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{{Short description|Northern Irish footballer (1926–1993)}}

'''Robert Dennis Blanchflower''', known as '''Danny Blanchflower''' ([[February 10]], [[1926]] in [[Belfast]] - [[December 9]], [[1993]]) was a [[soccer|footballer]], [[Coach (sport)|football manager]], and [[journalist]] who captained [[Tottenham Hotspur F.C.|Spurs]] during their double-winning season of [[1961]]. He is remembered as one of the great tacticians in the history the game, renowned for his passing and as an outstanding right-half.

{{for|the British economist|David Blanchflower}}

{{Use Hiberno-English|date=June 2022}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2023}}

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Danny Blanchflower

| image = Blanchflower (cropped2).jpg

| caption = Blanchflower in 1976

| fullname = Robert Dennis Blanchflower

| birth_date = {{birth date|df=y|1926|2|10}}

| birth_place = [[Belfast]], Northern Ireland

| death_date = {{death date and age|df=y|1993|12|9|1926|2|10}}

| death_place = [[Staines]], England

| height = {{convert|5|ft|9|in|m|2|abbr=on}}

| position = [[Right-half]]

| youthyears1 =

| youthclubs1 = [[Glentoran F.C.|Glentoran]]

| years1 = 1946–1949

| years2 = 1949–1951

| years3 = 1951–1954

| years4 = 1954–1964

| years5 = 1961

| years6 = 1962

| years7 = 1965

| clubs1 = [[Glentoran F.C.|Glentoran]]

| clubs2 = [[Barnsley F.C.|Barnsley]]

| clubs3 = [[Aston Villa F.C.|Aston Villa]]

| clubs4 = [[Tottenham Hotspur F.C.|Tottenham Hotspur]]

| clubs5 = → [[Toronto City]] (loan)

| clubs6 = → Boksburg (loan)

| clubs7 = [[Durban City F.C.|Durban City]]

| caps1 = 124

| caps2 = 68

| caps3 = 148

| caps4 = 337

| caps5 = 12

| caps6 = 4

| caps7 = 3

| goals1 = 7

| goals2 = 2

| goals3 = 10

| goals4 = 15

| goals5 = 3

| goals6 = 1

| goals7 = 0

| totalcaps = 693

| totalgoals = 38

| nationalyears1 = 1949–1963

| nationalteam1 = [[Northern Ireland national football team|Northern Ireland]]

| nationalcaps1 = 56

| nationalgoals1 = 2

| nationalyears2 = 1948–1949

| nationalteam2 = [[Irish League representative team|Irish League XI]]

| nationalcaps2 = 4

| nationalgoals2 = 0

| manageryears1 = 1976–1979

| manageryears2 = 1978–1979

| managerclubs1 = [[Northern Ireland national football team|Northern Ireland]]

| managerclubs2 = [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]]

}}

'''Robert Dennis Blanchflower''' (10 February 1926 – 9 December 1993) was a [[Northern Ireland national football team|Northern Ireland]] footballer, [[Manager (association football)|football manager]] and journalist who played for and captained [[Tottenham Hotspur F.C.|Tottenham Hotspur]], including during their [[Double (association football)#England|double-winning]] season of 1960–61. He was twice [[FWA Footballer of the Year|Footballer of the Year]] and ranked as the greatest player in Spurs history by ''[[The Times]]'' in 2009.<ref name=times>{{cite news |url= http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/tottenham/article5920090.ece?token=null&offset=132&page=12 |title=The 50 greatest Tottenham Hotspur players (Page 12 of 12) |date= 17 March 2009 |work=[[The Times]] |access-date=31 July 2010 |___location=London |first=Phil |last=Myers}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} {{subscription required}}</ref> After a lengthy playing career, he retired at the age of 38. He became a respected football journalist and, later, a [[Coach (sport)|football manager]].

He was educated at Ravenscroft public elementary school and was awarded a scholarship to Belfast College of Technology. He left early to become an apprentice electrician at the Gallachers' cigarette factory. He also joined the air-raid precautions (ARP) and in 1943 lied about his age in order to join the RAF. As a trainee navigator he was sent on a course to [[St Andrews University]] (where he acquired a lifelong love of golf) and in the spring of [[1945]] was posted to Canada for further training. By [[1946]] he was back in Belfast, back at Gallachers, and building a reputation as an outstanding footballer.

