 Frail while with Brentford in 1903 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Martin Joseph Frail | ||
| Date of birth | 29 March 1869 | ||
| Place of birth | Burslem, England | ||
| Date of death | 4 September 1939(1939-09-04) (aged 70) | ||
| Place of death | Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, England | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1891–1894 | Port Vale | 29 | (0) |
| 1894 | Gorton Villa | ||
| 1894–1896 | Glossop North End | ||
| 1896–1898 | Derby County | 10 | (0) |
| 1898–1900 | Chatham | ||
| 1900–1902 | Middlesbrough | 62 | (0) |
| 1902–1903 | Luton Town | ||
| 1903 | Brentford | 10 | (0) |
| 1904 | Stalybridge Rovers | ||
| 1904–1905 | Middlesbrough | 1 | (0) |
| 1905 | Stockport County | 7 | (0) |
| 1905–1906 | Glossop | 16 | (0) |
| Total | 125+ | (0) | |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Martin Joseph Frail (29 March 1869 – 4 September 1939) was an English footballer who lived a traditional Romani lifestyle. A goalkeeper, he played for Port Vale, Glossop North End, Derby County, Chatham, Middlesbrough, Luton Town, Brentford, and Stockport County.
Career
Frail probably joined Port Vale in the autumn of 1891. His debut came in a friendly against Lincoln City on 14 November 1891, which Vale lost 2–0. Favoured ahead of Levi Higginson, he was the keeper of choice from September 1892, and kept goal in 19 of the club's 20 Second Division games in the 1892–93 season – Vale's first season in the English Football League. However, after 11 games into the 1893–94 season, he missed the train to a match at Rotherham Town on 28 October 1893 and was duly suspended as he failed to explain the reason why. He did not play another game at the Athletic Ground and was instead transferred to Gorton Villa in October 1894. Later he played for Glossop North End, Derby County, Chatham, Middlesbrough (in two spells), Luton Town, Brentford and Stockport County before returning to Glossop.
Career statistics
Source:
| Club | Season | Division | League | FA Cup | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Burslem Port Vale | 1892–93 | Second Division | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 0 |
| 1893–94 | Second Division | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 | |
| Total | 29 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 31 | 0 | ||
| Derby County | 1897–98 | First Division | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| Middlesbrough | 1900–01 | Second Division | 30 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 39 | 0 |
| 1901–02 | Second Division | 32 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 34 | 0 | |
| Total | 62 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 73 | 0 | ||
| Brentford | 1903–04 | Southern League First Division | 10 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
| Middlesbrough | 1904–05 | First Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Stockport County | 1905–06 | Second Division | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| Glossop | 1905–06 | Second Division | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 1906–07 | Second Division | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| Total | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | ||
References
- ^ Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 106. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
- Sherwin, Phil (2010). The Port Vale Miscellany. Brimscombe Port: The History Press. p. 26. ISBN 978-0-7524-5777-2.
- Joyce, Michael (2012). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: Tony Brown. p. 103. ISBN 978-1905891610.
- White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. p. 357. ISBN 0951526200.
- Joe Frail at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
- 1869 births
- 1939 deaths
- Footballers from Burslem
- English Romani people
- Romani footballers
- English men's footballers
- Men's association football goalkeepers
- Port Vale F.C. players
- Glossop North End A.F.C. players
- Derby County F.C. players
- Chatham Town F.C. players
- Middlesbrough F.C. players
- Luton Town F.C. players
- Brentford F.C. players
- Stalybridge Rovers F.C. players
- Stockport County F.C. players
- English Football League players
- Southern Football League players
- Midland Football League players