Micky Burke

Michael Burke (28 June 1904 – 16 October 1984) was a Scottish professional footballer who played league football in Scotland, Ireland and England. He played in the Scottish League for Clyde, Dunfermline Athletic and Morton, was a member of the Dundalk team that won the 1932–33 League of Ireland title, and made 55 appearances in the English Football League for Lincoln City, Southport and Rochdale. He played as an inside forward or outside forward.

For other people named Michael Burke, see Michael Burke (disambiguation).

Micky Burke
Personal information
Full name Michael Burke[1]
Date of birth (1904-06-28)28 June 1904
Place of birth Blythswood, Renfrewshire, Scotland
Date of death 16 October 1984(1984-10-16) (aged 80)
Place of death Broomhill, Glasgow, Scotland
Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)[2]
Position(s) Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Dumbarton Harp
Old Kilpatrick
1927–1929 Ashfield
1929–1930 Clyde 14 (1)
1930–1931 Aberdeen 0 (0)
1931–1932 Dunfermline Athletic 23 (10)
1932–1934 Dundalk 29 (13)
1934–1936 Lincoln City 27 (2)
1936–1937 Southport 20 (2)
1937–1938 Rochdale 8 (0)
1938–1939 Morton
1939–19?? Burton Town
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Life and career

Michael Burke was born on 28 June 1904 in Blythswood, in what was then Renfrewshire.[3] He was the eldest of nine children of an Irish father and a Scottish mother, and began his working life as a riveter in the shipyards in Glasgow.[4]

He played Junior football for Dumbarton Harp and Old Kilpatrick before joining Ashfield in June 1927.[5] In December, he took part in a trial for the Intermediate League representative eleven,[6] and, writing in the Sunday Post a month later, "The Traveller" mentioned Burke as one who might have a future in the senior ranks.[7] He helped Ashfield reach the final of the Intermediate Cup, "all but had the first goal with a shot that got the crossbar", and made the pass for Peter Cunningham to score what proved the only goal of the match.[8]

Both Burke and Cunningham joined Clyde early in the 1929–30 Division One season.[9] Burke scored once from 14 league matches,[10] before moving on to Aberdeen.[11] Having made no first-team appearances,[4] he was given a free transfer at the end of the 1930–31 season,[12] and signed for Division Two club Dunfermline Athletic after a trial.[13] Despite the second half of his 1931–32 season being disrupted by injury and illness,[14][15] he was one of six players offered terms for a second season,[16] but did not accept.

Instead, he signed for Irish club Dundalk, and made his debut in October 1932 in the Leinster Cup, playing at outside left.[4] He continued in the side for the rest of the season as Dundalk became the first team from outside Dublin to win the League of Ireland title.[4][17] He stayed with Dundalk for a second season, at the end of which he had 31 goals from 74 matches played, 13 from 29 in the league.[4]

Dundalk's trainer-coach, Steve Wright, was appointed trainer of Lincoln City, newly relegated to the English Third Division North, in June 1934,[18] and on his recommendation, Burke joined the club on trial a few weeks later.[19] By the end of October, Lincoln had decided to keep him.[20] He made his debut in the FA Cup against Shildon in November[21] and his first appearance in the English Football League on 2 February 1935, after which he played in 10 of the remaining 16 matches as Lincoln finished in fourth place.[1] He was a regular at inside right in the first couple of months of the next season, but fell out of favour and, though impressing for Lincoln's Midland League team,[22][23] played only once more for the first team after the turn of the year and was one of eleven players released at the end of the campaign.[1][24]

Burke moved on to another Third Division North club, Southport. He scored on debut in the opening match of the 1936–37 season in a 1–1 draw with Hartlepools United, and continued in the team until a groin muscle pulled during his ninth appearance kept him out for two months.[2][25] He played a further 11 matches, but never regained a regular place in the side, and scored the second of his two goals for Southport in his last match, a defeat at Darlington on 3 April 1937.[2][26] He finished his Football League career with a season at Rochdale, where he was mainly a reserve, making only nine appearances for the first team.[10]

He returned to Scotland, signed for Division Two club Morton in August 1938,[27] and played regularly for much of the season. The following August, he went back to England for a month's trial with Midland League club Burton Town,[28] but the outbreak of war put an end to his career.

