, signing professional forms in February 1907.[1] He scored his first Second Division goal on 13 April 1907, in a 2–1 win over Hull City at the Athletic Ground.[1] This was his only goal in 12 appearances in the 1906–07 season.[1] The club then went into liquidation, and Brough transferred to Stoke.[1] He appeared in just the one game for the "Potters" in 1907–08, and then went on to appear in one league and one cup game for Tottenham Hotspur in 1908.[3]

Brough returned to Port Vale in 1909 in a centre-forward capacity, and scored a club record of 43 league and cup goals in the 1909–10 season, helping the club to the Staffordshire Junior Cup title in the process.[1] He signed for Liverpool in August 1910, and played 11 First Division games in the 1910–11 season.[4] He moved on from playing reserve team football at Anfield, and signed with Second Division side Bristol City in January 1912.[4] He scored 11 goals in 22 league games for the "Robins" in 1911–12.

A third move to Vale followed in May 1913. He bagged 35 goals in the 1913–14 season, but was conscripted to fight in World War I in 1917.[1] He was demobilised in October 1919 and continued playing for the Vale, winning the Staffordshire Senior Cup and North Staffordshire Infirmary Cup titles in 1920.[1] He scored six goals in 25 appearances in the 1919–20 season, hit one goal in 33 appearances in 1920–21, and then scored once in nine games in 1921–22.[1] Brough then left The Old Recreation Ground after feeling that he was too "worn out" to continue to play professional football.[1] In all, he played a total of 209 matches (including 72 in the English Football League) for Port Vale, and scored 111 goals (including 6 in the Football League).[1][5]

Personal life[edit]

Brough was a sprinter and cyclist. He died 5 October 1968 at the age of 81.[6][7]

Career statistics[edit]

Source:[8]

Club Season Division League FA Cup Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Burslem Port Vale 1906–07 Second Division 11 1 0 0 0 0 11 1
Stoke 1907–08 Second Division 1 0 0 0 – – 1 0
Tottenham Hotspur 1908–09 Second Division 1 0 1 0 – – 2 0
Port Vale 1909–10 North Staffordshire & District League 20 22 0 0 17 21 37 43
Liverpool 1910–11 First Division 10 3 0 0 – – 10 3
Bristol City 1911–12 Second Division 8 1 0 0 – – 8 1
1912–13 Second Division 14 10 0 0 – – 14 10
Total 22 11 0 0 0 0 22 11
Port Vale 1913–14 Central League 31 23 7 4 6 8 44 35
1914–15 Central League 23 13 3 2 4 2 30 17
1919–20 Second Division 22 4 1 2 2 0 25 6
1920–21 Second Division 31 1 1 0 1 0 33 1
1921–22 Second Division 8 0 1 1 0 0 9 1
Total 115 41 13 9 13 10 141 60
Career total 180 78 14 9 30 31 224 118

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 44. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
  2. ^ "Football's advent. Port Vale". Athletic News. Manchester. 15 August 1921. p. 6.
  3. ^ A-Z of Tottenham Hotspur players. Retrieved 27 November 2012
  4. ^ a b "Joseph Brough". lfchistory.net. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  5. ^ Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888-1939. soccerdata. p. 38. ISBN 1-899468-63-3.
  6. ^ "Cult Hero 50: Joe Brough". onevalefan.co.uk. 3 July 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  7. ^ Kent, Jeff (December 1991). Port Vale Tales: A Collection of Stories, Anecdotes And Memories. Witan Books. p. 230. ISBN 0-9508981-6-3.
  8. ^ Joe Brough at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
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