Bryan Bush (25 April 1925 – 25 August 2008) 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 winger and

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 ...

for

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 ...

. Prior to his footballing career, Bush had worked as a butcher in

Bitton Bitton is a village and civil parish of South Gloucestershire in England, to the east of the Greater Bristol area on the River Boyd. It is in South Gloucestershire. The parish of Bitton has a population of 9,307, and apart from the village ...

and as an engineer in the

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...

, and he joined

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

as an amateur following the conclusion of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Although he played for the city reserves, he never made the progression to their first team, and in 1946 he joined local side Soundwell. Bush's single season spent with Soundwell was a successful one, and the club finished as runners-up in Division Two of the Western League. His performances were good enough to earn him a second spell with a

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 ...

club, when he signed his first professional contract for

in 1947. He remained with "The Pirates" for eight years, until 1955, making 114 league appearances and scoring 19 goals. Following his departure from Bristol Rovers, Bush spent a single season with Trowbridge Town, before having an unsuccessful trial with

Bath City Bath City Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Bath, Somerset, England. The club is affiliated to the Somerset FA and currently competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club have ...

in 1956. He then spent two years with Wells City before finishing his playing days with

, the town where he had worked as a butcher at the start of his working life. Later in life he had worked as a salesman, before dying from a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

on 25 August 2008, at the age of 83.

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bush, Bryan 1925 births 2008 deaths Footballers from Bristol English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Bristol City F.C. players Soundwell F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Trowbridge Town F.C. players Wells City F.C. players Bitton A.F.C. players English Football League players