Peter Boyle (26 April 1876 – 24 June 1939) was an Irish

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 ...

and manager. Born in Carlingford in Ireland, Boyle was a left back whose most successful playing spell was with

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 ...

with whom he reached the

FA Cup Final The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the most attended domestic football events in the world, with an official atten ...

on three occasions, playing on the winning side on two of them. He also played for Sunderland and Motherwell as well as representing

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

on five occasions. He later had a brief spell as

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the s ...

with

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...

in 1912.

Career

Club career

Boyle moved from his home in Scotland to join Sunderland in 1896, making his Football League debut against

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. Th ...

in December of that year. After two years at the

Wearside Wearside () is a built-up area in both Tyne and Wear and County Durham, Northern England. It is named after the River Wear which flows through it and traditionally all in the County of Durham. In the 2011 census, its official name was the Sunderl ...

club he moved south to the League champions

in December 1898 for £175. He became a regular for the ''Blades'' in a period when they were a dominant force in English football, finishing runners-up in the league in his first season and winning the

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 ...

in both

1899 Events January 1899 * January 1 ** Spanish rule ends in Cuba, concluding 400 years of the Spanish Empire in the Americas. ** Queens and Staten Island become administratively part of New York City. * January 2 – **Bolivia sets up a c ...

and

1902 Events January * January 1 ** The Nurses Registration Act 1901 comes into effect in New Zealand, making it the first country in the world to require state registration of nurses. On January 10, Ellen Dougherty becomes the world' ...

along with another unsuccessful appearance in the

1901 FA Cup final The 1901 FA Cup Final was an association football match between Sheffield United and Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, 20 April 1901 at the Crystal Palace stadium in south London. It was the final match of the 1900–01 FA Cup, the 30th edition ...

. Described as a 'robust' player by the local media he was considered a 'fine tackler' and 'superb kicker' during his time at Bramall Lane. By 1903 however his relationship with the club had deteriorated following a dispute after the club failed to award him a benefit match which he believed he was owed. He was twice suspended for 'misconduct' before being transferred for a 'nominal' fee of £100 in 1904. Having told United that he wished to return to Scotland, Boyle spent only one season at Motherwell before he moved to

Clapton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profess ...

who had recently been admitted to the Football League. He then drifted back into the amateur game with brief spells at Wigan Town, Chorley and Eccles Borough where his playing career looked to have come to an end. After several years out of the game, however, Boyle was appointed as

of newly admitted

Midland League The Midland Football League is an English football league that was founded in 2014 by the merger of the former Midland Alliance and Midland Combination. The league has four divisions that sit at levels 9–12 of the football pyramid. History T ...

team

in 1912, before being replaced by Tommy Collier later the same season.

International career

Boyle was capped five times for

during his time with Sheffield United. He would have won several more had he not rejected the call-up on a number of occasions to play for the ''Blades'' instead.

Personal life

Although born in Ireland, Boyle's family had moved to

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

when he was a child and it was here he began playing football regularly. Following the end of his playing career he worked as a miner at Brodsworth Colliery where he also coached the colliery football team, Brodsworth Main, now

Brodsworth Welfare A.F.C. Brodsworth Welfare AFC is a football club based in Woodlands, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. History Although the club gives its official formation date as 1912, Brodsworth Main Colliery (as they were first known) were actually founded tw ...

His son Tommy Boyle would also go on to play for

with whom he also won an

winners medal in

1925 Events January * January 1 ** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Itali ...

Honours

Sheffield United * Football League First Division Runner-up: 1899–1900 *

Winner:

**Finalist:

1901 Events January * January 1 – The British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia federate as the Commonwealth of Australia; Edmund Barton becomes the first Prime Minist ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyle, Peter 1876 births 1939 deaths Irish association footballers (before 1923) Pre-1950 IFA men's international footballers Men's association football defenders English Football League players Albion Rovers F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players Motherwell F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players Chorley F.C. players York City F.C. (1908) players Republic of Ireland association football managers York City F.C. (1908) managers Eccles United F.C. players People from Carlingford, County Louth Footballers from Coatbridge