On this site you will find my features published in the Bradford City AFC programme, 2017/18 and links to articles I have written for other websites.
This blog provides background about my books which have been published in the BANTAMSPAST History Revisited series. I am currently working on my final volume Fall from the Top which has a working title of Wool City Rivals and examines the rivalry of Bradford City AFC and Bradford Park Avenue AFC in the twentieth century. This builds on my study of the rivalry of the predecessor clubs, Manningham FC and Bradford FC in the nineteenth century.
My interest is principally (association) football and I have an extensive collection of soccer memorabilia. However, notwithstanding that I have no patience for the game itself, I confess that I have found the history of nineteenth century rugby football particularly fascinating…
The following are articles that I have written which are published on VINCIT, an online journal of Bradford Sport History: http://www.bradfordsporthistory.wordpress.com
The significance of sport in shaping a Bradford identity https://bradfordsporthistory.wordpress.com/2017/07/16/a-tale-of-two-cities-the-significance-of-sport-in-the-bradford-identity/
History of the Bradford Charity Cup: https://bradfordsporthistory.wordpress.com/2017/04/21/the-forgotten-pot-the-story-of-the-bradford-charity-cup/
Compendium of Bradford sports club names https://bradfordsporthistory.wordpress.com/2017/11/24/compendium-of-bradford-sports-club-names-2/
The late development of soccer in Bradford https://bradfordsporthistory.wordpress.com/2017/09/23/the-late-development-of-soccer-in-bradford/
Bradford sporting identity https://bradfordsporthistory.wordpress.com/2017/07/16/a-tale-of-two-cities-the-significance-of-sport-in-the-bradford-identity/
What’s in a name? Semantics about Bradford City and Park Avenue https://bradfordsporthistory.wordpress.com/2017/07/01/whats-in-a-name/
John Nunn, Bradford physical aesthete: https://bradfordsporthistory.wordpress.com/2017/03/31/jack-nunn-and-physical-aesthetics-in-bradford/
150th anniversary of football in Bradford: https://bradfordsporthistory.wordpress.com/2016/12/30/455/
The history of Bradford rugby and the case to reassess the split in English rugby in 1895: https://bradfordsporthistory.wordpress.com/2016/12/22/262/ My findings from investigation of the origins and development of Bradford football provide sufficient evidence to challenge the orthodox view that the split in English rugby was driven by social class as opposed to the economics of sport.
Bradford’s rugby heritage https://bradfordsporthistory.wordpress.com/2016/09/21/recognition-of-bradfords-rugby-heritage/
Further articles are planned for publication including the background to junior rugby clubs in Bradford, their mushrooming and subsequent disappearance in the final decade of the nineteenth century.
Other articles by myself published on Playing Pasts…
The case of Bradford FC and the origins of football as a business: https://www.playingpasts.co.uk/articles/football/another-origins-debate-part-one/
The origins of professional football in Bradford: http://www.playingpasts.co.uk/articles/football/the-origins-of-professional-football-in-bradford/
Reconsidering 1895 – a Bradford perspective: http://www.playingpasts.co.uk/articles/team-sports/rethinking-1895-a-bradford-perspective/
Published on the World Rugby Museum website:
Bradford’s contribution to rugby history https://worldrugbymuseumblog.wordpress.com/2016/10/31/how-the-city-of-bradford-helped-shape-the-early-history-of-rugby-football/
I am interested to hear from anyone with artefacts that could be featured in WOOL CITY RIVALS. I am happy to assist others studying the origins of football in the UK and provide comparative information about what happened in Bradford.
Wool City Rivals 