Thomas Higginson Broad (31 July 1887 – 1966) 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 ...

who played in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...

for

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 ...

, Chesterfield, Manchester City,

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic be ...

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 ...

, Stoke and

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 ...

. His brother Jimmy was also a footballer.

Football career

Broad was born in Stalybridge and after playing youth football with various clubs, he had an unsuccessful trial with Manchester City in 1904. In September 1905, he signed his first professional contract with

where he made 14 league and cup appearances before joining Chesterfield in February 1908. Broad remained at

Saltergate Saltergate, officially the Recreation Ground, was the historic home of Chesterfield Football Club, and was in use from 1871 until the club's relocation in July 2010, a 139-year history that made it one of the oldest football grounds in Englan ...

until the end of the 1908–09 season, at the end of which the "Spireites" were relegated to the Third Division. Broad then returned to his native

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

, joining

in May 1909. At the end of Broad's first season at

Boundary Park Boundary Park is a football stadium in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. Its name originates from the fact that it lies at the northwestern extremity of Oldham, with Royton and Chadderton lying immediately north and west respectively. Bound ...

, the "Latics" were promoted to the First Division as runners-up to Manchester City. After three years with Oldham, during which he made over 140 first-team appearances, Broad was on the move again, this time back to 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 ...

with

. Broad remained with the Ashton Gate club until after the

First World War 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 ...

, making over 110 appearances, before again returning to Lancashire and the First Division, with Manchester City. Two years at Hyde Road were followed by three seasons at Stoke where Broad along with his brother Jimmy helped the "Potters" finish as Second Division runners-up in 1921–22, although this was followed by relegation the following season. After three years in

the Potteries The Staffordshire Potteries is the industrial area encompassing the six towns Burslem, Fenton, Hanley, Longton, Stoke and Tunstall, which is now the city of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. North Staffordshire became a centre of ...

, where Broad made 89 first-team appearances, he moved to the South Coast to join

. Broad still holds the distinction of being the oldest player ever signed by the "Saints", being just three weeks short of his 37th birthday. At The Dell, he was used as cover for Bill Henderson and only had a run of three games in October, followed by six in April. In September 1925, Broad moved to Weymouth of the Western League, before playing out his career with

Rhyl Rhyl (; cy, Y Rhyl, ) is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire, Wales. The town lies within the historic boundaries of Flintshire, on the north-east coast of Wales at the mouth of the River Clwyd ( Welsh: ''Afon Clwyd''). To the we ...

Career statistics

Source:

Honours

; Oldham Athletic *

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 ...

runners-up: 1909–10 ; Stoke *

runners-up: 1921–22

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Broad, Tommy 1887 births People from Stalybridge 1966 deaths English footballers Association football forwards English Football League players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Chesterfield F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players Manchester City F.C. players Stoke City F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Weymouth F.C. players Rhyl F.C. players