William 'Billy' Bridgeman (born 12 December 1884 - 1947) was a professional footballer who played as a forward.

Career

Bridgeman was born in Bromley-by-Bow

Bromley-by-Bow

Bromley-by-Bow, historically and officially Bromley, is a place in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is an inner-city district situated east north-east of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:...

 in 1884. He signed for West Ham United in 1903 making his debut in a 4-1 home defeat to Bristol Rovers

Bristol Rovers F.C.

Bristol Rovers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Bristol, that competes in Football League Two. The team plays its home matches at the Memorial Stadium, in the Horfield area of the city....

 on 10 October.

Joining West Ham from local side, Adam and Eve FC, Bridgeman scored West Ham's first ever goal at Upton Park

Boleyn Ground

The Boleyn Ground, more commonly referred to as Upton Park due to its location in Upton Park, London is the football stadium of West Ham United.-History:...

 in a 3-0 win against Millwall

Millwall F.C.

Millwall Football Club is an English professional football club based in South Bermondsey, south east London, that plays in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name despite having last played in the...

 in September 1904. Folklore

Folklore

Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...

 has it that he scored all three goals in this game although some references show one of the goals being scored by another player, Jack Flynn.

Bridgeman left West Ham in 1906 to join Chelsea, helping them gain promotion to the First Division

Football League First Division

The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....

 in 1912. After 160 games with Chelsea he moved to Southend United

Southend United F.C.

Southend United Football Club is an English football club based at Roots Hall Stadium, Prittlewell, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, who play in Football League Two. Their home ground is Roots Hall, and the club plan to move into a new 22,000-seater stadium located at Fossetts Farm.-Stadium:The club has had...

, where he ended his footballing career.

External links