Danny's tribute

Danny Blanchflower's memory will be further honoured with a commemorative blue history plaque at his former Belfast home.

A native of the Bloomfield area, the midfielder made 56 appearances for Northern Ireland - many as captain - during a legendary career that included him playing 382 senior games for us between 1954-63.

Danny, who led our side to the League and Cup ‘Double’ in 1961, died in December, 1993, at the age of 67.

Now the Ulster History Circle are finalising summer plans to place a blue plaque in commemoration of the life of a man who a made a unique and lasting contribution to Northern Ireland's history as well as to football in general.

Danny's daughter Gayle was delighted to hear the news: "It’s a lovely surprise," she smiled. "I will never ever get over how he's still remembered after all these years - not just by the Northern Irish people but throughout the world."

Danny joined us from Aston Villa in December, 1954, and went on to be named ‘Footballer of the Year’ in 1958, the same year that he led Northern Ireland in the World Cup finals in Sweden.

He was ‘Footballer of the Year’ again in 1961, played a key role as we retained the FA Cup the following year and then famously lifted the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1963. He later managed Chelsea and Northern Ireland.

Patrick Devlin, of the UHC, told us: “The Circle is delighted to be in a position to honour Danny in his native City and we will do our best to make it a memorable occasion.”

Below - Danny holds the FA Cup aloft on the shoulders of Bobby Smith and Maurice Norman after our 3-1 win against Burnley, 1962...