Gordon Bradley

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Gordon Bradley
Personal information
Date of birth (1933-11-23)23 November 1933
Place of birth
Sunderland
, England
Date of death 29 April 2008(2008-04-29) (aged 74)
Place of death Manassas, Virginia, United States
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
1950–1952 Sunderland
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1955–1956
Bradford Park Avenue
18 (1)
1957–1960 Carlisle United 130 (3)
1962–1964 Toronto Roma
1962
Toronto Ukrainia
1965 Toronto City
1968 New York Generals 27 (0)
1969 Baltimore Bays 14 (0)
1971–1975
New York Cosmos
52 (0)
International career
1973 United States 1 (0)
Managerial career
1964–1965 New York Ukrainians
1967 New York Generals (assistant)
1969–1970 St. Bernard's School
1971–1975
New York Cosmos
1973 United States
1976–1977
New York Cosmos
1978–1980 Washington Diplomats
1985–2000 George Mason Patriots
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Gordon Bradley (23 November 1933 – 29 April 2008) was an English-American

cap with the U.S. national team in 1973. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame
.

Player

England

Bradley grew up in

Carlisle United
where he eventually played 130 games, scoring 3 goals.

Canada

Bradley spent five seasons in Canada playing in the Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League.[2] In 1962, he helped Toronto Roma win the league title. After the conclusion of the 1962 ECPSL season he played in the National Soccer League with Toronto Ukrainia.[3] After three seasons with Roma, he then moved to Toronto City for the 1965 season. In 1966, he played for Toronto Inter Roma.

United States

GASL

While playing in the summer in Canada in 1963 and 1964, Bradley would then move south during the fall and winter to play and coach the

International Soccer League
.

NPSL

In 1967, two new national soccer leagues, the

North American Soccer League
(NASL).

NASL

Bradley remained with the Generals as they entered the NASL, serving as both player and assistant coach during the 1968 season. The Generals folded at the end of the season and Bradley moved to the

New York Cosmos signed Bradley as both its first coach and first player. He both played and coached the Cosmos through the end of the 1975 season when he was fired after a 10–12 season and replaced by Ken Furphy
. Having only played in one game in 1975, Bradley retired from playing professionally.

National team

Bradley earned one cap with the U.S. national team in a 2–0 loss to Israel on 15 November 1973.[1] At the time, he was serving as the national team coach and ironically, he did not gain his U.S. citizenship until 1974.

Coach

GASL

Bradley gained his start in coaching with the New York Ukrainians of the German-American Soccer League in 1963. He later served as an assistant coach with the

North American Soccer League
in 1968.

School

When the Generals folded, Bradley coached the boys soccer team of Manhattan's St. Bernard's School.[2]. His team went undefeated until the final game, which it lost, (1 - 0), to arch-rival, St. David's School.

NASL

In 1971, the

American Soccer League. The new team retained Bradley as coach, but fired him during the preseason and replaced him with Ken Furphy
.

National team

In October 1973, the

Eugene Chyzowych
as national team coach when he suggested the federation should hire a full-time coach. USSF called Bradley, who was on vacation, and asked him to coach the team. Bradley coached the U.S. to six straight losses and was dropped as head coach at the end of the year.

College

In 1985, George Mason University hired Bradley as its men's soccer team head coach. He coached the Patriots for sixteen years until retiring on 4 December 2000. During those sixteen seasons, Bradley compiled a 183-113-35 record. In May 2006, Bradley was inducted into the George Mason Hall of Fame.[4]

Soccer administration

In addition to playing and coaching the

New York Cosmos, Bradley also served as the team's vice president from 1971 to 1977 when he left the team to join the Washington Diplomats.[5] While coaching the Dips, he also served as the team's vice president.[5]

Television broadcaster

Bradley worked as a color analyst alongside

Home Team Sports
during local broadcasts of MLS' DC United games.

In 1996, the National Soccer Hall of Fame inducted Bradley. The next year, the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Hall of Fame also selected Bradley for induction.[8]

Death

He spent his last years out of the public eye, suffering from Alzheimer's disease and spending his last month in a full-care facility in Manassas, Virginia. Upon hearing of his declining health, one of D.C. United's supporter groups, Screaming Eagles, created a banner in Bradley's honor for display at the next home game. He died a few days later.[5]

References

  1. ^ Jack Bell (1 May 2008). "Gordon Bradley, Who Nurtured U.S. Soccer, Dies at 74". The New York Times.
  2. ^ Jose, Colin (2001). On-Side - 125 Years of Soccer in Ontario. Vaughan, Ontario: Ontario Soccer Association and Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum. p. 192.
  3. ^ Waring, Ed (28 August 1962). "Top Roma Stars Join Ukrainia Team". The Globe and Mail. p. 27.
  4. ^ Mason Patriots (1 May 2006). "Seven Inducted Into Mason Men's Soccer Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  5. ^
    Washington Post
    .
  6. ^ "Soccer Bowl 1983 Tulsa vs. Toronto". youtube.com. 1 October 1983. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  7. ^ "1983 NASL pregame Tulsa Roughnecks vs Team America". youtube.com. 21 August 1983. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  8. ^ "Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association". 28 September 2007. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007.

External links