John Badham (31 January 1919 – 1 January 1992) 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 ...

who played as a full back or left half. He played 175 games in

the 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 ...

for

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...

in the top two divisions. Badham was born in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

. He began his football career as an

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

with

(later renamed Birmingham City) in 1934 but his career was seriously disrupted by the Second World War. He turned professional in 1946 after his

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

service. He helped the club win the

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 ...

championship in 1947–48 and 1954–55. He played in the semifinal of the

1955–56 FA Cup The 1955–56 FA Cup was the 75th staging of the world's oldest football cup competition, the FA Cup. Manchester City won the competition, beating Birmingham City 3–1 in the final at Wembley, London. Matches were scheduled to be played at th ...

in place of the injured Roy Warhurst, but

Johnny Newman John Sylvester Newman Jr. (born November 28, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player. A 6' 7" and shooting guard/small forward, Newman starred at the University of Richmond, before going on to play in the National Basketball ...

was preferred for

the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

. He was an adaptable, two-footed player, whose position of choice was full-back but who was used in a variety of positions by the club. He had a spell at

Stourbridge Stourbridge is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands, England, situated on the River Stour. Historically in Worcestershire, it was the centre of British glass making during the Industrial Revolution. The 20 ...

before returning to Birmingham on the coaching staff, later becoming manager of

Moor Green Moor Green is a historic home located near Brentsville, Prince William County, Virginia. It dates to the early-19th century, and is a two-story, five-bay, Federal style brick residence, with a one-room, two-story ell. It has a standing seam me ...

. He died in Birmingham aged 72.

Honours

Birmingham City *

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 ti ...

champions: 1947–48, 1954–55

References

* 1919 births 1992 deaths Footballers from Birmingham, West Midlands English footballers Association football fullbacks Association football wing halves Birmingham City F.C. players Stourbridge F.C. players English football managers British Army personnel of World War II {{England-footy-defender-1910s-stub