The Unluckiest Goalkeeper in History: The Bizarre Saga of Chic Brodie

When football fans discuss the unluckiest players to ever grace the pitch, the conversation has to start and end with Chic Brodie. While his career featured over 400 appearances in the Football League, the Scottish-born goalkeeper is largely remembered for a completely absurd string of misfortunes that make him sound less like an athlete and more like a cartoon character. Brodie's brush with the big time happened in 1961 when Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Stan Cullis was so impressed by him during an FA Cup replay that he bought him from Fourth Division Aldershot for £14,000. Brodie made one senior appearance for Wolves—a 2-1 victory over Manchester United—before ultimately moving on to Northampton and eventually finding his long-term home at Brentford. It was during his time with Brentford that Brodie earned the newspaper moniker, "Unlucky Chic: The One-Man Natural Disaster." His incredible streak of bad luck included: The Sniper Stone (1964): During a match against Carlisle, a stone thrown from the crowd managed to strike Brodie squarely on the knee with such precision that he had to be stretchered off the field. The Goalmouth Grenade (1965): In a match against Millwall, Brodie spotted a strange object in his penalty area. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was a hand grenade. As he later recounted to the press, "I bloody scarpered!" Luckily, police inspected it and found it was only a replica. Bringing Down the House (1970): In the dying moments of a clash against Lincoln City, Brodie acrobatically tipped a cross over the bar. As he fell, he grabbed onto the crossbar and brought the entire goalpost crashing down on top of himself. He injured his back, and the match was delayed for 45 minutes while officials tried to rebuild the goal. The Dog Incident Despite surviving stones, fake explosives, and collapsing infrastructure, Brodie's professional Football League career was ultimately ended by man's best friend. In November 1970, Brentford was playing Colchester United when a small white terrier invaded the pitch. The referee allowed play to continue as the dog sprinted around the field. A Brentford defender played a back-pass to Brodie, who kept his eyes on the ball and bent down to scoop it up. The energetic dog decided to chase the ball at the exact same moment, launching itself directly into the goalkeeper's leg. The collision completely shattered Brodie's kneecap, leaving him writhing in agony on the turf. The surreal incident was caught on camera and brought an abrupt end to his professional career. Looking back on the freak accident, Brodie famously lamented, "The dog might have been a small one, but it just happened to be a solid one." A Taxi and a World Cup Winner Following the dog incident, Brodie dropped down to non-league football to play part-time for Margate while earning a living as a London taxi driver. However, his cursed luck followed him. In 1971, he was in goal for Margate during an FA Cup tie against Bournemouth. Brodie had to pick the ball out of his net 11 times as Bournemouth won 11-0, with striker Ted MacDougall scoring a famous nine goals. Even his taxi career wasn't safe from his legendary misfortune. Years later, Brodie was involved in a traffic collision on the streets of London. He died in 2000 at the age of 63 after suffering from cancer.