Category Archives: featured

Season Database

Below is a record of every season in Bradford City history. Over time, every season will have its own unique page linking to every game played in all competitive, domestic football throughout that season.

SeasonDivPtsPosFA CupEFL Cup
1903-04Div 23110th4Q
1904-05Div 2328thIR
1905-06Div 23411thR3
1906-07Div 2475thR3
1907-08Div 2541st (P)R1
1908-09Div 13418thR3
1909-10Div 1427thR2
1910-11Div 1455thW
1911-12Div 13811thQF
1912-13Div 13513thR1
1913-14Div 1389thR2
1914-15Div 14010thQF
1919-20Div 13915thQF
1920-21Div 13915thR2
1921-22Div 13221stR2
1922-23Div 23715thR1
1923-24Div 23718thR1
1924-25Div 23816thR3
1925-26Div 23616thR3
1926-27Div 22322nd (R)R3
1927-28Div 3N486thR2
1928-29Div 3N631st (P)R4
1929-30Div 23618thR5
1930-31Div 24410thR4
1931-32Div 2457thR3
1932-33Div 24111thR3
1933-34Div 2466thR3
1934-35Div 23220thR4
1935-36Div 24312thR5
1936-37Div 23021st (R)R3
1937-38Div 3N3814thR3
1938-39Div 3N523rdR1
1939-40Div 3N121stN/A
1945-46Div 3NN/AN/AR1
1946-47Div 3N505thR1
1947-48Div 3N4014thR2
1948-49Div 3N2922ndR2
1949-50Div 3N3219thR2
1950-51Div 3N527thR1
1951-52Div 3N4215thR2
1952-53Div 3N4616thR2
1953-54Div 3N535thR1
1954-55Div 3N3621stR3
1955-56Div 3N498thR2
1956-57Div 3N529thR1
1957-58Div 3N573rdR3
1958-59Div 3*4711thR4
1959-60Div 34219thR5
1960-61Div 33622nd (R)R2R3
1961-62Div 4515thR3R1
1962-63Div 43223rdR3R1
1963-64Div 4565thR1R1
1964-65Div 43219thR1QF
1965-66Div 43723rdR1R1
1966-67Div 44811thR1R1
1967-68Div 4475thR2R1
1968-69Div 4564th (P)R1R2
1969-70Div 34610thR3R4
1970-71Div 34019thR2R1
1971-72Div 33224th (R)R1R1
1972-73Div 44316thR4R1
1973-74Div 4488tbR4R1
1974-75Div 44710thR1R2
1975-76Div 44117thQFR1
1976-77Div 4594th (P)R1R2
1977-78Div 33422nd (R)R1R1
1978-79Div 44315thR2R2
1979-80Div 4605thR3R2
1980-81Div 44414thR1R2
1981-82Div 4912nd (P)R1R3
1982-83Div 36112thR3R3
1983-84Div 3717thR1R1
1984-85Div 3941st (P)R3R2
1985-86Div 25413thR3R2
1986-87Div 25510thR4R4
1987-88Div 2774thR5QF
1988-89Div 25614thR4QF
1989-90Div 24123rd (R)R3R2
1990-91Div 3708thR1R3
1991-92Div 35816thR2R2
1992-93Div 2**6810thR2R1
1993-94Div 2707thR1R2
1994-95Div 26014thR1R2
1995-96Div 2736th (P)R3R3
1996-97Div 14821stR5R1
1997-98Div 15713thR3R1
1998-99Div 1872nd (P)R4R3
1999-00Prem3617th R4R3
2000-01Prem2620th (R)R3R3
2001-02Div 15515thR3R3
2002-03Div 15219thR3R1
2003-04Div 13623rd (R)R3R1
2004-05L1***6511thR1R1
2005-06L16111thR2R2
2006-07L14722nd (R)R2R1
2007-08L26210thR2R1
2008-09L2679thR2R1
2009-10L26214thR1R1
2010-11L25218thR1R2
2011-12L25018thR1R1
2012-13L2697th (P)R2F
2013-14L15911thR1R1
2014-15L1657thQFR3
2015-16L1805thR3R1
2016-17L1795thR1R1
2017-18L16311thR3R1
2018-19L14124th (R)R2R1
2019-20L2549thR1R1
2020-21L25915thR2R2
2021-22L25815thR1R1

How many players have scored on their City debut?

A debut goal is an incredibly special moment – and while some of the greatest players in City’s history have achieved that particular feat, some of the more unheralded – and dare we say, forgotten – players of the past have managed to do it, too.

In all, at the time of writing, 96 players have scored on their official, competitive Bradford City debut – the most recent of which is Luca Colville during the League Cup game with Macclesfield Town in 14/8/2018.

You can see a full list by going to the official Heritage Number document and sorting the list’s notes column – but here is a closer look at some of the more famous ones who’ve done it – as well as those who have scored more than once on debut, too.

Players to have scored a hat-trick on debut:
Trevor Edmunds (#253) – City 11-1 Roherham United (25/8/1928)
Cornelius White (#254) – City 11-1 Roherham United (25/8/1928)
Fred Bedford (#259) City 8-2 Ashington (13/10/1928)

Amazingly, the three players who scored hat-tricks on their Bradford debut all did so in the same season! It came all the way back in 1928-29, when City won Division Three (North) for the one and only time. Two of those hat-tricks came in the same game; the opening match of that season, as City registered what is still their record victory, beating Rotherham United 11-1. Trevor Edmunds and Cornelius White both scored three times.

Then, less than two months later, Fred Bedford did exactly the same on his first appearance in claret and amber, when City beat Washington 8-2. It was a season not short on records; later that year, Albert Whitehurst became the first – and only – City player in history to score seven times in one game, as the Bantams beat Tranmere 8-0.

Players to have scored twice on debut:
Albert Whitehurst (#264) – City 4-3 Lincoln City (16/2/1929)
Reuben Woolhouse (#278) – City 3-2 Charlton Athletic (30/8/1930)
William Cooper (#385) – City 2-1 New Brighton (9/9/1946)
John Neilson (#407) – City 3-1 Hartlepool United (25/10/1947)
Alan Hampson (#512) – City 4-3 Mansfield Town (12/9/1956)

Incredibly, while five players have scored twice on their official City debut, nobody has achieved the feat for over 60 years now.

The aforementioned Albert Whitehurst, who has a special place in City history with another goal-scoring feat, did start his time in claret and amber with a two-gaol performance against Lincoln in February 1929. He would finish that season with 24 goals in 15 appearances, a remarkable number.

Reuben Woolhouse followed just over a year later, but it wasn’t until after the Second World War someone would do it again. And peculiarly, the next two men to achieve it – William Cooper in 1946 and John Neilson the following year – made only 13 league appearances for City between them (seven and six respectively).

Alan Hampson was the final man to score twice on his debut in City’s 4-3 win over Mansfield in 1956 – but nobody has done it since.

Notable players to have scored on their City debut
John Hallows (#280) – 22/11/1930 v Burnley
Sean McCarthy (#789) – 25/8/1990 v Tranmere Rovers
Des Hamilton (#826) – 3/5/1994 v Barnet
Stan Collymore (#925) – 29/10/2000 v Leeds United
Eoin Jess (#928) – 1/1/2001 v Leicester City
Danny Cadamarteri (#940) – 23/2/2002 v Gillingham
Charlie Wyke (#1221) – 4/2/2017 v Gillingham

Explaining the Bantams Heritage Project

Welcome to BantamsHeritage.com.

We are a groundbreaking project for professional football in the United Kingdom, strictly dedicated to Bradford City FC. Many other clubs, and indeed countries, in other professional sports track and record their history via the hugely-popular heritage number system. Every player who has represented that team throughout history is given a number in chronological order of their debut appearance.

No English professional football side has adopted that system. Until now.

We have collated, compiled and tirelessly checked every single game of professional football Bradford City have played since their formation in 1903, through to the present day. Up until the end of the 2017/18 season, we have recorded 1,247 players who have worn the famous claret and amber shirt. Bantams Heritage has, therefore, helped to establish a unique identity for Bradford City – and given every player their rightful place in the club’s history. In time, we hope to liaise with the club to have each player who wears the shirt have their heritage number represented on the kit and unveil a number of heritage-based projects to solidify Bradford City’s place at the heart of the city’s culture for over a century.

Naturally, with such an exhaustive project, we have had to be clear and concise about who does, and does not, receive a heritage number. Therefore, the following five competitions are what we have regarded as competitive, first-team football:

  • League football (Premier League and Football League)
  • FA Cup
  • Football League Cup
  • Football League Trophy
  • European competition (in Bradford’s case, the 2000 Intertoto Cup)

One difficult, and noteworthy, exemption from our records are war-time football. A glance at the records for war-time football revealed an extraordinary amount of ‘guest’ appearances – players who were either serving in the area or simply filled the numbers during the war-time leagues of the Second World War. Given the exceptional circumstances of the wider world, we opted against including those.

But our goal and aim is not strictly limited to the heritage number project, even if that is our defining piece of work. We are aiming to become the absolute definitive place for statistics and records relating to Bradford City. Whether it be the standard list of the club’s all-time goal-scorers or appearance-makers, or more left-field articles such as players to have scored on their debut, or managerial records – we are aiming to cover it all.

Via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media accounts we aim to provide plenty of content for Bradford fans to enjoy and share. What, however, is not in our mandate is to have ANY sort of public opinion on matters such as the club’s ownership. We are completely independent and are dedicated to celebrating the wonderful history of a wonderful club.

It has taken well over a year to compile and collate this data. We hope you appreciate the results of the project, and we endeavour to hopefully back-date and award certificates to as many players on the list (as well as descendants of those players no longer with us) over time.

So, after reading that, we think you’ll want to see the list in full, right? If the answer to that question is yes – simply click here.

Latest Heritage Number: Richie Smallwood (#1337)

Heritage Number #1337 – Richie Smallwood
Debut: 30 July 2022 v Doncaster Rovers

The five players to have immediately preceded Butterfield:

#1336 – Matthew Platt
Debut: 30 July 2022 v Doncaster Rovers

#1335 – Emmanuel Osadebe
Debut: 30 July 2022 v Doncaster Rovers

#1334 – Vadaine Oliver
Debut: 30 July 2022 v Doncaster Rovers

#1333 – Harry Lewis
Debut: 30 July 2022 v Doncaster Rovers

#1332 – Kian Harratt
Debut: 30 July 2022 v Doncaster Rovers