William Bridgeman (born 12 December 1882 - 1947) was a 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

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

Career

Bridgeman was born in

Bromley-by-Bow Bromley, commonly known as Bromley-by- Bow, is a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London, located on the western banks of the River Lea, in the Lower Lea Valley in East London. The area is distinct from Bow, which li ...

in 1882. He signed for West Ham United in 1903 making his debut in a 4–1 home defeat to

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been c ...

on 10 October. Joining West Ham from local side, Adam and Eve FC, Bridgeman scored West Ham's first ever goal at Upton Park in a 3–0 win against

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...

in September 1904.

Folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

has it that he scored all three goals in this game although some references show one of the goals being scored by another player,

Jack Flynn Jack Flynn (1875 - unknown) was an English 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 foot ...

. Bridgeman left West Ham in 1906 to join

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 consti ...

, helping them gain promotion to the First Division in 1912. After 159 games with Chelsea he moved to

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...

, where he ended his footballing career.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bridgeman, Billy 1882 births English men's footballers West Ham United F.C. players Chelsea F.C. players Southend United F.C. players English Football League players Men's association football forwards 1947 deaths Footballers from the London Borough of Tower Hamlets People from Bromley-by-Bow