Daniel Friel (1860–1911) was a Scottish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a centre half. He started his career in his native Scotland with

Vale of Leven The Vale of Leven (Scottish Gaelic: ''Magh Leamhna'') is an area of West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, in the valley of the River Leven. Historically, it was part of The Lennox, the name of which derives from the Gaelic term ''Leamhnach'', meaning '' ...

before moving to England to join

Accrington Accrington is a town in the Hyndburn borough of Lancashire, England. It lies about east of Blackburn, west of Burnley, east of Preston, north of Manchester and is situated on the culverted River Hyndburn. Commonly abbreviated by locals to ...

in 1883. Later that year, Friel was signed by nearby

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

and he made his debut for the club in the

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

against Witton on 10 November 1883. However, the game was abandoned at half-time after the visitors refused to play in the heavy rain despite being a goal ahead. Friel scored his first goals for Burnley in the 5–0 win against

Eagley Eagley is a village of the unparished area of South Turton, in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. Historically part of Lancashire, it lies on southern slopes of the West Pennine Moors. Eagley Brook passes through t ...

two weeks later. Over the following seasons, he became an integral member of the Burnley team and was part of the side that won the Hospital Cup in 1884 and 1886. In the 1886 final, he netted the second goal in a 2–0 win over local rivals

Padiham Padiham ( ) is a town and civil parish on the River Calder, about west of Burnley, Lancashire, England. It forms part of the Borough of Burnley. Originally by the River Calder, it is edged by the foothills of Pendle Hill to the north-west ...

.Simpson (2007), p. 24 Friel scored the only

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

of his Burnley career on 29 November 1885 as

Derby Midland Derby railway station (, also known as Derby Midland) is a main line railway station serving the city of Derby in Derbyshire, England. Owned by Network Rail and managed by East Midlands Railway, the station is also used by CrossCountry servic ...

were beaten 8–0 at Turf Moor. In May 1886, he was selected to represent a Burnley District select team in a match against Padiham to raise funds for the local hospital.

1888-1889

Relatively small in stature, but a very talented footballer, Danny Friel was the only ever-present in Burnley's side during the historic first season of League football in 1888–89. Burnley were one of the founding members of the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

in 1888 and Friel remained one of the club's first-choice players as competitive football commenced. Dannie Friel made his League debut on 8 September 1888, playing as a centre-half, at Deepdale, the home of

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

. Preston North End won the match 5–2. On 20 October 1888 Dannie Friel was supplanted as Burnley' oldest League player by Thomas Midgley. Dannie Friel had been the oldest Burnley League player from 8 September 1888 to 20 October 1888. Friel played in all 22 of Burnley' League matches in season 1888–89. As a centre-half (21 appearances) he played in a Burnley defence that achieved four clean sheets and restricted the opposition to one–League–goal–in–a–match on two separate occasions. Dannie Friel was the only Burnley player to play in all 22 League games in season 1888-89. On 5 October 1889, Friel scored his first Football League goal in the 2–6 home defeat to

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

. The following month he announced that he was to leave Burnley, having played 27 league matches and scored one goal. In total, Friel had made more than 300 appearances for the club, many of them as team captain. After leaving Burnley, he returned to

non-League football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

with Nelson.Simpson (2007), p. 486

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Friel, Daniel 1860 births 1911 deaths Scottish footballers Men's association football midfielders Vale of Leven F.C. players Accrington F.C. players Burnley F.C. players Nelson F.C. players English Football League players People from Bonhill Footballers from West Dunbartonshire