Donald Bradley (11 September 1924 – 26 June 1997) 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 football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played for

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they ...

as a left-back. A native of

Annesley Annesley is a village and civil parish in the Ashfield district of Nottinghamshire, England, between Hucknall and Kirkby-in-Ashfield. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 1,162 (including Annesley Woodhouse to the west). Annesley Hall ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

, Bradley began his career at

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...

in 1945, but never made any league appearances for them. In 1949, he joined Mansfield Town, and made his debut on 20 August 1949 in a

Division Three 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 Football League Third Division South, Third Division South with clubs Re-election (Football League), ele ...

match against

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Irish ...

. At a 13-year spell at the club, Bradley is one of Mansfield's longest-serving players of all time. In total he played a total of 413 matches, scoring six goals for the club. His last game for Mansfield came on 23 October 1961 in a

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

tie against

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

Ninian Park Ninian Park was a football stadium in the Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales, that was the home of Cardiff City F.C. for 99 years. Opened in 1910 with a single wooden stand, it underwent numerous renovations during its lifespan and hosted fixture ...

where Mansfield lost 2–1. He left Mansfield at the end of the 1961–62 season, and subsequently played a couple of seasons for non-league Ilkeston Town before retiring from playing the game. He continued to work in football into his 60s, including a role as a boys football coach at Oldswinford Hospital School in the West Midlands. He died in June 1997, at the age of 72.

References

1924 births 1997 deaths English footballers West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Mansfield Town F.C. players Ilkeston Town F.C. (1945) players People from Annesley Footballers from Nottinghamshire Association football defenders {{England-footy-defender-1920s-stub