Hugh O'Donnell (footballer)

Hugh O'Donnell
Personal information
Full name Hugh O'Donnell[1]
Date of birth 15 February 1913
Place of birth Buckhaven, Scotland
Date of death 9 May 1965(1965-05-09) (aged 52)
Place of death Preston, England
Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)[2]
Position(s) Left winger
Youth career
–1930 Wellesley Juniors
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1930–1935 Celtic 75 (20)
1935–1939 Preston North End 132 (29)
1939–1946 Blackpool 14 (2)
1946–1947 Rochdale 40 (14)
1947–1948 Halifax Town 13 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Hugh O'Donnell (15 February 1913 – 9 May 1965) was a Scottish professional footballer. 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,[3] Preston North End and 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 at Bloomfield Road 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 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 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, his only appearance of the season. He scored the first of Blackpool's goals.

Rochdale 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.

  1. ^ "Hugh O'Donnell". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  2. ^ "Preston North End. Defensive lapses will worry Mr. Tom Muirhead". Sunday Dispatch Football Guide. London. 23 August 1936. p. vi – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Celtic player O'Donnell, Hugh, FitbaStats