 Cunliffe pictured in 1906 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Daniel Cunliffe | ||
| Date of birth | (1875-06-11)11 June 1875 | ||
| Place of birth | Bolton, England | ||
| Date of death | 28 December 1937(1937-12-28) (aged 62) | ||
| Position | Inside forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Little Lever | |||
| Middleton Borough | |||
| Oldham County | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1897–1898 | Liverpool | 14 | (5) |
| 1898–1899 | New Brighton Tower | 30 | (15) |
| 1899–1900 | Portsmouth | ||
| 1900–1901 | New Brighton Tower | 28 | (9) |
| 1901–1906 | Portsmouth | ||
| 1906–1907 | New Brompton | 36 | (15) |
| 1907–1909 | Millwall Athletic | ||
| 1909–1912 | Heywood | ||
| 1912–1914 | Rochdale | ||
| International career | |||
| 1900 | England | 1 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Daniel Cunliffe (11 June 1875 – 28 December 1937) was an Englishfootballer who had a rather nomadic career in which he played as aninside forward for several clubs, includingLiverpool as well as making one appearance forEngland in 1900.
Cunliffe was born inBolton and played for several Lancashire clubs, includingLittle Lever,Middleton Borough andOldham County[1] before joiningFirst DivisionLiverpool in 1897.
He made 14 First Division appearances for Liverpool during the1897–98 season, scoring five times, including two againstStoke atAnfield on 9 October 1897.[2] Numerous changes were made to the club's forward-line during that season and Cunliffe only featured three times during the second half of the season. He also played in fourFA Cup ties for Liverpool, scoring the winner in their 2–1second round replay withNewton Heath on 16 February 1898.[2]
Cunliffe spent the1898–99 season withNew Brighton Tower in theSecond Division. He made thirty league appearances, scoring 15 goals in a forward line which included former England internationalAlf Milward.
In the summer of 1899, he joinedPortsmouth who had been founded a year earlier and were elected as members of an expandedSouthern League for the 1899–1900 season. Cunliffe made hisFratton Park debut on 6 September 1899 in a friendly match againstlocal rivalsSouthampton, when he scored the opening goal in a 2–0 victory.[3] Cunliffe scored again in the first Southern Leaguederby match against Southampton atThe Dell on 14 April 1900[4] as Pompey endedtheir inaugural professional season as runners-up. He also scored Portsmouth's first goal in theFA Cup proper in a 1–1 draw withBlackburn Rovers on 1 February 1900; Portsmouth lost the replay 5–0.[5]
Cunliffe's form earned him selection forEngland againstIreland in 1900. For the match, played atLansdowne Road, Dublin on 17 March 1900, the England team were confidently expecting an easy match after five successive victories, including winning 13–2 the previous year.[6] The England selectors chose five debutantes, including Cunliffe, who made his solitary England appearance atinside right, with his Portsmouth teammateMatt Reilly in goal for the Irish. In the event, the game was far more difficult than expected, with England only managing a 2–0 victory,[6] with goals fromCharlie Sagar andHarry Johnson, who were also both making their international debut.[7]
Forthe next season, Cunliffe returned to New Brighton Tower, where he made a further 28 league appearances with nine goals. He scored all three goals in anFA Cup intermediate round match atPort Vale on 5 January 1901. Despite finishing fourth in the league, the cost of maintaining a professional football club became too high forthe tower's owners, and the club was disbanded in the summer of 1901.
Following the folding of the New Tower club, Cunliffe returned to Portsmouth for the1901–02 season, in which he helped the south coast team take the Southern League title for the first time, by a margin of five points overTottenham Hotspur, as well as retaining theirWestern League title.
Cunliffe remained at Portsmouth until May 1906, when he signed forNew Brompton. He spent one season with theKent-based club, finishing as top scorer with 15 goals, before moving on.[8] He later played forMillwall Athletic andHeywood before finishing his career atRochdale in 1914.[1]
Portsmouth
