Alec Brady
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Alexander Brady | ||
Date of birth | 9 February 1870 | ||
Place of birth | Cathcart, Renfrewshire, Scotland | ||
Date of death | 19 October 1913 43) | (aged||
Place of death | Renton, Dunbartonshire, Scotland | ||
Playing position | Inside forward | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1886-1888 | Newcastle West End | ? | (?) |
1888 | Sunderland | ? | (?) |
1888 | Gainsborough Trinity | ? | (?) |
1888–1889 | Burnley | 20 | (8) |
1889 | Sunderland | ? | (?) |
1889–1891 | Everton | 34 | (17) |
1891–1892 | Celtic | 18 | (4) |
1892–1899 | The Wednesday | 158 | (34) |
1899–1901 | Clydebank | ? | (?) |
1901–1902 | Renton | ? | (?) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
Alexander "Alec" Brady (9 February 1870 – 19 October 1913) was a Scottish professional footballer who played as an inside forward, on his death the Sheffield Evening Telegraph described him as being "in his day one of the best forwards in the country".
Alec started his career with his local junior side Renton Thistle before moving to Newcastle West End. In the 1888-89 season he moved to Sunderland, then on to Sunderland before joining Burnley during the inaugural season of the English Football League in 1888/89. He finished the season as the teams top scorer with 8 goals in 20 appearances. He then moved back to Sunderland to end the season there.
In August 1989 Brady had been convinced to join Everton by their captain Andrew Hannah, also from Alec's hometown of Renton. However a dispute with his player registration meant he was given a two-month suspension. After scoring twice on his debut against Stoke and a hat-trick in the 11-2 against Derby in the FA Cup, Everton's record victory they narrowly missed out on winning the league trophy to Preston North End. In his second season with Everton they were crowned English League Champions.
In the Summer of 1891 he was lured back to Scotland to play for Celtic in the 2nd Scottish Football League Championship. Despite narrowly missing out on the league title to Dumbarton, Celtic went on to win the Scottish Cup, the clubs first ever major trophy.
Brady spent just one season at Celtic before moving to The Wednesday for seven seasons. He was a part of the Wednesday side that won the FA Cup in 1896, making Brady one of the first players to win both the Scottish and English trophies at a time when they were considered the pinnacle of football competitions.
He returned to Scotland to play with Clydebank in 1899 before returning to his hometown team, Renton where he ended his playing career.
After retiring from football he stayed in Renton, where he lived with his family until his death in 1913, aged 43. He was buried in Millburn Church, Renton which was marked with a memorial headstone in April 2016 by The Celtic Graves Society and Everton Heritage Society.
Honours
- English Football League (1): 189o-91
- Glasgow Cup (1):1891
- Scottish Cup (1): 1892
- Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup (1): 1892
- English FA Cup (1): 1896
References
- Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888-1939 (paperback).
- Metcalf, Mark (2013). The Origins of the Football League: The First Season (paperback).