Blanchflower said of football: "The great fallacy is that the game is first and last about winning. It is nothing of the kind. The game is about glory, it is about doing things in style and with a flourish, about going out and beating the lot, not waiting for them to die of boredom".<ref>{{cite web |title=Danny Blanchflower Quote |website=libquotes.com |url=https://libquotes.com/danny-blanchflower/quote/lbj9m4c}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eWycAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA195 |title=Oxford Dictionary of Quotations by Subjects |editor= Susan Ratcliffe|publisher= Oxford University Press |edition= 2nd |date=11 March 2010 |isbn=978-0199567065 |page= 195}}</ref>

He began his professional football career at the end of the [[World War II|Second World War]] when he was signed by Belfast side [[Glentoran F.C.|Glentoran]]. In [[1949]], [[Barnsley F.C.]] paid £6,000 to transfer him to England, and two years later [[Aston Villa F.C.|Aston Villa]] bought him for £15,000. He played 155 times for Villa, captaining the side on many occasions. However, he became unhappy with the club and the way training was conducted, becoming one of the first to propose that players should train with a ball as opposed to merely undertaking physical exercise. In [[1954]] he was bought by Spurs for the huge fee of £30,000, and during his ten years at [[White Hart Lane]] he made 337 league appearances.

==Early years and family==

The highlight of his time at Spurs came with the 1960-61 season. With Blanchflower as captain Spurs won their first 11 games, still a record for the top flight of English football and eventually ran out as league champions by 8 points. They then beat [[Leicester City F.C.|Leicester City]] in the final of the [[FA Cup]] to become the first team in the 20th century to win the league and cup double not achieved since Aston Villa in [[1897]].

Blanchflower was born on 10 February 1926 in the [[Bloomfield, Belfast|Bloomfield]] district of [[Belfast]], the first of five children born to John and Selina Blanchflower.<ref name="spursodyssey.com">{{Cite web |url=http://www.spursodyssey.com/double/dannyb.html |title=spursodyssey.com |access-date=19 November 2012 |archive-date=8 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608215309/http://www.spursodyssey.com/double/dannyb.html |url-status=live }}</ref> His mother had played as a centre-forward on a women's football team. He was educated at Ravenscroft public elementary school and was awarded a scholarship to [[Belfast Metropolitan College|Belfast College of Technology]].<ref name="meh"/>

He left early to become an apprentice electrician at [[Gallaher Group|Gallaher's]] cigarette factory in Belfast. He also joined the [[Air Raid Precautions]] (ARP) and in 1943 lied about his age to join the [[RAF]]. As a trainee navigator he was sent on a course to [[St Andrews University]] (where he acquired a lifelong love of golf) and in the spring of 1945 was posted to Canada for further training. By 1946, aged 20, he was back in Belfast, back at Gallaher's, and building a reputation as an outstanding footballer.<ref name=meh>{{cite web|url=http://archive.mehstg.com/fact_blanchflower.htm|title=Danny Blanchflower – fact file|publisher=mehstg.com|access-date=31 July 2010|archive-date=5 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150605194227/http://archive.mehstg.com/fact_blanchflower.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> While at St Andrews Blanchflower played for the [[University of Dundee|University College Dundee]] football team which was coached by former [[Glasgow Celtic|Celtic]], [[Dundee United F.C.|Dundee United]] and [[Scotland national football team|Scotland]] trainer [[Jack Qusklay]].<ref name=Dundee>{{cite web|title=Football crazy in the archives ...|url=http://www.archives-records-artefacts.blogspot.com/2012/06/football-crazy-in-archives.html|work=Archives records and Artefacts at the University of Dundee|date=15 June 2012|publisher=[[University of Dundee]]|access-date=5 June 2015}}</ref>

In [[1962]] he again captained Spurs to victory in the FA Cup, only narrowly missing out on a second double when they finished a close third in the league behind [[Ipswich Town F.C.|Ipswich Town]] and [[Burnley F.C.|Burnley]], and in [[1963]] he captained his side to victory over [[Atlético de Madrid|Atletico Madrid]] in the final of the [[Cup Winners' Cup|European Cup Winners' Cup]], the first British side to win a European trophy.

