Richard Marshall Neal (1 October 1933 – 21 February 2013) was an English 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

wing half A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. He made more than 350 appearances in

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 ...

, played for

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...

in the

1960 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Final The 1960 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Final was an association football match played over two legs between Barcelona of Spain and Birmingham City of England. The first leg was played at St Andrew's, Birmingham, on 29 March 1960, and the second leg was ...

, and won four

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

for the England under-23 team.

Life and career

Neal was born in Dinnington, which was then in the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

. He came through

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

' nursery club, Wath Wanderers, and then joined the junior ranks at the club. He turned professional in 1951, but failed to break through to the first team. In 1954, he moved to

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

club Lincoln City, where he played more than 100 league games. While at Lincoln he was first capped for England under-23, and remains the only player to represent England above youth level while at the club. Financial difficulties caused in part by falling attendances forced Lincoln to accept the substantial offer of £15,000 plus player Bert Linnecor from First Division club

, and in April 1957 Neal moved on. He was a powerful player, both strong in the tackle and capable of positive attacking play; manager Arthur Turner brought him in as a replacement for

Len Boyd Leonard Arthur Miller Boyd (11 November 1923 − 14 February 2008) was an English professional footballer who played 333 matches in the Football League in the 1940s and 1950s. After serving in the Royal Navy during the Second World War, Boyd sig ...

, who had retired through injury after the

1956 FA Cup Final The 1956 FA Cup Final was the final match of the 1955–56 staging of English football's primary cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup, better known as the FA Cup. The showpiece event was contested between Manchester City a ...

. He made nearly 200 appearances in all competitions for Birmingham, including 165 top-flight League matches and the 1960 Fairs Cup Final, and captained the side in 1960–61. The next season, he lost his place to

Terry Hennessey William Terrence Hennessey (born 1 September 1942) is a Welsh former international footballer who gained 39 caps for Wales. He played as a defender and made 400 Football League appearances in the 1960s and 1970s with Birmingham City, Nottingham ...

, so moved to

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

, where injury restricted his appearances during the two seasons he spent there. He returned to Lincoln, now in the

Fourth Division Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

, as captain for another year. He went on to try his hand at management, as

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

of several

non-league 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 ...

clubs in the

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

area, before going into the licensed trade. He ran a pub in

Penkridge Penkridge ( ) is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in South Staffordshire, South Staffordshire District in Staffordshire, England. It is to the south of Stafford, north of Wolverhampton, west of Cannock and east of Telford. ...

for nearly 20 years. In 2006, to celebrate their centenary in the Football League, Lincoln City fans voted for "100 League Legends", those 100 players who had represented the club with most distinction; Neal came in at number 42. Neal was married to Barbara and had three children, Debbie, Richard and Tim. He died in 2013 at the age of 79. His father, Dick Neal Sr., was a professional footballer who played as a winger for

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

and

Accrington Stanley Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England. The club competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They have spent their complete history ...

before the Second World War.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neal, Dick Jr. 1933 births 2013 deaths People from Dinnington, South Yorkshire Footballers from Yorkshire English footballers England under-23 international footballers Association football wing halves Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Middlesbrough F.C. players Rugby Town F.C. (1945) players Hednesford Town F.C. players Brierley Hill Alliance F.C. players Blakenall F.C. players English Football League players English football managers Hednesford Town F.C. managers Football managers from Yorkshire