Richard Marshall Neal (14 January 1906 – 26 December 1986) 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 winger. He spent most of his career at

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 ...

and

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 ...

Playing career

Neal was born in Fencehouses and started his playing career at Dinnington Main Colliery Welfare, from where, in 1925, he joined

, then in the

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third ti ...

. He made his debut, in the number 7 shirt, on 1 May 1926, at

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

in the final league game of the season. Over the next five seasons his appearance and goal totals in the league were: 17/3, 24/6, 32/5, 7/2 and 4/1. He helped Blackpool to the title in

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...

, their only championship to date. He spent the first half of the 1931–32 season at Derby County, and in February 1932, the

Supporters' Club put up the funds to secure his transfer to replace

Bert Jepson Albert Edward Jepson (9 November 1902 – 18 December 1981) was an English footballer who played as an outside right for Southampton and Brighton & Hove Albion in the 1920s and 1930s. Career Huddersfield Town Jepson was born in Glasshoughton, ...

. Over the next few seasons he was rarely out of the side and was a model of consistency despite the team's failure to achieve anything of merit, finishing regularly in mid-table in Division Two. In 1937, after 177 appearances for Southampton, he moved on to

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 ...

before finishing his career at Accrington Stanley.

Personal life

His son Dick Neal Jr. was a professional footballer who played as a half-back for Lincoln City and

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 1950s and 1960s, whilst his brother, Arthur, played briefly for

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

and

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

. His brother-in-law was Freddie Gibson, who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

for Hull City and

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 ...

Honours

Blackpool *

Division Two NCL Division Two The NCL or National Conference League Division Two (known as the Kingstone Press NCL Division Two) League winners {, class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" , - , colspan=4 style="text-align:center;" , NCL DIVISION TWO , ...

: 1929–30

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neal, Dick Sr. 1906 births 1986 deaths Sportspeople from Houghton-le-Spring Footballers from Tyne and Wear English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders English Football League players Blackpool F.C. players Derby County F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players Accrington Stanley F.C. (1891) players English football managers