His younger brother [[Jackie Blanchflower|Jackie]] (1933–1998) was also a [[Northern Ireland national football team|Northern Irish]] international footballer and played for [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]] before his playing career was ended by injuries sustained in the [[Munich air disaster]] of February 1958.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-jackie-blanchflower-1195817.html |title=Obituary: Jackie Blanchflower |last=Ivan Ponting |date=4 September 1998 |work=The Independent |___location=London |access-date=25 March 2013 |archive-date=20 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180920013959/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-jackie-blanchflower-1195817.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Between 1949 and 1963, he earned 56 caps for [[Northern Ireland national football team|Northern Ireland]], often playing alongside his brother [[Jackie Blanchflower|Jackie]], and in [[1958]] captained his country when they reached the quarter-finals of the [[Football World Cup 1958|World Cup]].

==Playing career==

After retiring as a player in April [[1964]], he withdrew from football for several years, returning briefly as manager of [[Northern Ireland]] in [[1978]], and as manager of [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]] in [[1978]]-[[1979]], where he won just 5 out of 32 games as the club plunged towards [[relegation]]. He eventually left the job less than a year after his appointment, in September [[1979]].

[[File:Tottenham Hotspur FC 1960.jpg|thumb|[[Tottenham Hotspur F.C.|Tottenham Hotspur]] in 1960 with Danny Blanchflower and both goalkeepers, [[Bill Brown (footballer, born 1931)|Bill Brown]] and [[John Hollowbread]], in the team with [[Bill Nicholson (footballer)|Bill Nicholson]] as manager.]]

Blanchflower signed for [[Glentoran F.C.|Glentoran]] in 1946, before crossing the [[Irish Sea]] and signing for [[Barnsley F.C.|Barnsley]] for £6000 in 1949, at the age of 23.<ref name=meh/> He transferred from Barnsley to [[Aston Villa F.C.|Aston Villa]] for a fee of £15,000, making his debut in March 1951. He made 155 senior appearances for Villa (148 in the League), before being sold during the [[1954–55 Football League|1954–55]] season.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.astonvillaplayerdatabase.com/130.html|title=Blanchflower, Robert Dennis (Danny)|publisher=Aston Villa Player Database|access-date=9 April 2016|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304053135/http://www.astonvillaplayerdatabase.com/130.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1954 Blanchflower was bought by [[Tottenham Hotspur F.C.|Tottenham Hotspur]] for a fee of £30,000, and during his ten years at [[White Hart Lane]] he made 337 League appearances,<ref name=fl>[http://www.neilbrown.newcastlefans.com/player/dannyblanchflower.html Football League Career Stats at Neil Brown]</ref> and 382 total appearances (scoring 21 goals).<ref name=times/> The highlight of his time at Spurs came with the [[1960–61 in English football|1960–61]] season. With Blanchflower as captain Spurs won their first 11 games, a record for the top flight of English football and eventually won the league by 8 points. They then beat [[Leicester City F.C.|Leicester City]] in the final of the [[1961 FA Cup final|FA Cup]] to become the first team in the 20th century to win the [[Double (association football)|League and Cup double]], not achieved since [[Aston Villa F.C.|Aston Villa]] in 1897.

He was one of only a handful of players to have been awarded the title of [[FWA Footballer of the Year|English Footballer of the Year]] on two occasions, winning in both 1958 and 1961. On [[February 6]], [[1961]], he also became the first person to turn down the invitation to appear on ''[[This Is Your Life]]'', simply walking away from host [[Eamonn Andrews]] live on air.

Blanchflower was voted [[FWA Footballer of the Year]] in 1958 and 1961.

In the later years of his life, he suffered from [[Alzheimer's Disease]], and died at his home in December 1993 aged 67. In 2003 Blanchflower was inducted into the [[English Football Hall of Fame]] in recognition of his talents.

[[File:Spurs team with the Cup Winners' Cup trophy 1963.jpg|thumb|Blanchflower holding the [[UEFA Cup Winners' Cup]] trophy in 1963 after beating Atlético Madrid]]

== Quotations ==

In 1962 he helped Spurs win the [[1962 FA Cup final|FA Cup]], scoring a penalty in the final against Burnley. In 1963 he captained his side to victory over [[Atlético Madrid]] in the final of the [[UEFA Cup Winners' Cup|European Cup Winners' Cup]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-32076458|title=Danny Blanchflower: Blue plaque honours NI and Spurs footballer|date=27 March 2015|publisher=[[BBC]]|access-date=9 December 2016}}</ref>

* "Everything in our favour was against us."

