Harry Hadley (26 October 1877 – 22 October 1947) was an English professional football player and manager. He played once for the England national team.

Playing career

Hadley was born in

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of B ...

. Having had little junior football experience, he joined

Halesowen Halesowen ( ) is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the county of West Midlands, England. Historically an exclave of Shropshire and, from 1844, in Worcestershire, the town is around from Birmingham city centre, and fro ...

in 1895 from Colley Gate United. In February 1897 he joined

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 pl ...

where he established himself at wing-half. He won a

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

title medal with the Baggies in 1902 and in February 1903 won his only

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

cap in the 4–0 win against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

at Molineux. During a match against Aston Villa in September 1904, Hadley sustained a severe injury which put "grave doubt" on his ability to play again, following comments by a club director. Having been retained at West Brom by club directors at great sacrifice, in February 1905, after 167 league games, he left the club to join Aston Villa for a fee of £250, but played just 11 times before joining

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

in April 1906. A year later he moved again, this time to Southern League club

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

. According to Holley & Chalk's "The Alphabet of the Saints" he was "a methodical yet energetic half-back, dedicated to looking after the forwards by supporting, feeding and directing them into advantageous positions". At the end of the 1907–08 season he moved to

Croydon Common Croydon Common Football Club was an amateur and, later on, professional football club based in Croydon. History The team formed in 1897 as an amateur church team competing in local leagues. They turned professional in 1907, joining the Southern L ...

, rejoining

in February 1910. He finished his playing career with Merthyr Town.

Managerial career

Hadley's first managerial job was with Merthyr Town where he was appointed in May 1919. He oversaw their promotion to the Football League in 1920 and guided them to 8th place in Division Three (South) in their first season. He left Merthyr in April 1922 to manage Chesterfield, but left in August the same year. In 1924, he was named the secretary of

Accrington Stanley Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England. The club competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They have spent their complete his ...

. In November 1927 he took over at Aberdare Athletic, who had failed to gain re-election to the Football League the previous season. He left in April 1928, returning to Merthyr Town as manager, but left again in November the same year. He began a third spell as Merthyr manager in 1930, leaving in September 1931. His final managerial job was with Bangor City who he joined in July 1935 and left in April 1936 when he retired. Hadley's brother

Ben Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin, Benedict, Bennett or Benson, and is also a given name in its own right. Ben (in he, בֶּן, ''son of'') forms part of Hebrew surnames, e.g. Abraham ben Abraham ( he, ...

also played professionally for West Bromwich Albion, but had left before Harry's arrival at the Hawthorns.

Honours

As a player

West Bromwich Albion *

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third t ...

: 1901–02

References

External links

*
Croydon Common career details
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hadley, Harry 1877 births Footballers from Barrow-in-Furness 1947 deaths English footballers Association football defenders England international footballers Southern Football League players Halesowen Town F.C. players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. players Nottingham Forest F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Croydon Common F.C. players Merthyr Town F.C. players English football managers Merthyr Town F.C. managers Aberdare Athletic F.C. managers Chesterfield F.C. managers Bangor City F.C. managers Footballers from Cumbria