Bill Bourke

Who is Bill Bourke?

Bill Bourke was an Australian rules footballer who played with Richmond in the Victorian Football League.

Bourke had the distinction of topping Richmond's goal-kicking in their first two VFL seasons, in 1908 and 1909, with 25 and 20 goals respectively. He along with family members was a strong Collingwood supporter and actually first tried to play for Collingwood. Upon being denied a game as a Magpie he decided to play with Richmond who were just entering the VFL. He retired after just two seasons to drive a taxi as it paid more than his wage as a footballer. He later ran a boot factory, which employed many league footballers and was the largest in the southern hemisphere at the time. He died suddenly of a heart attack in 1932 leaving a family of six children behind.