John Joseph Burke (28 June 1911 – November 1987) was an Irish 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 ...

. 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 for Chester and

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, eas ...

before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, making over 100 appearances in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...

. He also appeared as a guest player for

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

during the war. In 1947 he joined Gillingham, at the time playing in the Southern League, and helped the club win the championship in 1948. In 1950 the club gained election to the Football League and signed new goalkeeper Larry Gage, but kept Burke on the books. Despite being nearly 40 years old he played five times in the 1950–51 season before retiring. He stood tall.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burke, Johnny 1911 births 1987 deaths Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Gillingham F.C. players Millwall F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Shelbourne F.C. players League of Ireland players West Ham United F.C. wartime guest players English Football League players