Bernard Radford (23 January 1908 – 2 October 1986) 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 le ...

who played as a

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 ...

, and occasionally as an

inside 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 ...

. Born in

West Melton West Melton is a former mining village in the parish of Brampton Bierlow in South Yorkshire, England. It lies between Wath upon Dearne and Brampton Bierlow, roughly 5 miles north of Rotherham and 5 miles south-east of Barnsley. The village fa ...

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 ...

, Radford began his career in local league football with Wath Athletic,

Wombwell Wombwell () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. The town in the 2011 census was split between a ward called Wombwell, as well as small parts that fell under two other wards called Darfield (specifically ...

and Darfield, before signing as a professional with

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 In sports leagues, promotion and ...

side

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 ...

in December 1927. He made his League debut in the 0–1 defeat to

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...

on 17 December, and scored his first three goals for Nelson on 7 January 1928 as the side beat

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

6–3. Radford scored all four goals in the 4–0 victory against

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

on 11 February, becoming only the second Nelson player, after

Jimmy Hampson James Hampson (23 March 1906 – 10 January 1938) was an English professional footballer. He spent eleven seasons at Blackpool, where he remains record goalscorer with 252 goals in 373 games, and is still regarded as one of the best centre forw ...

, to achieve the feat in a League match. Radford remained in goalscoring form going into the 1928–29 season, netting in the opening match of the campaign against

Hartlepools United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They were founded in 1908 as Har ...

. He then scored four goals in three matches in September 1928, and had a tally of 14 by Christmas. On 16 February 1929, he scored the only goal of the game as Nelson beat

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

1–0, and scored twice the following match in the 2–7 defeat away at Barrow. Radford ended the season with 24 goals, taking his total at Nelson to 41 in 55 matches. He was signed by

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

club

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

in the summer of 1929, but found first-team opportunities limited there and only played 20 matches in two seasons, although he did score 7 goals for the side. Radford subsequently spent a season with

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...

, but played in the reserves for most of the campaign, making just eight league appearances. He was released in the summer of 1932 and later moved into amateur football, initially with the Royal Navy Depot in

Chatham, Kent Chatham ( ) is a town located within the Medway unitary authority in the ceremonial county of Kent, England. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Gillingham, Rochester, Strood and Rainham. The town developed around Chatham ...

. Radford stayed in southern England until his death in

Basingstoke Basingstoke ( ) is the largest town in the county of Hampshire. It is situated in south-central England and lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon, at the far western edge of The North Downs. It is located north-east of Southa ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, on 2 October 1986 at the age of 78.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Radford, Bernard 1908 births 1986 deaths People from West Melton Sportspeople from the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham Footballers from South Yorkshire English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Wath Athletic F.C. players Wombwell F.C. players Darfield F.C. players Nelson F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players English Football League players