| Joe Frail | |
| Fullname: | Martin Joseph Frail |
| Birth Date: | 29 March 1869 |
| Birth Place: | Burslem, England |
| Death Place: | Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, England |
| Position: | Goalkeeper |
| Years1: | 1891–1894 |
| Clubs1: | Port Vale |
| Caps1: | 29 |
| Goals1: | 0 |
| Years2: | 1894 |
| Clubs2: | Gorton Villa |
| Years3: | 1894–1896 |
| Clubs3: | Glossop North End |
| Years4: | 1896–1898 |
| Clubs4: | Derby County |
| Caps4: | 10 |
| Goals4: | 0 |
| Years5: | 1898–1900 |
| Clubs5: | Chatham |
| Years6: | 1900–1902 |
| Caps6: | 62 |
| Goals6: | 0 |
| Years7: | 1902–1903 |
| Clubs7: | Luton Town |
| Years8: | 1903 |
| Clubs8: | Brentford |
| Caps8: | 10 |
| Goals8: | 0 |
| Years9: | 1904 |
| Clubs9: | Stalybridge Rovers |
| Years10: | 1904–1905 |
| Caps10: | 1 |
| Goals10: | 0 |
| Years11: | 1905 |
| Caps11: | 7 |
| Goals11: | 0 |
| Years12: | 1905–1906 |
| Caps12: | 16 |
| Goals12: | 0 |
| Totalcaps: | 125+ |
| Totalgoals: | 0 |
Martin Joseph Frail (29 March 1869 – 4 September 1939) was an English footballer who lived a traditional Romani lifestyle.[1] A goalkeeper, he played for Port Vale, Glossop North End, Derby County, Chatham, Middlesbrough, Luton Town, Brentford, and Stockport County.[2]
Frail probably joined Port Vale in the autumn of 1891.[3] His debut came in a friendly against Lincoln City on 14 November 1891, which Vale lost 2–0.[3] Favoured ahead of Levi Higginson, he was the keeper of choice from September 1892, and kept goal in 19 of the club's 20 Second Division games in the 1892–93 season – Vale's first season in the English Football League.[3] However, after 11 games into the 1893–94 season, he missed the train to a match at Rotherham Town on 28 October 1893 and was duly suspended as he failed to explain the reason why.[3] He did not play another game at the Athletic Ground and was instead transferred to Gorton Villa in October 1894.[3] Later he played for Glossop North End, Derby County, Chatham, Middlesbrough (in two spells), Luton Town, Brentford and Stockport County before returning to Glossop.[3] [4]
Source:
| Club | Season | Division | League | FA Cup | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Burslem Port Vale | 1892–93 | Second Division | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 0 |
| 1893–94 | Second Division | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 | |
| Total | 29 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 31 | 0 | ||
| Derby County | 1897–98 | First Division | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| Middlesbrough | 1900–01 | Second Division | 30 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 39 | 0 |
| 1901–02 | Second Division | 32 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 34 | 0 | |
| Total | 62 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 73 | 0 | ||
| Brentford | 1903–04 | Southern League First Division | 10 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
| Middlesbrough | 1904–05 | First Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Stockport County | 1905–06 | Second Division | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| Glossop | 1905–06 | Second Division | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 1906–07 | Second Division | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| Total | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | ||