Chic Brodie (footballer) explained

Chic Brodie
Fullname:Charles Thomas George Brodie[1]
Birth Date:22 February 1937
Birth Place:Duntocher, Scotland
Death Place:Ealing, England
Position:Goalkeeper
Youthclubs1:Partick Avondale
Youthyears2:–1954
Youthclubs2:Duntocher Hibernian
Years1:1954–1957
Clubs1:Manchester City
Caps1:0
Goals1:0
Years2:1957–1958
Clubs2:Gillingham
Caps2:18
Goals2:0
Years3:1958–1961
Clubs3:Aldershot
Caps3:95
Goals3:0
Years4:1961
Clubs4:Wolverhampton Wanderers
Caps4:1
Goals4:0
Years5:1961–1963
Clubs5:Northampton Town
Caps5:87
Goals5:0
Years6:1963–1971
Clubs6:Brentford
Caps6:199
Goals6:0
Years7:1971–1973
Clubs7:Margate
Years8:1973–1974
Clubs8:Wealdstone
Years9:1974–1975
Clubs9:Maidstone United
Nationalteam1:Scotland Schoolboys
Nationalyears2:1953–1954
Nationalteam2:Scotland Juniors
Nationalcaps2:3
Nationalgoals2:0

Charles Thomas George Brodie (22 February 1937 – 24 April 2000) was a Scottish professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

Brodie made 400 appearances in The Football League, most notably for Brentford, Aldershot and Northampton Town. His professional career came to an end in 1970, when he was seriously injured after a dog ran onto the field of play.

Career

Manchester City

Born in Duntocher, Brodie began his career with Junior clubs Duntocher Hibernian and Partick Avondale. He joined Manchester City of the Football League First Division as an amateur in March 1954.[2] He spent four years with the club, playing understudy to the popular German goalkeeper Bert Trautmann, but failed to break into the first team and departed in July 1957.

Gillingham

Brodie dropped down the leagues to join Gillingham of the Third Division South in July 1957. He spent one season with the Kent-based club, during which he played 22 times.[3]

Aldershot

Brodie joined Fourth Division club Aldershot in July 1958. At the time he was completing his National Service and was stationed in the town. He remained at the Recreation Ground until February 1961 and departed having made 106 appearances for the club.[4]

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Brodie secured a move back to the top-flight when he joined Wolverhampton Wanderers for a then-club record £9,000 in February 1961. He played just one league match for the club, before departing Molineux in September 1961.

Northampton Town

Brodie dropped back down to the Third Division to join Northampton Town in September 1961, for a £4,000 fee.[5] His first appearance for the club meant that he made three consecutive appearances for three clubs. Brodie played regularly for the club for just over two years and won a Third Division championship medal during the 1962–63 season. He departed the County Ground in November 1963, after making 97 appearances for the Cobblers.

Brentford

Brodie moved to London to join Third Division club Brentford in November 1963 in a £10,000 deal.[6] He quickly usurped long-standing regular goalkeeper Gerry Cakebread and was the Bees' regular goalkeeper until losing his place to Gordon Phillips during an injury-affected 1966–67 season. He regained his place in the team during the 1969–70 season, in which he featured as an ever-present in all competitions.

On 27 November 1970, a dog ran onto the field of play during a Fourth Division match away to Colchester United. The dog impacted Brodie's leg after he had picked up the ball and damaged ligaments in his knee. The incident was one of a number which occurred during Brodie's career with the club, which included being struck on the knee by a stone thrown from the crowd and finding a hand grenade in his goalmouth (discovered to be a replica).[7] Though he managed five further appearances during the second half of the 1970–71 season,[8] the injury ended Brodie's professional career. Brodie departed Griffin Park at the end of the 1970–71 season, after making 224 appearances during his eight years with the Bees. He was posthumously inducted into the Brentford Hall of Fame in 2015.[9]

Non-League football

In 1971 Brodie resumed playing, albeit at a semi-professional level, with Southern League Premier Division club Margate. He remained with the Gate for two seasons and was in goal when the team lost 11–0 to Bournemouth in an FA Cup match in November 1971. He later played for Wealdstone and Maidstone United before retiring from football.

International career

Brodie represented Scotland at Schoolboy and Junior level.[10]

Personal life

Prior to becoming a professional footballer, Brodie served a five-year apprenticeship in electrical engineering.[11] In his latter years as a professional footballer, Brodie became a London taxi driver and as of September 1995 was living in Southall.[12] He died in April 2000 at the age of 63, after suffering with cancer.

Career statistics

Club! rowspan="2"
SeasonLeagueFA CupLeague CupTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Gillingham1957–58Third Division South18040220
Wolverhampton Wanderers1960–61First Division1010
Northampton Town1961–62[13] Third Division32030350
1962–63Third Division4601030500
1963–64Second Division9030120
Total8704060970
Brentford1963–64Third Division25040290
1964–65Third Division4504010500
1965–66Third Division3501020380
1966–67Fourth Division800030110
1967–68Fourth Division10000010
1968–69Fourth Division2202010250
1969–70Fourth Division4602030510
1970–71Fourth Division1701010190
Total19901401102240
Career total31502201703440

Honours

Northampton Town

Brentford

Individual

1964–65, 1965–66

Notes and References

  1. Book: Haynes, Graham . Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006 . Coumbe . Frank . Yore Publications . 2006 . 978-0955294914 . Harefield . 27.
  2. Web site: Day . Richard . On This Day... . 31 March 2016 . www.gillinghamfootballclub.com.
  3. Web site: Chic Brodie . 25 May 2017 . Gillingham FC Scrapbook.
  4. Web site: Chic Brodie . 19 October 2015 . margatefchistory.co.uk.
  5. Book: Golesworth, Maurice . Soccer Who's Who . The Sportsmans Book Club . 1965.
  6. Book: Croxford, Mark . The Big Brentford Book of the Seventies . Lane . David . Waterman . Greville . Legends Publishing . 2011 . 978-1906796709 . Sunbury, Middlesex . 255–256.
  7. Web site: 10 March 2011 . Adding insult to injury . 20 July 2023 . ESPN.co.uk.
  8. Book: 100 Years Of Brentford . Brentford FC . 1989 . 0951526200 . White . Eric . 387–391.
  9. Web site: Wickham . Chris . Kevin O'Connor and Marcus Gayle join others in being added to Brentford FC Hall of Fame . 14 June 2015 . brentfordfc.com.
  10. Web site: Scotland Junior Internationals . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20190505110925/http://www.scottish-football-historical-archive.co.nf/scotlandjuniorinternationals.xlsx . 5 May 2019 . 12 April 2018 . Scottish Football Historical Archive.
  11. Robinson . Peter . Man Behind The Ball – Chic Brodie (Brentford F.C.) . Football League Review . 21.
  12. Book: Griffin Gazette versus Chesterfield . 30 September 1995 . Quay Design of Poole . 2.
  13. Book: Grande, Frank . Northampton Town F.C.: The Official Centenary History . 1 November 1997 . Yore Publications . 978-1-874427-67-4 . 1st . English.
  14. Book: Haynes, Graham . A-Z Of Bees: Brentford Encyclopaedia . 1998 . Yore Publications . 1-874427-57-7 . 82.