Peter O'Rourke (1 June 1873 – 10 January 1956) was a Scottish football player and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

. In two spells as manager of

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. ...

, he won 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 ...

1911 A notable ongoing event was the Comparison of the Amundsen and Scott Expeditions, race for the South Pole. Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory ...

as well as two league titles, the

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third t ...

1908 Events January * January 1 – The British ''Nimrod'' Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton sets sail from New Zealand on the ''Nimrod'' for Antarctica. * January 3 – A total solar eclipse is visible in the Pacific Ocean, and is the 4 ...

and the

Third Division North The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated to ...

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

Career

O'Rourke was a

centre half In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either ...

who played for Celtic,

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...

, Lincoln City,

Third Lanark Third Lanark Athletic Club was a Scottish football club based in Glasgow. Founded in 1872 as an offshoot of the 3rd Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers, the club was a founder member of the Scottish Football Association (SFA) in 1872 and the Scottish ...

and Chesterfield before his final playing days at

. He became player-manager in 1905 following the departure of Robert Campbell while he was still captain. He was given the job permanently and in December 1905 played his final game in an

tie against Darlington. He led the Bantams to 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 ...

championship in 1908. Three years later, O'Rourke clinched the

with Bradford in 1911, beating Newcastle United 1–0 in a replay. His son, Francis, died in Newfoundland in October 1919, affecting him deeply, and in June 1921, due to ill health, O'Rourke retired from the game. He came back with Welsh side

Pontypridd () ( colloquially: Ponty) is a town and a community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Geography comprises the electoral wards of , Hawthorn, Pontypridd Town, 'Rhondda', Rhydyfelin Central/Ilan ( Rhydfelen), Trallwng ( Trallwn) and Treforest (). ...

in 1922 for five months. In December of that year, O'Rourke joined Dundee Hibernian, who were then a non-league club, but stayed for only three months, resigning after lacking financial support. His next managerial job was with Bradford Park Avenue from 1924 to 1925. He spent just ten months at Park Avenue but signed another son,

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

, who scored twice on his debut against Durham City. He returned to Bradford City in 1928, winning the

the following year. After leaving Bradford for the second time in 1930, he moved to Walsall, before a final managerial spell with

Llanelli Llanelli (" St Elli's Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarth ...

. He retired in July 1933. After retiring, O'Rourke returned to Bradford living in Burlington Terrace next to City's

Valley Parade Valley Parade, known as the University of Bradford Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is an all-seater football stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Built in 1886, it was the home of Manningham Rugby Football Club until 1903, when they ...

ground until he died in January 1956 at the age of 82.

Honours

Manager

Bradford City *

: 1907–08 *

: 1910–11 *

Football League Third Division North The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated t ...

: 1928–29

References

External links

Bradford City website profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Orourke, Peter 1873 births 1956 deaths Scottish men's footballers Footballers from North Lanarkshire Celtic F.C. players Burnley F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players Third Lanark A.C. players Chesterfield F.C. players Bradford City A.F.C. players Men's association football central defenders Scottish football managers Bradford City A.F.C. managers Dundee United F.C. managers Bradford (Park Avenue) A.F.C. managers Walsall F.C. managers English Football League players English Football League managers Scottish Football League managers Scottish Football League players Scottish Junior Football Association players Scotland men's junior international footballers People from Newmains Scottish people of Irish descent