Joseph Brough (9 November 1886 – 5 October 1968) 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 ...

. He was also an accomplished cycler and sprinter. Able to play at half-back or as a forward, he began his professional career with Burslem Port Vale in February 1907. He

transfer Transfer may refer to: Arts and media * ''Transfer'' (2010 film), a German science-fiction movie directed by Damir Lukacevic and starring Zana Marjanović * ''Transfer'' (1966 film), a short film * ''Transfer'' (journal), in management studies ...

red to Stoke later in the year, before finding himself at

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...

. Failing to make an impression in London, he returned to Port Vale in 1909, and scored a club record 43 goals in the 1909–10 season. This won him a move to

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

in August 1910, though after falling from the first-team picture he moved on to

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

in January 1912. He again returned to Port Vale in May 1913, before he saw action in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in 1917. He retired from professional football in 1922, having featured in 209 competitive games for Port Vale.

Career

Brough played for Smallthorne, before he joined Burslem Port Vale as an amateur in the autumn of 1906, signing professional forms in February 1907. He scored his first

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 ...

goal on 13 April 1907, in a 2–1 win over

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...

at the Athletic Ground. This was his only goal in 12 appearances in the

1906–07 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

season. The club then went into liquidation, and Brough

red to Stoke. He appeared in just the one game for the "Potters" in 1907–08, and then went on to appear in one league and one cup game for

in 1908. Brough returned to Port Vale in 1909 in a centre-forward capacity, and scored a club record of 43 league and cup goals in the 1909–10 season, helping the club to the Staffordshire Junior Cup title in the process. He signed for

in August 1910, and played 11 First Division games in the 1910–11 season. He moved on from playing

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...

football at

Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 189 ...

, and signed with Second Division side

in January 1912. He scored 11 goals in 22 league games for the "Robins" in 1911–12. A third move to Vale followed in May 1913. He bagged 35 goals in the 1913–14 season, but was

conscripted Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day und ...

to fight in

in 1917. He was demobilised in October 1919 and continued playing for the Vale, winning the

Staffordshire Senior Cup The Staffordshire Senior Challenge Cup is a football cup tournament based in the county of Staffordshire in England first competed for in 1877–78. Organised by the Staffordshire Football Association, it is competed for by a mix of clubs from St ...

and North Staffordshire Infirmary Cup titles in 1920. He scored six goals in 25 appearances in the 1919–20 season, hit one goal in 33 appearances in 1920–21, and then scored once in nine games in 1921–22. Brough then left

The Old Recreation Ground The Old Recreation Ground was a football stadium located in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, England, and home to Port Vale F.C. from 1913 to 1950. It was the sixth ground the club used. Structure and facilities The stadium was in rather bad condit ...

after feeling that he was too "worn out" to continue to play professional football. In all, he played a total of 209 matches (including 72 in the

English 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 Engl ...

) for Port Vale, and scored 111 goals (including 6 in the Football League).

Personal life

Brough was a sprinter and cyclist. He died 5 October 1968 at the age of 81.

Career statistics

Source:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brough, Joe 1886 births 1968 deaths Sportspeople from Burslem Footballers from Staffordshire English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Men's association football forwards Port Vale F.C. players Stoke City F.C. players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Liverpool F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players English Football League players British Army personnel of World War I