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 lea ...

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

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

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 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

and he made his debut for the club in the

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

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 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 market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Calder, Lancashire, River Calder, in the Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, Lancashire, England. It is located north west of Burnley, and north ea ...

.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 Wick ...

of his Burnley career on 29 November 1885 as Derby Midland were beaten 8–0 at

Turf Moor Turf Moor is an association football stadium in Burnley, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Burnley F.C., Burnley Football Club since 1883. This unbroken service makes Turf Moor the second-longest continuously used ground in Footbal ...

. 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 association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

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 Deepdale is a football stadium in the Deepdale area of Preston, England that is the home ground of Preston North End. Built in 1875 and in use since 1878, Deepdale is recognised as being one of the oldest continuously used football stadium ...

, the home of

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 ...

. 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 featured in all 22 of Burnley's league matches during the 1888–89 season. Playing as a centre-half in 21 appearances, he contributed to a Burnley defense that secured four clean sheets and limited the opposition to conceding only one 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 (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 ...

. 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 association football, 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 ...

with

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

.Simpson (2007), p. 486

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Friel, Daniel 1860 births 1911 deaths Scottish men's 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 Footballers from Bonhill