Ken Bracewell (born 5 October 1936) is an English former professional football player and coach. Bracewell, who played as a full-back, made over 200 league appearances in England, Canada, and the United States.

Playing career

Born in

Colne Colne () is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England. Located northeast of Nelson, north-east of Burnley, east of Preston and west of Leeds. The town should not be confused with the unrelated Colne Val ...

, Lancashire, Bracewell began his career in non-league football with

Trawden Trawden is a village in the Trawden Forest parish of Pendle, at the foot of Boulsworth Hill, in Lancashire, England. The village co-operatively owns and runs its library, shop, community centre and pub. Activities As a way of encouraging pe ...

. He then signed with league club

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...

, but never made a league appearance, and so made his professional debut with

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ado ...

in 1959, making 28 league appearances in two seasons. Bracewell then played non-league football with

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

, and with Canadian side Toronto Italia, before returning to English league football with

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

. However, he didn't make a single appearance for Norwich, and soon signed for Lincoln City, where he made 23 league appearances between 1963 and 1965. After leaving Lincoln, Bracewell played non-league football with

Margate Margate is a seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay and Westbrook. The town has been a significan ...

, before signing with Bury, where he made one league appearance. Bracewell then spent two seasons in Canada with the Toronto Falcons, and returned briefly to England to play with

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

. Bracewell then returned to the NASL to play with the Atlanta Chiefs, the Atlanta Apollos and the

Denver Dynamos The Denver Dynamos were a soccer team based in Denver that played in the NASL from 1974 to 1975. Their home field was Mile High Stadium. After the 1975 season, they moved to Minnesota and became the Minnesota Kicks. History Between the 1973 and ...

Coaching career

During the 1973 and 1974 NASL seasons, Bracewell was player-coach of the Atlanta Apollos and the

respectively. He was manager of the Oakland Stompers in the 1978 NASL season, and of the San Francisco Scots in 1983. He was briefly caretaker manager of hometown club

in 1996.NON-LEAGUE: Hart attacks the challenge
Lancashire Telegraph, 25 October 1996

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bracewell, Ken 1936 births Living people People from Colne English men's footballers Men's association football fullbacks English Football League players Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League players National Professional Soccer League (1967) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Trawden F.C. players Burnley F.C. players Tranmere Rovers F.C. players Nelson F.C. players Toronto Italia players Norwich City F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players Margate F.C. players Bury F.C. players Toronto Falcons (1967–1968) players Rochdale A.F.C. players Atlanta Chiefs players Denver Dynamos players English football managers Men's association football player-managers North American Soccer League (1968–1984) coaches Atlanta Chiefs coaches Denver Dynamos coaches Oakland Stompers coaches Colne F.C. managers English expatriate men's footballers English expatriate sportspeople in Canada Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States