Biography
Left winger David Fraser was born in Newtongrange, a coal mining village to the south of Edinburgh, and came to the attention of Hull City scouts at the age of 16 after his goalscoring exploits with junior sides Broughton Star and Arniston Rangers were spotted. He joined the City groundstaff in August 1953 and signed professional terms in 1954 when he reached 17 years of age. After two years in the City Reserves Fraser was introduced to the first team at the end of the 1955/56 season, which ended in relegation to Division Three North. The Tigers were already doomed but with Fraser in the team they won three of their last six games – David scored twice on his debut in a 2-0 win over Rotherham, then added further goals against Doncaster Rovers, Middlesbrough and another brace in a 3-2 win over Stoke City on the last day of the season. Six goals in six starts, his future looked bright and move to Portsmouth was even rumoured when the 1956/57 season got under way.
Unfortunately Fraser emerged on the first team scene at the same time as locally born players Brian Cripsey and Brian Bulless, who both also operated down the left wing. Fraser therefore found further first team opportunities hard to find and during the next two seasons he made only five starts, scoring his last City goal on Christmas Day 1957 in a 1-1 draw against Gateshead.
Fraser joined Mansfield Town in July 1958 and made six starts in his only season at Field Mill. He returned to Scotland in 1959 and signed for Third Lanark, making seven starts for the Scottish First Division side. In 1960 he transferred to Cowdenbeath and across three seasons he finally found his form, scoring nearly 50 goals.
In 1963 he returned to the East Riding and played for North Ferriby United while working as a prison officer at Everthorpe Borstal. Later he managed both Hull Brunswick and North Ferriby United and was an infrequent scout for several Football League teams including the Tigers, driven across the country by his wife as David never held a drivers’ license. He settled in South Cave, in July 2019 he died of Alzheimer’s Disease in a Hessle nursing home.
Details
Nationality: Scotland
Date/Place of Birth: 6 June 1937, Newtongrange
Hull City First Game: 7 April 1956, Rotherham United A (Division Two), 18 years, 306 days old
Hull City Final Game: 28 December 1957, Stockport County H (Division Three North), 20 years, 205 days old
Clubs
Broughton Star (1952-1953), Arniston Rangers (1953), Hull City (1953-1958), Mansfield Town (1958-1959), Third Lanark (1959-1960), Cowdenbeath (1960-1963), North Ferriby United
Hull City Record
Career: 11 apps, 7 goals
David Fraser| Season | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953/54 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1954/55 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1955/56 | 6 | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1956/57 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1957/58 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |