Charles Broadhurst 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 ...

. 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 ...

, he played for two

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 ...

clubs during the 1920s and 1930s.

Career

Moston-born Broadhurst began his career with Ashton National, before turning professional with

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

in the 1926–27 season. He scored on his professional debut, a 2–2 draw at

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

in April 1927. He played again in the return match three days later, and this time scored four goals in a 7–0 win. At this time Manchester City were in contention for promotion to the First Division. The race for promotion went to the final match, with Manchester City and

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

chasing the second of the two promotion places. Broadhurst scored twice in a resounding City win, an 8–0 victory against

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. Th ...

. The watching crowd believed the result to be sufficient for promotion, but Portsmouth's match had been delayed by 15 minutes and was still in progress. A late Portsmouth goal meant the final scoreline in their match was a 5–1 win, enough to give Portsmouth second place on goal average by a margin of one two-hundredth of a goal.James, ''Manchester City – The Complete Record'', p. 116. The following season Broadhurst scored 20 goals in 28 appearances as Manchester City won the Second Division championship. However, he made no appearances after February, and made just five appearances in the 1928–29 season. In total, he made 33 League appearances and scored 25 goals in his two years with the Maine Road club. In 1929 he moved to nearby

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

, for whom he made eighteen League appearances and scored six goals in his season-and-a-half with the club.

References

;Specific ;General * {{DEFAULTSORT:Broadhurst, Charles Year of birth missing People from Moston, Manchester English men's footballers Ashton National F.C. players Manchester City F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Year of death missing Men's association football forwards