32 Facts About Francis Bourke

Francis William Bourke was born on 2 April 1947 and is a former Australian rules footballer and coach who represented Richmond in the Victorian Football League between 1967 and 1981, and coached the club in 1982 and 1983.

Francis Bourke's is the only family to have provided three generations of players for the Richmond senior team: Bourke's father, Frank, played 16 matches in the 1940s and his son, David played 85 games between 1995 and 2001.

Francis Bourke attended Assumption College, a Catholic school with a reputation as a nursery for great footballing talent.

Francis Bourke's success was achieved despite a severe setback at age 14 when doctors detected a heart murmur and recommended that he give up playing sport.

Francis Bourke turned out for the local team, following in the footsteps of his father by playing as a key forward.

Once again, in 1966, Francis Bourke spent the season playing for Nathalia and came down to the city on match permit to play with the Richmond seconds on a handful of occasions.

At this point, Francis Bourke was not confident of making the grade as a league footballer.

Francis Bourke was convinced to move to Melbourne for the 1967 season by the prospect of playing a few senior games, enough to make him credentialled to coach country clubs.

Richmond won its first premiership in 24 years and the centreline of Francis Bourke-Barrot-Clay was acknowledged as the best in the game and a key reason for the Tigers' success.

Francis Bourke's persistence was recognised by Richmond when it awarded him the club's "Most Determined" trophy in 1967,1972,1977 and 1980.

Just as he had continued to play after being warned not to when a teenager, Francis Bourke often played with injuries that would have incapacitated others.

Francis Bourke was a great finals player, and received a trophy as best player in Richmond's unsuccessful finals campaign of 1972.

In 1976, Francis Bourke was appointed captain of the club and he responded with a great season, although the team slipped down the ladder.

Francis Bourke finished third in the Brownlow medal and third in the club's best and fairest award, demonstrating a phenomenal consistency; in nine seasons between 1968 and 1976, Bourke was placed seven times in the best and fairest count.

Francis Bourke was so disappointed with his form at one point he privately contemplated retirement, but he continued on and proved his mettle by captaining Victoria against West Australia and leading Richmond into the finals.

Key position defenders were in short supply at Richmond, so Francis Bourke was forced to play at centre half back even though he lacked height for the position.

Two weeks before the finals, Francis Bourke entered football folklore in a match at Arden Street against North Melbourne.

Francis Bourke received an accidental finger in the eye, which quickly filled with blood that poured down his face and on to his guernsey.

At the time there was no "blood rule" and Francis Bourke shifted to the forward line.

Just months after his playing retirement, Francis Bourke was controversially pitched into the coaching position at Punt Road.

However, in 1982 Francis Bourke took the Tigers to only their third minor premiership since the war and impressed critics with a brilliant tactical display in the semi-final against Carlton.

Francis Bourke made a series of positional changes at the beginning of the game and ordered his men to slow down the Carlton play-on game, giving away fifteen-metre penalties as necessary.

The Tigers won easily, and Francis Bourke became one of only a handful of coaches to make the Grand Final in his first season.

Media speculation about the security of Francis Bourke's position began in earnest, and few believed the club when Richmond denied that there was an ongoing crisis.

Reluctantly, Francis Bourke tendered his resignation at the end of the season, well aware that he would probably have been sacked had he not done so.

Unfortunately, Francis Bourke became one of the club's many great servants who were treated poorly by Richmond and endured a period of estrangement from Punt Road.

Francis Bourke had a stint as a specialist coach for Melbourne during the 1980s, and finally returned to Richmond in 1992 as chairman of selectors.

Francis Bourke stood down from the position when his son David was born on 9 January 1976 and was recruited by the Tigers as a father-son selection in the 1994 AFL draft.

Francis Bourke's career suffered from an inability to bulk up to a heavier weight, and he was frustratingly inconsistent.

For many years, Francis Bourke was involved in the pub trade and was a more than useful cricketer with the Camberwell Cricket Club.

Francis Bourke is a hall-of-famer and life member of the AFL.

The advertisement pays reference to the time when Francis Bourke played an entire quarter with a broken leg, and to when he collided with a teammate which opened up a cut to his head that bled profusely into his eye.