Francis Bourke

His is the only family to have provided three generations of players for the Richmond senior team: Bourke's father, Frank, played 16 matches in the 1940s and his son, David played 85 games between 1995 and 2001.

Bourke's father, Frank, was serving in the RAAF and on leave in Melbourne when he played a solitary game for Richmond in 1943.

A tall (193 cm) and lean (85 kg) full forward with an excellent reputation in country football, Frank returned to the city after the war and resume his playing career with Richmond.

In the opening weeks of the 1946 season Frank kicked five or more goals six times in the first seven matches to lead the VFL goalkicking table.

Injury curtailed further progress.

Bourke was born the following year in Caulfield.

Bourke was raised on the family's dairy farm, about 40 km north west of Shepparton in northern Victoria, where his father was appointed captain-coach of his home town team, Nathalia.

He attended Assumption College, a Catholic school with a reputation as a nursery for great footballing talent.

In the following decades, Assumption was to produce dozens of footballers for the VFL/AFL and Bourke would go on to be, arguably, its greatest sporting product.

His success was achieved despite a severe setback at age 14 when doctors detected a heart murmur and recommended that he give up playing sport.

Francis William Bourke (born 2 April 1947) is a former Australian rules footballer and coach who represented Richmond in the Victorian Football League (VFL) between 1967 and 1981, and coached the club in 1982 and 1983.

A key figure in a successful period at Richmond, Bourke is a five-time premiership player who was honoured with selection in the AFL's Team of the Century.

After a season in Assumption's first team in 1963, Bourke left school aged 16 and returned to Nathalia.

He turned out for the local team, following in the footsteps of his father by playing as a key forward.

However, the young Bourke was physically very different from his father, standing 185 cm and eventually filling out to a solid, muscular 85 kg. In his first senior season, Bourke was the team's leading goalkicker and followed up by winning the club best and fairest in 1965.

These performances hadn't escaped the eye of Richmond secretary Graeme Richmond.

Aware of the youngster's pedigree, Richmond arranged for Bourke to play a handful of matches with the Tigers' seconds in 1965.

Bourke didn't qualify as a Richmond player under the father and son rule (Frank Bourke hadn't played enough senior games), but few of the other VFL clubs had shown interest in him.

Once again, in 1966, Bourke spent the season playing for Nathalia and came down to the city on match permit to play with the Richmond seconds on a handful of occasions.

At this point, Bourke was not confident of making the grade as a league footballer.

He was convinced to move to Melbourne for the 1967 season by the prospect of playing a few senior games, enough to make him credentialled to coach country clubs.

As it proved, Bourke's timing was exquisite.

He debuted for Richmond as a second rover (to Kevin Bartlett), but after a few games was switched to a wing, forming a brilliant centreline with Dick Clay and Bill Barrot.

A mobile player with good marking skills, Bourke was part of the experiment by Richmond to use tall players on the wing as part of their long-kicking game plan.

Within a few years, most men playing on the wing in league football would be of similar physique to Bourke.

By the end of the season, Bourke's thoughts about returning to the bush had evaporated.

Richmond won its first premiership in 24 years and the centreline of Bourke-Barrot-Clay was acknowledged as the best in the game and a key reason for the Tigers' success.

The following season, Bourke made his debut for Victoria and finished third in the best and fairest.

His persistence was recognised by Richmond when it awarded him the club's "Most Determined" trophy in 1967, 1972, 1977 and 1980.

Just as he had continued to play after being warned not to when a teenager, Bourke often played with injuries that would have incapacitated others.

Another flag followed in 1969, then Bourke had his best season in 1970, winning his only best and fairest award.

Bourke's name became a by-word for courage.

In 1971, in a game against Hawthorn, he unwittingly broke a bone in his leg, but continued to play until the extent of his injury was realised, then managed to walk off the ground.

The injury, serious enough to keep him off the field for the next nine games, became essential to the legend of Bourke's determination.

He was also a great finals player, and received a trophy as best player in Richmond's unsuccessful finals campaign of 1972.

Following their thrashing in the 1972 Grand Final, the Tigers decided that the team's defence required bolstering, so Bourke was shifted to half back.

Going into the 1973 finals, Bourke suffered a severe knee injury that put his career in doubt, yet, despite running with a visible limp, was a stand out in the Grand Final playing on Carlton's matchwinner, Alex Jesaulenko.

Richmond won back-to-back flags in 1973–1974 and Bourke was one of the team's stars.

In 1976, Bourke was appointed captain of the club and he responded with a great season, although the team slipped down the ladder.

In 2009 The Australian newspaper nominated Bourke as one of the 25 greatest footballers never to win a Brownlow Medal.