Burke returned to the shipyards as an electrician, and later worked in the docks. He continued to live in Glasgow, where he died of pneumonia in the Broomhill area on 16 October 1984 at the age of 80.[2][4]

Honours

Ashfield[8]

Dundalk[4]

References
  1. "Player search: Burke, M (Micky)". English National Football Archive. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  2. "Micky Burke". Southport FC Former Players' Association. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  3. Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: Soccerdata. p. 42. ISBN 978-1-899468-67-6.
  4. "Mick Burke". Dundalk F.C. Who's Who. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  5. "Football". Milngavie and Bearsden Herald. 24 June 1927. p. 8. Ashfield have signed M. Burke of Dumbarton Harp, a clever outside right.
  6. "Intermediate trial teams". Wishaw Press. 27 December 1927. p. 8. Ashfield have signed M. Burke of Dumbarton Harp, a clever outside right.
  7. The Traveller (29 January 1928). "Over 100 juniors turn senior. Intermediates waiting to step up". Sunday Post. Dundee. p. 18.
  8. "Dawson's great display for Camelon at Barrowfield Park". Sunday Post. Dundee. 17 June 1928. p. 25.
  9. Don John (11 October 1929). "How the League games should go". Sunday Post. Dundee. p. 8.
  10. Phillipps, Steven (2013). Rochdale AFC: Who's Who 1907–1939. Nottingham: Soccerdata. pp. 132–133. ISBN 978-1-905891-64-1.
  11. "Dons well prepared". Sunday Post. Dundee. 15 July 1930. p. 8.
  12. "Football phases". Falkirk Herald. 29 July 1931. p. 13.
  13. Don John (5 August 1931). "Burke of Aberdeen for Dunfermline". Courier and Advertiser. Dundee. p. 7.
  14. Don John (24 February 1932). "Dons' big shuffle in attack". Courier and Advertiser. Dundee. p. 9. Burke will not able to turn out. Already suffering from a leg injury which has kept him out of the game for several weeks, he has also contracted flu.
  15. Don John (22 April 1932). "Setting the League in order". Courier and Advertiser. Dundee. p. 9. Burke ... returns to the Dunfermline team after a long absence through injury.
  16. Don John (7 May 1932). "Everton fix McGourty of Partick". Courier and Advertiser. Dundee. p. 9.
  17. "Steve Wright". Dundalk F.C. Who's Who. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  18. "Lincoln's new trainer". Lincolnshire Echo. 30 June 1934. p. 1.
  19. "City part with Mathison". Lincolnshire Echo. 2 August 1934. p. 6.
  20. "Third Division mems. North". Halifax Daily Courier & Guardian Sports Edition. 20 October 1934. p. 3.
  21. "Michael Burke". The Lincoln City FC Archive. Lincoln City F.C. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  22. "Junior Imps too good for Boston". Lincolnshire Echo. 23 April 1936. p. 3. Burke was without doubt the outstanding forward. He was always giving clever passes to the other forwards and opening out the game well, but he was too often fighting a lone battle.
  23. Sincil (4 May 1936). "Junior Imps too good for Grantham". Lincolnshire Echo. p. 3. Burke was the outstanding Lincoln forward, but he had little support.
  24. "Moves of ex-Imps". Lincolnshire Echo. 28 August 1936. p. 5.
  25. Braham, Michael; Wilde, Geoff (1995). The Sandgrounders: The Complete League History of Southport F.C. Palatine. 1936/37 Season Summary. ISBN 978-1-874181-14-9. Retrieved 14 September 2021 – via Southport FC Former Players' Association.
  26. "1936/1937/ Results and line-ups". Southport FC Former Players' Association. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  27. "Football notes. Morton's opening game". Port-Glasgow Express. 12 August 1938. p. 3.
  28. "Sport of all sorts". Edinburgh Evening News. 23 August 1939. p. 14.
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