* "The great fallacy is that the game is first and last about winning. It is nothing of the kind. The game is about glory, it is about doing things in style and with a flourish, about going out and beating the other lot, not waiting for them to die of boredom."

* "George [ [[George Best|Best]] ] makes a greater appeal to the senses than [Tom] [[Tom Finney|Finney]] or [Stanley] [[Stanley Matthews|Matthews]] did, his movements are quicker, lighter, more balletic. George offers grander surprises to the mind and the eye. He has ice in his veins, warmth in his heart, and timing and balance in his feet"

* "[Glenn] [[Glenn Hoddle|Hoddle]]? No, it's the bad players who are a luxury."

* "If we've got the ball, they can't score."

* "We aim to equalise before the other team score. We should get our retaliation in first."

* "If we [[Northern Ireland national football team|Northern Ireland]] don't know what we're going to do, how can the other side?"

* "Winning isn't everything, but wanting to win is."

* "Ideas are very funny things. They never work unless you do."

* [[Tottenham Hotspur FC|Spurs]] Club Director: "The trouble with you is that you think you know all the answers." Blanchflower: "Ah, God love you, you don't even know the questions!"

During his time with Spurs he also had a short spell with [[Toronto City]], alongside fellow Football League players [[Stanley Matthews]] and [[Johnny Haynes]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Soccer/TorontoFC/2009/08/04/10355821-sun.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120722021919/http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Soccer/TorontoFC/2009/08/04/10355821-sun.html |url-status=usurped |archive-date=22 July 2012 |title=All the King's men: Real Madrid makes way to T.O. |author=Lance Hornby |work=Slam Sports |publisher=slam.canoe.ca |access-date=31 July 2010}}</ref>

{{start box}}

{{succession box|title=[[FWA Footballer of the Year|Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year]]|before=[[Tom Finney]] |after=[[Syd Owen]]|years=1958}}

{{succession box|title=[[FWA Footballer of the Year|Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year]]|before=[[Bill Slater]] |after=[[Jimmy Adamson]]|years=1961}}

Making his debut in 1949, he earned 56 caps for [[Northern Ireland national football team|Northern Ireland]], and in 1958 captained his country when they reached the quarter-finals of the [[1958 FIFA World Cup|FIFA World Cup]]. He was the first Northern Irishman to achieve a half century of caps when he played against Wales in 1962.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.irishfa.com/international/squad-profiles/profile/2037/danny-blanchflower/ |title=Danny Blanchflower | publisher=[[Irish FA]]|access-date=14 May 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150416132313/http://www.irishfa.com/international/squad-profiles/profile/2037/danny-blanchflower/ |archive-date=16 April 2015 }}</ref>

{{succession box|

before=[[Ken Shellito]]|

title=[[Chelsea F.C.]] Manager|

years=[[1978]]-[[1979]]|

after=[[Geoff Hurst]]

}}

{{succession box|

before=[[Dave Clements]]|

title=[[Northern Ireland national football team#Managers|Northern Ireland manager]]|

years=[[1976]] - [[1979]]|

after= [[Billy Bingham]]|

}}

{{end box}}

On 4 December 1957 he captained the Northern Ireland team against [[Italy national football team|Italy]] in [[Belfast]], in a bad tempered game that came to be known as the "Battle of Belfast"; Blanchflower attempted to keep the peace as the game turned nasty.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/international/down-memory-lane-battle-of-belfast-was-far-from-a-golden-moment-13499897.html?startindex=-1 |title=Down Memory Lane: Battle of Belfast was far from a golden moment |author=Malcolm Brodie |date=5 December 2007 |work=Belfast Telegraph |access-date=31 July 2010 |archive-date=1 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501081511/http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/international/down-memory-lane-battle-of-belfast-was-far-from-a-golden-moment-13499897.html?startindex=-1 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==External links==

* [http://www.nationalfootballmuseum.com/Hall%20of%20Fame/dannyblanchflower.htm English Football Hall of Fame Profile]

He finally announced his retirement as a player of 5 April 1964 at the age of 38, having played nearly 400 games in all competitions for Spurs and captained them to four major trophies.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RtRpC47nghcC&q=danny+blanchflower+5+april+1964&pg=PT26|title=Hard Tackles and Dirty Baths: The inside story of football's golden era|isbn=9781446447956|last1=Best|first1=George|date=31 December 2011|publisher=Random House }}</ref>

[[Category:1926 births|Blanchflower, Danny]]

[[Category:1993 deaths|Blanchflower, Danny]]

In 1965, Blanchflower briefly came out of retirement to play for [[Durban City F.C.|Durban City]]. Blanchflower played three times for the club in South Africa's [[National Football League (South Africa)|National Football League]] (NFL).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nifootball.blogspot.com/2006/08/danny-blanchflower.html|title=Danny Blanchflower|publisher=Northern Ireland's Footballing Greats|access-date=11 September 2018|date=10 August 2006|archive-date=11 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180911191856/http://nifootball.blogspot.com/2006/08/danny-blanchflower.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Category:Aston Villa F.C. players|Blanchflower, Danny]]

[[Category:Barnsley F.C. players|Blanchflower, Danny]]

==Style of play==

[[Category:Chelsea F.C. managers|Blanchflower, Danny]]

Considered to be the brains of the great Tottenham team of the 1960s, Blanchflower played as a [[defensive midfielder]] at [[right half]] and was known particularly for his accurate passing, his ability to dictate the tempo of the game and his inspiring leadership.<ref>{{Cite news |url= https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-danny-blanchflower-1466455.html |title= Obituary: Danny Blanchflower |work= The Independent |___location= London |date= 10 December 1993 |access-date= 9 April 2016 |archive-date= 3 May 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230503184010/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-danny-blanchflower-1466455.html |url-status= live }}</ref>

[[Category:FIFA World Cup 1958 players|Blanchflower, Danny]]

[[Category:Glentoran F.C. players|Blanchflower, Danny]]

==Career as manager==

[[Category:People from Belfast|Blanchflower, Danny]]

Following his retirement as a player, Blanchflower coached at Spurs for a number of years, and double-winning manager [[Bill Nicholson (footballer)|Bill Nicholson]] intended for Blanchflower to be his long-term successor. When Nicholson resigned from the club in 1974 however, Blanchflower found himself being passed over in favour of [[Terry Neill]], and subsequently left the club himself. He became manager of Northern Ireland for a brief spell in 1978, and was then appointed as [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]] boss. However, he won only five of his 32 games in charge and he left them in September 1979.<ref name=meh/>

[[Category:Northern Ireland international footballers|Blanchflower, Danny]]

[[Category:Northern Irish Presbyterians|Blanchflower, Danny]]

==Off the field==

[[Category:Northern Irish football managers|Blanchflower, Danny]]

[[File:Tottenham Hotspur in Nederland aangekomen, aanvoerder Danny Blanchflower laat he, Bestanddeelnr 915-1545.jpg|thumb|Danny Blanchflower in 1963]]

[[Category:Northern Irish footballers|Blanchflower, Danny]]

Blanchflower was one of only a handful of players to have been awarded the title of [[FWA Footballer of the Year]] on two occasions, winning in both 1958 and 1961.

[[Category:Northern Ireland national football team managers|Blanchflower, Danny]]

[[Category:Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players|Blanchflower, Danny]]

He was one of many signatories in a letter to ''The Times'' on 17 July 1958 opposing 'the policy of apartheid' in international sport and defending 'the principle of racial equality which is embodied in the Declaration of the Olympic Games'.<ref>Brown and Hogsbjerg, ''Apartheid is not a game'', 16</ref> On 6 February 1961, he also became the first person to turn down the invitation to appear on ''[[This Is Your Life (British TV series)|This Is Your Life]]'', walking away from host [[Eamonn Andrews]]. Contrary to belief, this incident was not broadcast live on air, but was being recorded to be shown at the beginning of the live transmission. "I consider this programme to be an invasion of privacy", he explained. "Nobody is going to press gang me into anything".<ref name="nub">{{cite web |url=http://www.newulsterbiography.co.uk/index.php/home/viewPerson/1785 |publisher=The Dictionary of Ulster Biography |title=Danny Blanchflower (1926–1993): Footballer and journalist |access-date=15 December 2012 |archive-date=24 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121124012537/http://www.newulsterbiography.co.uk/index.php/home/viewPerson/1785 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Category:University of St Andrews alumni|Blanchflower, Danny]]

