Joe Brough

Joe Brough
	Brough, whilst with Port Vale
Personal information
Full name	Joseph Brough
Date of birth	9 November 1886
Place of birth	Burslem, England
Date of death	5 October 1968 (aged 81)
Place of death	Stockton Brook, Stoke-on-Trent, England
Height	5 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1.74 m)
Position(s)	Half-back; forward
Youth career
	Burslem Park Boys
	Smallthorne
Senior career*
Years	Team
1906–1907	Burslem Port Vale
1907	Stoke
1908	Tottenham Hotspur
1909–1910	Port Vale
1910–1912	Liverpool
1912	Bristol City
1913–1922	Port Vale
Total
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Joseph Brough (9 November 1886 – 5 October 1968) was an English footballer. 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 transferred to Stoke later in the year before finding himself at Tottenham Hotspur. 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 in August 1910, though after falling from the first-team picture, he moved on to Bristol City in January 1912. He again returned to Port Vale in May 1913 before he saw action in World War I 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.^[1] He scored his first Second Division goal on 13 April 1907, in a 2–1 win over Hull City at the Athletic Ground.^[1] This was his only goal in 12 appearances in the 1906–07 season.^[1] The club then went into liquidation, and Brough transferred to Stoke.^[1] He appeared in just the one game for the "Potters" in 1907–08. Then he appeared in one league and one cup game for Tottenham Hotspur in 1908.^[3]

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.^[1] He signed for Liverpool in August 1910, and played 11 First Division games in the 1910–11 season.^[4] He moved on from playing reserve team football at Anfield, and signed with Second Division side Bristol City in January 1912.^[4] 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 to fight in World War I in 1917.^[1] He was demobilised in October 1919 and continued playing for the Vale, winning the Staffordshire Senior Cup and North Staffordshire Infirmary Cup titles in 1920.^[1] 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.^[1] Brough then left The Old Recreation Ground after feeling that he was too "worn out" to continue to play professional football.^[1] In all, he played a total of 209 matches (including 72 in the English Football League) for Port Vale, and scored 111 goals (including 6 in the Football League).^[1]^[5]

Personal life

Brough was a sprinter and cyclist. He died 5 October 1968 at the age of 81.^[6]^[7]

Career statistics

Source:^[8]

Club	Season	Division	League		FA Cup		Other		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Burslem Port Vale	1906–07	Second Division	11	1	0	0	0	0	11	1
Stoke	1907–08	Second Division	1	0	0	0	–	–	1	0
Tottenham Hotspur	1908–09	Second Division	1	0	1	0	–	–	2	0
Port Vale	1909–10	North Staffordshire & District League	20	22	0	0	17	21	37	43
Liverpool	1910–11	First Division	10	3	0	0	–	–	10	3
Bristol City	1911–12	Second Division	8	1	0	0	–	–	8	1
	1912–13	Second Division	14	10	0	0	–	–	14	10
	Total		22	11	0	0	0	0	22	11
Port Vale	1913–14	Central League	31	23	7	4	6	8	44	35
	1914–15	Central League	23	13	3	2	4	2	30	17
	1919–20	Second Division	22	4	1	2	2	0	25	6
	1920–21	Second Division	31	1	1	0	1	0	33	1
	1921–22	Second Division	8	0	1	1	0	0	9	1
	Total		115	41	13	9	13	10	141	60
Career total			180	78	14	9	30	31	224	118

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 44. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
^ "Football's advent. Port Vale". Athletic News. Manchester. 15 August 1921. p. 6.
^ A-Z of Tottenham Hotspur players. Retrieved 27 November 2012
^ ^a ^b "Joseph Brough". lfchistory.net. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
^ Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888-1939. soccerdata. p. 38. ISBN 1-899468-63-3.
^ "Cult Hero 50: Joe Brough". onevalefan.co.uk. 3 July 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
^ Kent, Jeff (December 1991). Port Vale Tales: A Collection of Stories, Anecdotes And Memories. Witan Books. p. 230. ISBN 0-9508981-6-3.
^ Joe Brough at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)