Tom Burke

Who was Tom Burke?

Thomas "Tom" Burke was a Welsh international footballer who played for Wrexham and Newton Heath, who would go on to become Manchester United. Burke won a total of eight caps for Wales, playing at half-back.

Burke began his career with Wrexham Grosvenor, but moved on to Wrexham and Wrexham Olympic before making a transfer to Liverpool Cambrians. From there, he was signed by Newton Heath in 1886. The club's parent company, the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Company, was able to employ Burke as a painter – as was his trade – at the nearby Carriage and Wagon Works, from which the club had been born. In his first season at Newton Heath, Burke played mostly at left-half, but switched to right-half by the following season, and even played at centre-half or inside-right on occasion.

When Burke's time at Newton Heath came to an end, after making 29 appearances for the Heathens, he moved back to Wrexham to play for Wrexham Victoria.