William James O'Rourke (2 April 1960 – 28 January 2002) was an English professional footballer who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

. He played in

The Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for four clubs.

Playing career

O'Rourke began his career as an apprentice with

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

, with whom he turned professional in February 1978. His debut came away at

QPR Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus R ...

in October 1979, in a match shown on

Match of the Day ''Match of the Day'' (abbreviated to ''MOTD'') is a football highlights programme, typically broadcast on BBC One on Saturday nights, during the Premier League season. The show's current presenter is former England international striker Gary L ...

. Burnley lost 7–0, with O'Rourke leaving the pitch in tears. However, his performance led to the

Burnley Express __NOTOC__ The ''Burnley Express'' is a newspaper for Burnley and Padiham, England and surrounding area. It is printed twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday, which is the larger edition. In print since 1877, it is now part of the group JPIMedia. One ...

naming him as his side's man of the match. He went on to make 13 more league appearances for ''the Clarets'' before joining

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

on loan in August 1983, followed by a move to Chester City in March 1984. Just five appearances later he was back at Blackpool, this time on a permanent basis, playing every league game in the next two seasons. He was voted Player of the Year in his first full season. In September 1986 O'Rourke joined

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they adop ...

on loan, making a permanent switch to

Prenton Park Prenton Park is a large outdoor seated association football stadium in Birkenhead, England. It is the home ground of Tranmere Rovers, as well as Liverpool's women and reserves teams. The ground has had several rebuilds, with the most recent o ...

the following February (1987). He remained with the club the following season before leaving

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

circles. He then joined ICI Thornton. O'Rourke died following a

brain haemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...

on 28 January 2002.

Honours

Blackpool *

Football League Fourth Division The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Whilst the division disappeared in name ...

runners-up: 1984–85 (46 apps)

References

External links

Burnley career stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orourke, Billy 1960 births 2002 deaths Men's association football goalkeepers Footballers from Nottingham English men's footballers English Football League players Burnley F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Tranmere Rovers F.C. players