Hugh O'Donnell (15 February 1913 – 9 May 1965) 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 younger brother of fellow footballer Frank 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 ...

,Celtic player O'Donnell, Hugh
FitbaStats Preston North End 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 ...

. O'Donnell made over one hundred league appearances for Preston between 1935 and 1938, scoring 29 goals, before signing for the club's arch-rivals, Blackpool. He made his debut for Blackpool in a goalless draw with

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

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 18 March 1939. He went on to play in the remaining nine games of the season, in the number-11 shirt, and scored their goal in a 2–1 defeat at

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

on 10 April 1939. The following season, 1939–40, was the first season of regional competitions, brought about by the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in September 1939. O'Donnell's final game in a Blackpool shirt took place on 23 November 1946, in a 4–2 defeat at

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

, his only appearance of the season. He scored the first of Blackpool's goals.

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

became his fourth club, in 1946, and he went on to make forty league appearances for them, scoring fourteen goals. O'Donnell brought his career to a close with Halifax Town in 1948. He died on 9 May 1965, aged 52.

References

;Sources *

External links

O'Donnell's profile at Spartacus Educational

Profile at Scottish Football Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Odonnell, Hugh 1913 births 1965 deaths Scottish men's footballers Celtic F.C. players Preston North End F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Rochdale A.F.C. players Halifax Town A.F.C. players People from Buckhaven Footballers from Fife English Football League players Scottish Football League players Men's association football wingers Scottish Junior Football Association players Wellesley Juniors F.C. players 20th-century Scottish sportsmen