Walter Leonard Bragg (8 July 1929 – 6 March 2016) 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 le ...

who played as a

centre half In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

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

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

. At the time of his debut in March 1947, he was Brentford's then-youngest first team debutant.

Career

An amateur

, Bragg joined First Division club

in early 1946 from local team Twickenham Celtic. After a spell out on

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...

Corinthian League The League of Corinth, also referred to as the Hellenic League (from Greek Ἑλληνικός ''Hellenikos'', "pertaining to Greece and Greeks"), was a confederation of Greek states created by Philip II in 338–337 BC. The League was created ...

club Hounslow Town, he turned professional in January 1947. He made his debut at

outside right Forwards (also known as attackers) are Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring Goal (sport)#Association footbal ...

, in place of

Idris Hopkins Idris Morgan Hopkins (11 October 1910 – 9 October 1994) was a Welsh footballer famed for his talented right foot. He played for many clubs throughout his career, but most famously Brentford where he captained them in the English First Divisi ...

for the visit of

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...

on 29 March 1947 and his appearance in the 1–0 defeat made him Brentford's youngest debutant at that time. A call-up for

national service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The l ...

saw him fail to appear again until the second half of the 1951–52

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 ...

season, when he enjoyed a run of 10 appearances. He then went on to become a regular fixture in the team through the mid-1950s and made a career-high 44 appearances during a disastrous 1953–54 season, in which the Bees were relegated to the

Third Division South The Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to on ...

. Bragg played on until the end of the 1956–57 season, when he retired from football after a succession of injuries. He was posthumously inducted into the club's

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

in May 2018.

Personal life

Prior to becoming a professional footballer, Bragg worked as a linotype operator for a printing firm in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

. He served his national service in the

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

. After retiring from football, he worked as an advertising manager for local newspapers in

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

. He was married with a son and two daughters and five grandchildren and at the time of his death in March 2016.

Career statistics

Honours

* Brentford Hall of Fame

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bragg, Wally 1929 births 2016 deaths English men's footballers English Football League players Brentford F.C. players Hounslow F.C. players 20th-century Royal Air Force personnel Footballers from the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames People from Twickenham Royal Air Force airmen Men's association football central defenders