David Mangnall was born on the 21st September 1905 in Ince In Makerfield, Lancashire (RoB Wigan 1905 Q4 V.8c p.71 ?). He was the first child of James Mangnall (EM014) and Sarah Beatrice Winstanley.
David was a keen footballer who started playing in non-league football. He had unsuccessful trials for Huddersfield Town and Rotherham County as a teenager but was turned down. He had an unsuccessful time with Doncaster in 1923/24 after which he played for his local clubs Maltby New Church and Maltby Colliery (Maltby Main) at weekends whilst collecting coal during the week. Leeds United gave David a chance in senior football in 1927 but it wasn’t until he proved himself in the second team game against Stockport County on the 25th September 1927 when he scored 10 goals in a 13-0 win that he was given the opportunity to play his debut at senior level against Burnley at Elland Road in September 1929. He was signed for Leeds United and played nine games for them scoring six goals between 1 November 1927 and 1 December 1929.
Huddersfield Town paid £3000 for David and he played for them from 1 December 1929 to 1 February 1934. In the 1930/31 season David played for the Reserves team and they won the Central League Championship scoring nearly 120 goals over 40 of which were scored by David in just 30 appearances. He managed to establish himself in the first team during the 1931/32 season scoring 42 goals (a club record which still stands!) in 39 league and cup games including 5 goals in a 6-0 win over Derby County in November 1931 (another club record!) Unfortunately David suffered a serious injury in the 1932/33 season. He recovered sufficiently for the 1933/34 season scoring 10 goals in 16 games but questions about his recovery led to him moving to Birmingham City. In his Huddersfield Town senior career he made 79 appearances scoring 61 goals (in all games he had 90 games scoring 73 goals). He also set one other club record – the best ever scoring run of 11 consecutive matches.
The photo on the right is from a cigarette card frm a series by John Sinclair Ltd entitled English and Scottish Football stars 1935. Dave is shown in Huddersfield Town strip even though he had left by then for Birmingham City.
FAMOUS FOOTBALL CLUBS NO. 4 – HUDDERSFIELD
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His career at Birmingham City was from 1 February 1934 until 1 March 1935 where he holds the record for the most goals scored in a competitive reserve match – he scored 10 against Leeds United in a central league match in 1934! He also scored a hat trick whilst playing for the first team against Liverpool on the 13th October. In total he scored 14 goals in 37 league appearances.
Whilst at Birmingham City David married Anne Birch (ROM Birmingham 1934 Q2 6d 823 Anne Birch).
David signed with West Ham as a replacement for Vic Watson from 1 March 1935 until 1 June 1936. He scored 25 goals in 35 league appearances and was their top scorer for the 1935/36 season.
David moved to Third Division South Millwall as player-manager on the 1 June 1936. He scored 9 goals in the FA Cup for Millwall in the 1936/37 season and Millwall became the first club from outside the top two divisions to reach the semi-finals. In the cup run Millwall beat Aldershot 6-1 away (David scored 4 goals), Gateshead 7-0 at home, Fulham 2-0 at home, Chelsea 3-0 at home and then Derby County 2-0 (David scoring the first goal). David scored two goals in the quarter finals to beat Manchester City. The semi-final was against Sunderland but they played the match at Leeds Road, the home ground of Huddersfield Town. David was suffering from a thigh strain for which he had seen a herbalist for treatment but he still managed to score a goal in their 2-1 defeat. Their giant killing feats of the cup earnt David the title of “David the Giant Killer”. In the 1937/38 season they won promotion back to the 2nd division. Unfortunately David fell out with the club over a pay dispute and left them to become a grocer in Birmingham.
Just before the outbreak of the World War 2 Queens Park Rangers approached David and he played for them during the war years scoring 96 goals. In 1944 he became their player-manager . In the 1945/46 season QPR finished top of their league and also got through to the fifth round of the cup. In the 1947/48 season they reached the sixth round of the cup and on the 26 April won promotion to the second division. They spent four years in the second division but were relegated back to the third division in 1952. At this point David was replaced as manage by Jack Taylor who later bacame manager at Leeds United. During his managerial career at QPR from 1 April 1944 until 31 May 1952 he saw the team through 280 games of which they won 112, lost 94 and drew 74.
Dave and Anne had two children:
- David James (Jim) born 28 August 1936 in Kent;
- Jacqueline, born 24 September 1942 in Hammersmith.
Dave moved to Cornwall to become a publican, he resided in Huddersfield for a time (1956-59) and then moved back to Penzance where he was the publican of the Navy Inn on Queen Street.
Dave died at the pub on the 22nd April 1962.
[Last updated 06 Dec 2011]