Blanchflower commentated on a match for [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] as early as 3 January 1956, for the final of the Southern Junior Floodlit Cup between [[West Ham United F.C.|West Ham]] and [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]].<ref>''TV Times'', 30 December 1955</ref> He also hosted editions of the BBC's ''Junior Sportsview'' in 1959<ref>[http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/search/0/20?adv=1&q=%22danny+blanchflower%22+junior&media=all&yf=1959&yt=1959&mf=1&mt=12&tf=00%3A00&tt=00%3A00#search BBC Genome]{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> and ITV's ''Junior Criss Cross Quiz'' in the mid 60s.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://nostalgiacentral.com/television/tv-by-decade/tv-shows-1950s/junior-criss-cross-quiz/ | title=Junior Criss Cross Quiz – Nostalgia Central | date=24 June 2014 }}</ref> He was the [[colour commentator]] for the [[CBS Sports|CBS]] television network broadcasts of [[National Professional Soccer League (1967)|National Professional Soccer League]] matches in the United States in 1967.<ref>[https://archive.today/20120721040141/http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1135457/index.htm Maule, Tex. "Kickoff For A Babel Of Booters," ''Sports Illustrated'', 24 April 1967.]</ref> His candour about the fledgling league's shortcomings distressed network executives, as he recounted in a 10 June 1968 ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' article he authored.<ref>[http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1081255/index.htm Blanchflower, Danny. "Just One Truth For Me," ''Sports Illustrated'', 10 June 1968.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090416223221/http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1081255/index.htm |date=16 April 2009 }}</ref> In the 1968–69 season he was the regular commentator for [[Yorkshire Television]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://carousel.royalwebhosting.net/itv/ITVfootball68-83.html |title=Yorkshire ITV Football Highlights 1968–1983 |access-date=9 April 2016 |archive-date=21 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160421094733/http://carousel.royalwebhosting.net/itv/ITVfootball68-83.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

One of Blanchflower's best-known tongue-in-cheek remarks is: "We aim to equalise before the other team score. We should get our retaliation in first".<ref name="nub"/>

==Later life and death==

Anton Weinberg's 1985 Channel 4 documentary film ''The Keller Instinct'' featured an appearance by Blanchflower, who spoke approvingly of his late friend musicologist [[Hans Keller]]'s advocacy of inventive, tactically creative football. He retired from his position as a writer for the ''[[Sunday Express]]'' in 1988.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-danny-blanchflower-1466455.html |work=The Independent |title=Obituary: Danny Blanchflower |date=10 December 1993 |access-date=15 December 2012 |author=Ivon Ponting |archive-date=3 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230503184010/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-danny-blanchflower-1466455.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 1 May 1990, Tottenham held a testimonial match for him at [[White Hart Lane]], but by this stage he was in the first stages of what would later be diagnosed as [[Alzheimer's disease]] and [[Parkinson's disease]].<ref name="spursodyssey.com"/>

He was eventually placed in Woodlands Nursing Home, [[Staines]]. He died there from [[pneumonia]] on 9 December 1993, aged 67.<ref name="nub"/> He was buried nearby at St. Jude's Cemetery, [[Englefield Green]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-53850866 |publisher = [[BBC News]] |title=Danny Blanchflower: Spurs fans spruce up gravestone |date = 23 August 2020|access-date=21 October 2023}}</ref>

==Legacy==

Blanchflower was honoured in his home city of Belfast with an Ulster History Circle plaque recognising his outstanding achievements in the world of sport. The blue plaque is located at 49 Grace Avenue, his childhood home.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/spurs-legend-danny-blanchflower-honoured-with-plaque-at-his-childhood-home-31098052.html |title=Spurs legend Danny Blanchflower honoured with plaque at his childhood home |work=[[Belfast Telegraph]] |last=Amanda Ferguson |date=27 March 2015 |access-date=9 April 2016}}</ref>

