Harold Bodle

Biography Bodle was born in Woodlands, near Doncaster. He also played for Ridgehill Athletic and had trials at Doncaster Rovers and Bradford Park Avenue and just past his 18th birthday Bodle was transferred to First Division club Birmingham for a fee of £2,000. "It was a total surprise when [Rotherham] manager Reg Freeman pulled me aside at the training ground to tell me of The Blues' interest. I was so excited that when I went back to the training session I lost concentration and went sliding off onto the gravel edge. When I met up with Blues officials later that day I had both my hands bandaged and found it hard to sign the contract!"

Bodle played one first-team game for his new club before the outbreak of the Second World War put an end to League football. He made occasional appearances for the club in wartime competition, as well as guesting for Rotherham and Doncaster, for whom he scored 27 goals. He returned to Birmingham to play a full season (and score 16 goals) in the 1945–46 regional competition Football League South, which Birmingham won, and contributed three goals in their run to the FA Cup semifinal. By this time he was a fixture in the side. He scored 16 goals in all competitions in the first post-war League season – only Cyril Trigg got more for Birmingham – and 14 the following year, which made him the club's leading scorer and helped them to promotion back to the top flight. Once in the First Division Bodle's goals stopped coming, and in March 1949 the club accepted an offer for his services of £9,500 from Second Division Bury.

He spent just over three seasons at Bury, in that time playing well over 100 games and scoring 40 League goals, and finished the 1951–52 season as the club's top scorer with 19 goals. When his contract expired at the end of that season, he decided to leave Bury to take up the post of player-manager, coach and trainer at Betteshanger Colliery Welfare of the Kent League. Because he had moved into non-league football, Bury were not entitled to a transfer fee. When a few weeks later Bodle signed for Stockport County for a fee of £7,000, Bury claimed compensation as they still retained his Football League registration. Payment of £1,750 allowed the move to proceed. and resigned in February 1976.

Bodle went on to run a sub-post-office in Derbyshire before retiring to Bournemouth, where he died at the age of 84.

Honours Birmingham City Football League South: 1946 Second Division: 1948 Club's top scorer: 1948 Bury Club's top scorer: 1952 Accrington Stanley Third Division North runners-up: 1955