Oh Danny Boy!

Andy Greeves tells a story from our vast history that has a link to our matchday opponents. This evening, we look at the career of our legendary former skipper Danny Blanchflower, who began his career in English football with Barnsley.

In March, 2015, a commemorative blue plaque was unveiled at the childhood home of Robert Dennis ‘Danny’ Blanch flower on Grace Avenue in the Bloomfield area of Belfast. The Ulster History Circle, who organised the tribute to our late, great captain, described him as “a superb player, a canny tactician, an incurable romantic and maverick sage.”

Forever remembered in Northern Ireland, Blanchflower – who was born in Belfast on February 10, 1926 represented his country 56 times as a player between 1949 to 1962 and managed them in a further 24 matches from 1976 to 1979. He left an indelible mark on the English game, both as a footballer and journalist. Having begun his career with local side Glentoran, he developed a reputation as one of the finest right halves in the game with Barnsley and Aston Villa before signing for us in 1954. In all, he spent 16 seasons in the Football League as a player before managing Chelsea between 1978 and 1979. Later, he penned a regular column on the sport in the Sunday Express through until 1988.

Danny was 23 when he made the move across the Irish Sea to sign for Barnsley in April, 1949, for a fee of £6,000. His debut for the Tykes came in a Sheffield County Cup match at home to Rotherham prior to his first league appearance against Chesterfield on May 7 that year. The South Yorkshire side finished ninth in the old Division Two table in 1948-49 while we were fifth.

The 1949-50 season began well for both Barnsley and Blanchflower. Five wins, four draws and just two defeats in the first 11 matches at the start of the campaign saw the Tykes challenging at the top of the table in the opening months. Danny, meanwhile, made his senior debut for Northern Ireland against Scotland in Belfast on October 1, 1949.