Joseph O'Brien (27 December 1875 – after 1906) was a Scottish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a full back 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

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...

, in the Northern League for

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

, and in the Southern League for

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Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at ...

and

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

. While a Reading player, he was selected for the Southern League representative XI.

Life and career

O'Brien was born in

Shettleston Shettleston ( sco, Shuttlestoun, gd, Baile Nighean Sheadna) is a district in the east end of Glasgow in Scotland. Toponymy The origin of the name 'Shettleston' is not clear and, like many place-names of possibly medieval origin, has had a multi ...

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland. Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scotlan ...

, in 1875. He played football for Baillieston Thistle,

Clitheroe Clitheroe () is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England; it is located north-west of Manchester. It is near the Forest of Bowland and is often used as a base for tourists visiting the area. In 2018, the Cl ...

and

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

before signing for Southern League club

in 1896. He earned a "big reputation" with Reading, was selected for the Southern League representative XI to face the London Association in 1899, and signed for

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

club

in April 1900. In the absence of Allan Hardy, he went straight into the team for the league match against

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

on 13 April, which finished as a 3–3 draw. Hardy's return for the visit of

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

"materially strengthened" the team, according to the '' Blackburn Standard'', whose reporter thought O'Brien had been "of little use" the day before. He made two more league appearances before returning to Scotland where he spent the 1901–02 season with

, for whom he scored twice from eleven Northern League matches. For his next club,

, he played in all five

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

ties and all but one Southern League fixture in 1902–03. He spent the folliwng season back with Reading, before joining another Southern League club,

, for 1904–05. He was a regular in their side, partnering Tom Robertson at full back, before returning to Swindon Town for 1905–06. This time he was less of a first-team regular, appearing in 21 Southern League matches and 14 in the United League, a secondary competition. He finished his football career in the north-west of England with Stalybridge Rovers and

Haslingden Haslingden is a town in Rossendale, Lancashire, England. It is north of Manchester. The name means 'valley of the hazels' or 'valley growing with hazels'. At the time of the 2011 census the town (including Helmshore) had a population of 15,96 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, Joe 1875 births Year of death missing Footballers from Glasgow Scottish men's footballers Men's association football fullbacks Clitheroe F.C. players Sheffield F.C. players Reading F.C. players Blackburn Rovers F.C. players Aberdeen F.C. (1881) players Swindon Town F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Stalybridge Rovers F.C. players Haslingden F.C. players Southern Football League players English Football League players Southern Football League representative players People from Shettleston