Gordon Bradley (23 November 1933 – 29 April 2008) was an English-American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

born and raised on

Wearside Wearside () is a built-up area in both Tyne and Wear and County Durham, Northern England. It is named after the River Wear which flows through it and traditionally all in the County of Durham. In the 2011 census, its official name was the Sunder ...

who played several seasons with lower-division English clubs before moving to play in Canada at the age of 30. During the Canadian off-season, he played and coached in the U.S.-based

German American Soccer League The Cosmopolitan Soccer League is a regional soccer league consisting of semi-pro and amateur teams based in and around New York City. Established in 1923, it is one of the oldest soccer leagues in the United States and has contributed greatly ...

. In 1971, he became a player and head coach for the

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Independe ...

. In addition to coaching the Cosmos, he has coached the U.S. national team and at the collegiate and high school levels. Bradley also earned one

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

with the U.S. national team in 1973. He is a member of the

National Soccer Hall of Fame The National Soccer Hall of Fame is a private, non-profit institution established in 1979 and currently located in Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. The Hall of Fame honors soccer achievements in the United States. Induction ...

Player

England

Bradley grew up in

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

, England where he turned professional with the local

club at age sixteen. However, his career nearly ended just as it was beginning. During a training session, he shattered his right kneecap kicking a ball and it took over two years before he was fit to play again. In 1950, English conscription laws forced Bradley to choose between working in the government coal mines or entering the military when he turned nineteen. Bradley chose to work in the coal mines at

Easington Colliery Easington Colliery is a town in County Durham, England, known for a history of coal mining. It is situated to the north of Horden, a short distance to the east of Easington Village. The town suffered a significant mining accident on 29 May 195 ...

. In addition to working in the mine, Bradley continued to play soccer. While he began his career as a forward with Sunderland, the injury slowed Bradley and he moved into defense. Bradley signed with

Bradford Park Avenue Bradford (Park Avenue) Association Football Club is an association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in , at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The name derived from their former hom ...

in 1955 then in 1957, he moved to

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...

where he eventually played 130 games, scoring 3 goals.

Canada

Bradley spent five seasons in Canada playing in the

Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League The Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League was a soccer league in Canada. The league operated for six seasons from 1961 to 1966 across four cities in two Canadian provinces and one American state. In the 1960s, the Eastern Canada Professional ...

. In 1962, he helped Toronto Roma win the league title. After the conclusion of the 1962 ECPSL season he played in the

National Soccer League The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its d ...

with

Toronto Ukrainia Toronto Ukrainians (Sports Association Toronto Ukrainians, uk, СТ (Спортове Товариство) «Україна» (Торонто), translit=ST (Sportove Tovarystvo) "Ukraina" (Toronto)) is a Canadian soccer team. The club was founde ...

. After three seasons with Roma, he then moved to

Toronto City Toronto City was a Canadian soccer team based in Toronto, Ontario. Between 1961 and 1967, teams using this name competed in both the Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League and the United Soccer Association. History ECPSL In 1961, along with ...

for the 1965 season. In 1966, he played for Toronto Inter Roma.

United States

GASL

While playing in the summer in Canada in 1963 and 1964, Bradley would then move south during the fall and winter to play and coach the

New York Ukrainians New York Ukrainians (Ukrainian Sports Club New York, ua, УСК (Український Спортовий Клуб) (Нью-Йорк), translit=USK (Ukrainskyi Sportovyi Klub) (New York)) is an American soccer club based in New York City. The c ...

of the

(GASL) and won the 1964-1965 US Open Cup. In 1965, he moved to the New York Americans, a GASL team, which competed in the

International Soccer League The International Soccer League was a U.S.-based soccer league which was formed in 1960 and collapsed in 1965. The League, affiliated with the American Soccer League, featured guest teams primarily from Europe and some from Asia, South America, C ...

NPSL

In 1967, two new national soccer leagues, the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) and the

United Soccer Association The United Soccer Association was a professional soccer league featuring teams based in the United States and Canada. The league survived only one season before merging with the National Professional Soccer League to form the North American S ...

(USA) formed in the United States. Bradley signed with the

New York Generals The New York Generals were an American professional soccer team based in New York City that competed in the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) in 1967 and the North American Soccer League (NASL) in 1968. Founded as charter members o ...

of the NPSL. The two leagues merged at the end of the season to form the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

(NASL).

NASL

Bradley remained with the Generals as they entered the NASL, serving as both player and assistant coach during the 1968 season. The Generals folded at the end of the season and Bradley moved to the

Baltimore Bays The Baltimore Bays were a professional soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland founded in 1967 as one of the ten charter members of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL). When the NPSL and the rival United Soccer Association (USA) me ...

for the 1969 NASL season. The Bays folded at the end of the 1969 season and Bradley was not associated with any NASL team for the 1970 season. He returned to the NASL in 1971 when the expansion

signed Bradley as both its first coach and first player. He both played and coached the Cosmos through the end of the 1975 season when he was fired after a 10–12 season and replaced by

Ken Furphy Kenneth Furphy (28 May 1931 – 17 January 2015) was an English football player and manager. Despite being on the books at Everton between 1950 and 1951, Furphy was a lower league player with Runcorn (1951–53) Darlington (1953–62) and th ...

