Joshua Nathan Bourke (born October 16, 1982) is a former

Canadian football Canadian football () is a sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's scoring area ( ...

offensive lineman. He spent the majority of his professional career with the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the East Division of the Canad ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL). He also spent time with the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

(CFL) and the Green Bay Packers (NFL).

Early years

Bourke attended

St. Mary's Preparatory St. Mary's Preparatory is a co-educational, Catholic, college preparatory high school with a Polish-American heritage in the Detroit suburb of Orchard Lake Village, Michigan. Its mission and message is "1. God; 2. Family; 3. St. Mary's." Overvie ...

Orchard Lake, Michigan Orchard Lake Village is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,375 at the 2010 census. A northern suburb of Metro Detroit, Orchard Lake Village is located about southwest of the city of Pontiac and northw ...

, and went on to Grand Valley State University where he graduated with a Bachelors in Business Administration. From 2000 to 2005 he played on the

Grand Valley State Lakers football The Grand Valley State Lakers football team represents Grand Valley State University (GVSU) in NCAA Division II football. The team currently competes in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and was once affiliated with the now def ...

team. In 2005 he was named GLIAC Offensive Lineman of the Year and a First-Team All-GLIAC.

Professional career

Green Bay Packers

Bourke signed with the Green Bay Packers of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

in May 2006. He was released on June 8, 2007, without playing in a regular season game.

Montreal Alouettes

Bourke was chosen by the Alouettes in the third round of the

2004 CFL Draft The 2004 CFL Draft took place on Wednesday, April 28, 2004. 53 players were chosen from among eligible players from Canadian Universities across the country, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA. Of the 53 draft selections, 35 players ...

but he continued for another year at Grand Valley State. In August 2007 Bourke signed with Montreal. He missed the final game of the 2007 regular season and the playoffs due to a knee injury but signed a contract extension on January 7, 2008. His performance in the

2008 CFL season The 2008 CFL season was the 55th season of modern-day Canadian football, the 51st season for the Canadian Football League. It was also the first CFL season in which all of the league's regular season and post-season games, including the Grey Cup ...

earned him a spot on the East Division All-Star team. Josh Bourke was recognized as a CFL Eastern All-Star every season from 2008 through the

2014 CFL season Fourteen or 14 may refer to: * 14 (number), the natural number following 13 and preceding 15 * one of the years 14 BC, AD 14, 1914, 2014 Music * 14th (band), a British electronic music duo * ''14'' (David Garrett album), 2013 *''14'', an unre ...

. Bourke won the Grey Cup with the Alouettes in both the

2009 CFL season The 2009 CFL season was the 56th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it was the 52nd season of the Canadian Football League. The Montreal Alouettes won the 97th Grey Cup on November 29 with a last second 28–27 win over the Sask ...

and the

2010 CFL season The 2010 CFL season is the 57th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it is the 53rd Canadian Football League season. Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton hosted the 98th Grey Cup on November 28 when the Montreal Alouettes became the ...

. Other personal accolades include being named the CFL Offensive lineman of the year in 2011, being selected to the CFLPA All-Star team from 2011 to 2013 and being named the CN Adopt an Alouette of the Year in 2013. Following the 2013 campaign Bourke's contract expired on February 11, 2014. He was quickly re-signed roughly two hours after becoming a free-agent; signing the highest paid non-QB salary in the league at $215,000 per season (two-year deal).

Toronto Argonauts

On the first day of 2016

free agency In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is ...

, February 9, 2016, Bourke signed with

. Bourke played in 10 games for the double-blue in 2016, missing the second half of the season with injuries. Following only one season in Toronto he was released by the club on January 9, 2017. On June 17, 2017, Bourke announced his retirement from professional football at the age of 34. Bourke is currently a CFL Medical Board Member and a CFL players association player representative.

References

External links

Toronto Argonauts bio

Montreal Alouettes bioSportslinePackers.Com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bourke, Josh 1982 births Living people American football offensive tackles Canadian expatriate American football people in the United States Canadian football offensive linemen Canadian players of American football Grand Valley State Lakers football players Montreal Alouettes players Players of Canadian football from Ontario Sportspeople from Windsor, Ontario St. Mary's Preparatory alumni