Francis Joseph O'Donnell (31 August 1911 – 4 September 1952) 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 lea ...

. He was the older brother of fellow footballer Hugh O'Donnell. The siblings stayed together for the first sixteen years of their careers, both playing concurrently for

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...

and

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

. He also made six appearances for the Scotland national team.

Career

O'Donnell started his professional career with

. O'Donnell made 78

Scottish league The Scottish Football League (SFL) is a defunct league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 k ...

appearances and scored 51 goals,Celtic player O'Donnell, Francis
FitbaStats which equated to an average of a goal every 1.5 games. His scoring touch remained when he signed for

in 1935, netting 36 goals in 92 league games. He scored a consolation goal as Preston lost in the 1937 FA Cup Final to

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

. In 1937, O'Donnell signed for Preston's

West Lancashire derby The West Lancashire derby (sometimes also known as the '' M55 derby'') is a local rivalry in English football between Lancashire clubs Blackpool and Preston North End. The derby has taken place across all four tiers of English football, but not ...

rivals

. He made his Blackpool debut on 4 December 1937, in a draw at

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

. He scored his first goal for the club two weeks later, in a 2–1 victory at

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

. He went on to score another nine goals in his remaining fourteen games of the season. The following season, 1938–39, O'Donnell scored seven goals in thirteen appearances, including a

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 Wick ...

in a 5–1 victory over Chelsea at

Bloomfield Road Bloomfield Road is a association football, football stadium in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Blackpool F.C., Blackpool Football Club since 1901. It is the third stadium in the club's existence, the previous two be ...

on 8 October 1938. O'Donnell left Blackpool during the 1945–46 season, the final inter-war campaign, and signed for

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

. In his one season at

Villa Park Villa Park is a association football, football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, with a seating capacity of 42,918. It has been the home of Premier League club Aston Villa F.C., Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witt ...

, he scored fourteen goals in 29 league appearances. After stints with

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

and Raith Rovers, O'Donnell became player/manager of non-league club

Buxton Buxton is a spa town in the High Peak, Derbyshire, Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, in the East Midlands region of England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.Alston, Cumbria also claims this, but lacks a regu ...

in 1947. He died just five years later, on 4 September 1952, aged 41.

International career

Following his £10,000 transfer to

Blackpool F.C. Blackpool Football Club is a professional association football club based in the seaside resort of Blackpool, Lancashire, England. The team competes in EFL League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1887, the ...

in November 1937, O'Donnell represented

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

on two occasions, adding to the four appearances made while with Preston North End, scoring goals in each of his first two appearances, against England and Austria.

References

;Sources *

External links

O'Donnell's profile at Spartacus Educational
(erroneously states his date of birth as 31 August 1913) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Odonnell, Frank 1911 births 1952 deaths People from Buckhaven Footballers from Fife Scottish men's footballers Scotland men's international footballers Celtic F.C. players Preston North End F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. players Nottingham Forest F.C. players Raith Rovers F.C. players Buxton F.C. players Scottish Football League players English Football League players Scottish football managers Buxton F.C. managers Brentford F.C. wartime guest players Men's association football forwards Wellesley Juniors F.C. players Scottish Junior Football Association players 20th-century Scottish sportsmen