Patrick O'Brien (June 1873 – 1950) was a Scottish footballer. O'Brien started his career playing junior football in the

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, playing for

Elm Park Elm Park is a suburban planned community in East London within the London Borough of Havering. Located east-northeast of Charing Cross, it is identified as a district centre in the London Plan with several streets of shops and a priority for r ...

and Glasgow Northern, before making the move south to join

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

side Woolwich Arsenal in 1894. A

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

, he made his debut against

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...

on 10 September 1894 and went on to score 11 goals in 27 games for Woolwich Arsenal in his first season ( 1894–95), as Woolwich Arsenal finished 8th in the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

. An injury at the start of the 1895–96 season ruled O'Brien out for four months, hampering his goal tally. However, he came back the next season, 1896–97, scoring 14 goals in 26 league appearances, making him the club's top scorer that season. However, despite this, he was sold to

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

in the summer of 1897, linking up with former Arsenal boss

Sam Hollis Sam Hollis (1866 – 17 April 1942) was an English football trainer and manager. Born in Nottingham as Samuel Woodroffe Moore, he had comparatively little football experience, having previously worked in the local registry and as a landlord i ...

, who had also just moved there. In total he played 67 times for Arsenal, scoring 29 goals. He spent five years with Bristol City before seeing out his career with

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 ...

, making a single appearance for the Robins in

1902–03 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

. He died in 1950.

References

1875 births 1951 deaths Scottish men's footballers Men's association football forwards Arsenal F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players Swindon Town F.C. players {{Scotland-footy-forward-1870s-stub