William Bradley was an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 football

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 player.

Born in Wardley, Gateshead

Wardley, Gateshead

Wardley is located on the edge of Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, at the borders of Washington and South Tyneside. It is in the postal code area NE10. It is near the Leam Lane Estate....

, Bradley took a keen interest in sports as a child, particularly football. His preferred position was goalkeeper. In 1914 he signed for the club he had supported since he was young, Newcastle United

Newcastle United F.C.

Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...

. He didn't make his debut until 1 November 1919 in a match against Preston

Preston North End F.C.

Preston North End Football Club is an English professional football club located in the Deepdale area of the city of Preston, Lancashire, currently playing in the third tier of English league football, League One...

 at St James' Park

St James' Park

St James' Park, known for sponsorship reasons as the Sports Direct Arena, is an all-seater stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Newcastle United Football Club and is the sixth largest football stadium in the United Kingdom with a capacity of between 52,387 and 52,409.St James'...

. Bradley stayed on at Newcastle until 1927, having made 143 appearances in goal for the Magpies.