Biography
Peter William Daniel was a Hull-born right back, and sometimes left back, who proved one of the club’s most talented products of the 1970s. He attended Andrew Marvel School and played for Hull Schoolboys in 1970 while also part of Hull City’s youth setup. Although initially not signed as an apprentice professional when he turned 16, he was soon playing for City’s various youth sides on amateur terms and received rave reviews for his performances in the City Juniors team throughout the 1972/73 season. Peter was awarded his first full professional contract in September 1973 and served the Reserves with similar impressiveness, but it wasn’t until September 1974 that Daniel made his league debut in the aftermath of manager Terry Neill’s departure to join Tottenham Hotspur. Although quickly replaced by the experienced Frankie Banks at right back, by January 1975 Peter was back in the first team in the left back role when City, now helmed by John Kaye, played eventual finalists Fulham in the FA Cup Third Round. He played in the last 20 games of that season and sealed his place in the first team squad.
In the first three months of the 1975/76 season Daniel was again playing reserve to more experienced full backs, Frankie Banks on the right and Roger DeVries on the left. In November 1975 Daniel replaced Banks for a league match away at West Bromwich Albion, securing the right back berth as his own for the next three years. Indeed between January 1976 and a 0-1 home defeat to Notts County in april 1977, Daniel made 59 consecutive league starts for the Tigers. Peter scored his first goal for City in March 1976, a 2-0 win over Oxford United.
In the 1976/77 season he missed only one league game all season and took over the regular penalty taker role, scoring six league goals and tieing with strikers Jeff Hemmerman and Dave Sunley as City’s highest league scorer for the season. He scored only once in the 1977/78 season, in December 1977 against Orient, after missing two months of football at the start of the season due to an ankle injury. The Tigers were struggling at the foot of the Division Two table and when relegation beckoned in May 1978 City were forced to cash in on Daniel, the club’s most saleable asset, who yielded a £182,000 fee.
Peter joined Division One side Wolverhampton Wanderers in June 1978 and managed his elevation to top flight football with aplomb. He missed only two league matches during the 1978/79 season and scored six goals including a popular Boxing Day winner against local rivals Birmingham City – he also played in the March 1979 FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal, which the Londoners won 2-0. Daniel repeated his form in the 1979/80 season with six goals in the Wolves team that finished sixth in the First Division table an lifted the League Cup with a March 1980 Wembley victory over Nottingham Forest. In October 1980 he played in his only European tie, a UEFA Cup second leg against Dutch side PSV Eindhoven, and as the 1980s progressed injuries reduced Daniel’s match time as the Wolves sank down the Football League ladder. By the time Peter left Wolves in the 1984 close season he had been involved in two relegations and one promotion back to the top flight in the previous three turbulent seasons – in six seasons he scored sixteen goals in 194 appearances for the Black Country side.
Between May and August 1984 Peter played 14 times for short-lived North American Soccer League side Minnesota Strikers, in September 1984 he returned to England and signed for Division One side Sunderland. He played in a second League Cup Final for the Rokerites in March 1985, losing out to Norwich City in a closely fought 0-1 defeat. In November 1985, after 46 appearances for Sunderland, Daniel moved to a struggling Division Three side Lincoln City – he made his Imps debut against Wigan Athletic in November 1985 and was a regular first team presence during the 1986/87 season after relegation to Division Four – in total he scored three goals in 62 appearances for Lincoln. He took over the managerial reins at Sincil Bank for three months between March and May 1987 as the Imps crashed out of the Football League and into the Conference National league. In July 1987 he resumed his playing career at Division Four side Burnley, where he spent two further seasons and made 52 appearances before dropping out of the professional game in July 1989 and signing for North East Counties League side North Ferriby United, a spell as a player that lasted only a few weeks due to persistent knee problems.
Daniel resumed his coaching career in July 1990 when he was appointed player-coach at North Ferriby United, working with manager and ex-Tiger Geoff Barker – playing alongside future City star Dean Windass, Peter combined his coaching role with co-owning with his brother a sports shop on Holderness Road in East Hull. He was heavily linked with the vacant manager’s job at Bridlington Town in January 1991 but remained loyal to Barker and North Ferriby, and was rewarded in June 1991 when he was appointed manager at North Ferriby United following Barker’s May 1991 resignation. Daniel held the manager’s post at Ferriby for three years before he resigned in November 1994 after a boardroom disagreement.
In March 1995 Peter was back in management, taking the reins at North East Counties League side Winterton Rangers but he stepped away from that role in June 1996. After a spell in charge at Denaby United Daniel managed another NECL side, Pontefract Collieries, during the 1998/99 season before stepping aside in June 1999. He was appointed manager at Goole Town in November 2000 before resigning in September 2001, during the first decade of the millennium he had spells managing Pontefract Collieries (again), Winterton Rangers (again!) and Ossett Town. Between 2011 and 2012 he managed Brigg Town, his final manager’s job.
During 1977 and 1978 Daniel made seven appearances for England’s Under-21 side, including a starring role in a 8-1 win over Finland Under-21s that was played at Boothferry Park.
Details
Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 12 December 1955, Hull
Hull City First Game: 18 September 1974, West Bromwich Albion A (Division Two), 18 years, 280 days old
Hull City Final Game: 29 April 1978, Bristol Rovers H (Division Two), 22 years, 138 days old
Clubs
Hull City (1973-1978), Wolverhampton Wanderers (1978-1984), Minnesota Strikers (1984), Sunderland (1984-1985), Lincoln City (1985-1987), Burnley (1987-1989), North Ferriby United (1989), North Ferriby United (1990-1993)
Hull City Record
Career: 128 apps, 9 goals
Peter Daniel| Season | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973/74 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1974/75 | 19 (0) | 0 | 3 (0) | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1975/76 | 27 (0) | 2 | 2 (0) | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1976/77 | 41 (0) | 6 | 2 (0) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 | – | – | 3 (0) | 0 |
| 1977/78 | 26 (0) | 1 | 1 (0) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 | – | – | 2 (0) | 0 |