History is full of stories, steeped in the unique and the unusual that catches the attention. Within that, football's past intrigues us with its intricacies and anomalies, and the career and life of Ivan ‘Ivor’ Broadis is a timeless tale worthy of revisiting.
Broadis, born a week before Christmas in 1922, was a man of firsts, lasts, and onlys; both on and off the pitch, as he saw and experienced plenty across a life that span over 96 years.
A Kent native, Ivan Broadis began his professional football career upon the conclusion of the Second World War and the restart of the sport as it was known pre-1939.
During the conflict, the Isle of Dogs local was part of the RAF, and while he didn't take part in any bombing missions himself, he took to the air with regularity and played an important role in navigation and the preparations of others at a very different era in time; one where duty beckoned, and somewhat defined, a brave generation.
His position in the Royal Air Force saw Broadis stationed overseas on occasion, but his footballing skills as a talented inside-forward were already prominent and renowned in southern quarters, with the youngster featuring in ‘guest matches’ for London giants Tottenham Hotspur when the chance arose during wartime.
It was during one of these guest appearances that his name was misread by a league official as ‘Ivor’ Broadis, a moniker that stuck from that moment onwards.
Words: Chris Kelly // @ccalciok
Ivan ‘Ivor’ Broadis.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
As World War Two finally ended, Broadis, in his early-to-mid twenties at this point, was stationed in Crosby-on-Eden by the RAF, a village on the outskirts of Carlisle in the northwest, a long way from his Welling roots.
When the Cumbrians learned of his whereabouts, and at the age of just 23, they moved to make ‘Ivor’ Broadis their player-manager, where he became - and remains to this day - the youngest man in history to be a player-manager in the English Football League.
At that time, Carlisle United plied their trade in the Third Division North, the lower reaches of the EFL. Broadis was in charge for three years at Brunton Park, making 91 league appearances and scoring 52 goals alongside his coaching responsibilities.
Player-managers, regularly seen in times gone by, are almost non-existent in the modern game. Broadis’ age, however, wasn't the only remarkable aspect of his time in charge at Carlisle.
After excelling on the pitch for the Cumbrian side, the then 27-year-old became the first manager to sanction the sale of himself as a player in early 1949, joining top-flight club Sunderland, who fought off interest from some of Lancashire's biggest, most historic clubs to secure the signature of the prolific attacker.
Broadis later told the BBC: “Carlisle got £18,000 for me. It was an incredible amount of money in those days.” Indeed, that sum equates to around £230,000 in today's money, and in a bygone era where transfer fees were far less bloated, it was funds a lower league club couldn't turn down at what was a very difficult time financially for them. In essence, the player-manager sold himself to secure the long-term future of the Cumbrian outfit.
Despite moving clubs, Broadis continued to train with Carlisle through the week before turning out for his new team on matchdays. Bill Shankly had taken over the managerial reins at Brunton Park, and the great Scotsman is thought to have had a big impact on his predecessor as a footballer, helping him to become one of the best all-round attackers in the country at that time.
Sunderland were, and still are, a huge club who were in and around the higher reaches of the English top-flight when they signed Broadis, solely as a player, with then manager Bill Murray keen to acquire the gifted game-changer.
Ivan ‘Ivor’ Broadis in his change jersey.
Photo Credit: Mirrorpix
Known as one of the most affluent clubs in the country at the time, Sunderland added Broadis to the likes of Len Shackleton and Dickie Davis to form one of the best sides in the land.
With such riches, Sunderland achieved their highest post-war finishing position of third at the end of the 1949/50 campaign, just a point below champions Portsmouth and second-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers as a league title narrowly escaped Broadis and his teammates.
A year later, the forward was on the move once again, heading to newly promoted First Division side Manchester City for a fee thought to be around £25,000. Broadis won his first England cap while at Maine Road, a 2-2 draw with Austria In 1951.
Having spent two years in Manchester, Broadis headed back north in the summer of 1953, joining former club Sunderland's local rivals Newcastle United for a fee in the region of £20,000.
Broadis remained a popular figure with fans at all of his previous clubs, however, and taking to the field alongside the legendary Jackie Milburn and Ivor Allchurch, helped the Magpies to FA Cup glory in 1955, though the success was soured somewhat by a disagreement between the forward and boss Norman Smith that saw the England international omitted from the side that beat former club Manchester City in the final.
It was during his time in the northeast, however, that saw Broadis head to Switzerland as part of England's 1954 World Cup squad. Indeed, the 32-year-old would again enter the history books, this time becoming the first Englishman to score twice in a World Cup match (against Belgium), as well as being part of the first England squad to reach the last eight of the global showpiece.
Broadis in the stripes of Sunderland, during his time in the North East with the Black Cats.
Photo Credit: Sunderland FC Archive
The attacking player would go on to get 14 England caps overall, scoring on eight occasions against the likes of Scotland, Italy, and notably getting the Three Lions' consolation goal in a 7-1 defeat in Budapest to Hungary’s ‘Golden team’ containing the likes of Ferenc Puskás and Sándor Kocsis.
The aforementioned falling out with Smith led to Broadis moving on in the summer of 1955, as he rejoined his first club, Carlisle United, as a player-coach, assisting then manager Fred Emery.
Leaving the Cumbrians for a second time in 1959, and by now 37 years of age, the experienced campaigner ended his career with a spell in Scotland, spending an enjoyable, productive couple of seasons with Second Division side Queen of the South. Indeed, the veteran impressed so much during his stay at Palmerston Park, that top-flight club and 1960 season champions Heart of Midlothian tried, and ultimately failed, to tempt Broadis into prolonging his stay in the game.
Following a very eventful, interesting and decorated career in football that saw him score 156 league goals in just over 500 appearances north and south of the border, Broadis hung up his boots in 1961, and began what turned out to be a 45-year career as a football journalist, something he’d shown a passion for many years previously when penning a column for the Manchester Evening News during his time at Maine Road.
Ivan Broadis was awarded the Freedom of the City of Carlisle in 2018, a fitting tribute to a man who made history and broke records, both in life and death. At the time of his passing aged 96 in the Spring of 2019, the former inside-forward was the oldest living England international.
A life very much fulfilled for a man who left a lasting imprint on the sport, both on and off the field of play, and was held in the highest of regard by some of British football’s most prominent historical figures.
Want to contribute? DM us on X or send us an email.
@_footyheritage
hello@footballheritage.co.uk
Broadis in action for Carlisle United, a club who, among others, he had a great affiliation with and affinity for.
Photo Credit: Carlisle United