. Having only played in one game in 1975, Bradley retired from playing professionally.

National team

Bradley earned one cap with the U.S. national team in a 2–0 loss to

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

on 15 November 1973.
/sup> At the time, he was serving as the national team coach and ironically, he did not gain his U.S. citizenship until 1974.

Coach

GASL

Bradley gained his start in coaching with the New York Ukrainians of the German-American Soccer League in 1963. He later served as an assistant coach with the

of the

in 1968.

School

When the Generals folded, Bradley coached the boys soccer team of Manhattan's St. Bernard's School.
/sup>. His team went undefeated until the final game, which it lost, (1 - 0), to arch-rival
St. David's School

NASL

In 1971, the

hired Bradley as the team's first coach. While he took the Cosmos to the NASL Final 1972, 1972 NASL championship, he had two losing seasons in 1974 and 1975 and was fired at the end of the season and replaced by

. In 1976, the Cosmos fired Furphy after the team began the season 8-6 briefly. Bradley lasted until 7 July 1977 when the team moved him to the front office as Vice President of Player personnel during the season and replaced him as coach with

Eddie Firmani Edwin Ronald "Eddie" Firmani (; born 7 August 1933) is a former professional football player and manager. A former forward, he spent most of his career in Italy and England. Born in South Africa, he represented the Italy national team internat ...

. The Cosmos won the

Soccer Bowl The Soccer Bowl was the annual championship game of the North American Soccer League, which ran from 1968 to 1984. The two top teams from the playoffs faced off in the final to determine the winner of the NASL Trophy. From the league's founding ...

in 1977 (2-1 over the Seattle Sounders). In 1978, the

Washington Diplomats The Washington Diplomats were an American soccer club representing Washington, D.C. Throughout their playing existence, the club played their home games at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium and indoor home matches at the neighboring D.C. Arm ...

hired Bradley as head coach. While the Washington Diplomats folded in 1980, they were replaced that by a new franchise with the same name which played in the American Soccer League. The new team retained Bradley as coach, but fired him during the preseason and replaced him with

National team

In October 1973, the

United States Soccer Federation The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is ...

replaced Eugene Chyzowych as national team coach when he suggested the federation should hire a full-time coach. USSF called Bradley, who was on vacation, and asked him to coach the team. Bradley coached the U.S. to six straight losses and was dropped as head coach at the end of the year.

College

In 1985,

George Mason University George Mason University (George Mason, Mason, or GMU) is a public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia with an independent City of Fairfax, Virginia postal address in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area. The university was origin ...

hired Bradley as its men's soccer team head coach. He coached the Patriots for sixteen years until retiring on 4 December 2000. During those sixteen seasons, Bradley compiled a 183-113-35 record. In May 2006, Bradley was inducted into the George Mason Hall of Fame.

Soccer administration

In addition to playing and coaching the

, Bradley also served as the team's vice president from 1971 to 1977 when he left the team to join the Washington Diplomats. While coaching the Dips, he also served as the team's vice president.

Television broadcaster

Bradley worked as a color analyst alongside Bob Carpenter on NASL games in 1983. He was also featured as a television commentator on

Home Team Sports NBC Sports Washington is an American regional sports network owned by Ted Leonsis's Monumental Sports & Entertainment, and operates as an affiliate of NBC Sports Regional Networks. Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, the channel broadcasts regio ...

during local broadcasts of MLS' DC United games. In 1996, the

inducted Bradley. The next year, the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Hall of Fame also selected Bradley for induction.

Death

He spent his last years out of the public eye, suffering from Alzheimer's disease and spending his last month in a full-care facility in Manassas, Virginia. Upon hearing of his declining health, one of

D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...

's supporter groups, Screaming Eagles, created a banner in Bradley's honor for display at the next home game. He died a few days later.

References

* "Remembering Gordon Bradley" by Paul Gardnerbr>SoccerAmerica.com

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bradley, Gordon 1933 births 2008 deaths American soccer players Footballers from Sunderland English emigrants to the United States English footballers Association football defenders Bradford (Park Avenue) A.F.C. players Carlisle United F.C. players Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League players Toronto Roma players Toronto City players United States men's international soccer players German-American Soccer League players International Soccer League players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players New York Generals players Baltimore Bays players New York Cosmos players American soccer coaches North American Soccer League (1968–1984) coaches North American Soccer League (1968–1984) commentators George Mason Patriots men's soccer coaches National Soccer Hall of Fame members United States men's national soccer team managers English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate soccer players in the United States English expatriate footballers English expatriate sportspeople in Canada Expatriate soccer players in Canada Toronto Ukrainians players Canadian National Soccer League players