Eli Bradley

Eli Bradley

Born in Dudley in 1883, Eli was playing locally when he was spotted by West Brom, signing for them in 1905.

A powerfully built centre-forward, Eli made 25 League appearances in three seasons at the Hawthorns before the Town stepped in for him in the summer of 1908 – quite a coup at the time. Scoring a hat-trick against Norwich on his debut, he seemed set for a long career at Kenilworth Road but a succession of injuries and the form of Alex Menzies meant that by the end of the campaign he was in the reserves and subsequently released.

He went on the play for Coventry, where he became a crowd favourite over the next four seasons playing at centre-half, before a short spell at Hearts where injury ended his career.

Eli passed away in Dudley in 1964.