The Danny Blanchflower Playing Fields in East Belfast, owned by Belfast City Council, was named after him. Plans to redevelop the site date to include more professional football facilities started in the mid-2000s and went through several revisions.<ref name="Belfast Telegraph 2008">{{cite news |title=I'll build a stadium here in three years |url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/sport/ill-build-a-stadium-here-in-three-years-28408344.html |access-date=11 June 2021 |work=Belfast Telegraph |date=12 July 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Anonymous letter sparks concerns about football stadium plans |url=https://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/anonymous-letter-sparks-concerns-about-football-stadium-plans-218015 |access-date=11 June 2021 |work=Belfast News Letter |date=13 November 2018}}</ref> By 2020, construction of a new stadium and grounds for [[Harland & Wolff Welders F.C.]] was underway in the park, to be followed by nature trails and community projects.<ref name="Fullerton2020">{{cite news |last1=Fullerton |first1=Gareth |title=Harland and Wolff Welders new stadium project building momentum |url=https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/harland-wolff-welders-new-stadium-17751208 |access-date=11 June 2021 |work=BelfastLive |date=14 February 2020}}</ref>

==Honours==

'''Tottenham Hotspur'''

*[[Football League First Division]]: [[1960–61 Football League|1960–61]]

*[[FA Cup]]: [[1961 FA Cup final|1960–61]],<ref name="FACW"/> [[1961–62 FA Cup|1961–62]]<ref name="FACW">{{cite book |first1=Leslie |first2=Jack |last1=Vernon |last2=Rollin |title=Rothmans Football Yearbook 1977–78 |year=1977 |publisher=Brickfield Publications Ltd |___location=London |isbn=0354-09018-6 |page=490}}</ref>

*[[FA Charity Shield]]: [[1961 FA Charity Shield|1961]], [[1962 FA Charity Shield|1962]]

*[[UEFA Cup Winners' Cup|European Cup Winners' Cup]]: [[1962–63 European Cup Winners' Cup|1962–63]]

'''Individual'''

*[[FWA Footballer of the Year]]: 1958, 1961

*[[Ballon d'Or]] nominee: [[1957 Ballon d'Or|1957]], [[1958 Ballon d'Or|1958]], [[1961 Ballon d'Or|1961]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/europa-poy.html|title=European Footballer of the Year ("Ballon d'Or")|author1=Rob Moore|author2=Karel Stokkermans|date=21 January 2011|website=[[RSSSF]]|access-date=10 June 2025}}</ref>

*[[FIFA World Cup awards|FIFA World Cup All-Star Team]]: [[1958 FIFA World Cup|1958]]

*[[English Football Hall of Fame]]: 2003

*[[World Soccer (magazine)#Eric Batty's World XI|World XI]]: 1961<ref name="BTLM60s">{{cite web |url=https://beyondthelastman.com/2013/04/29/eric-battys-world-xis-the-sixties/ |website=Beyond The Last Man |date=29 April 2013 |title=Eric Batty's World XI – The Sixties |access-date=19 July 2020 |archive-date=22 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622220354/https://beyondthelastman.com/2013/04/29/eric-battys-world-xis-the-sixties/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Filmography==

* ''[[Those Glory Glory Days]]'' (1983)

==References==

{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==

{{Commons category|Danny Blanchflower}}

*{{cite book | author=David Bowler | title=Danny Blanchflower: The Biography of a Visionary | publisher=Orion| year=1997| isbn=0-575-06504-4}}

*{{cite book | author=Danny Blanchflower | title=Football (Learn Through Strips) | publisher=Imprint unknown| year=1975}}

*{{cite book | author=Danny Blanchflower | title=The Double and Before | publisher=Nicholas Kaye| year=1961}}

*{{cite book | author=Danny Blanchflower | title=Danny Blanchflower's Soccer Book | publisher=Frederick Muller| year=1959}}

*{{cite book | author=Danny Blanchflower | title=Soccer my way | publisher=Vane| year=1955}}

* Brown, Geoff and Hogsbjerg, Christian. ''Apartheid is not a Game: Remembering the Stop the Seventy Tour campaign.'' London: Redwords, 2020. {{ISBN|9781912926589}}.

{{Northern Ireland squad 1958 FIFA World Cup}}

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{{1958 FIFA World Cup Team of the Tournament}}

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