Tommy Boyle
Posted on: Tue 05 Jun 2007
Tommy Boyle remains to this day the only Burnley captain to lift the FA Cup. He also has the distinction, of course, of receiving the trophy on the first occasion that it was presented by the reigning monarch; King George V after the men from Turf Moor had beaten Liverpool 1-0 at Crystal Palace in 1914.
Boyle was bon in Holland, near Barnsley, in 1888 and played for several juniors' side in the area before signing to the Oakwell club as a 16 year old in 1905.
He soon made an impact at the club and was undoubtedly the star in the galaxy of talent that was uncovered in this dour Yorkshire mining area at the end of the Edwardian decade. In 1909-10, he was the captain in a team of Barnsley hard men that was beaten by Newcastle United in the FA Cup final. The nucleus of this side won the FA Cup two years later, but without Tommy Boyle. Still in the Second Division, but determined to get back up to the top at the earliest opportunity, Burnley paid a then club record fee of £1,150 to bring Boyle to Turf Moor in September 1911. He joined Jerry Dawson, Willie Watson, Tom Banford and Bert Freeman, who were already at the club and made his Clarets debut ironically at Barnsley in a 1-1 draw, on the same day as Teddy Hodgeson, 30 September 1911.
Boyle was, without doubt, the fulcrum around which the great Burnley side of the next dozen years were to revolve. Within weeks he was appointed as the club's captain and at the end of his first season at Turf Moor, the clarets just missed promotion by two points, finishing the campaign as the league's top scorers with 77 goals in 38 matches. His success carried on the Clarets managed to play 30 games without losing one of them and that still stands strong to this very day.
The best years of Boyle's career were behind him however and at the age of 33 he played his last League game for Burnley's first team in February 1922. After from recovering from his injury he played again in the reserves, but in April 1923 he was transferred to Wrexham as a player-coach.
After coaching in Germany for a time he returned to England to live in Blackpool, but his health began to deteriorate and financial difficulties contributed to a nervous breakdown. He was under medical treatment for the rest of his life, which ended in Whittingham Hospital on January 1940. He was 50 years old.
Tommy Boyle remains one of the all-time grates of Burnley Football Club. Although only 5ft 7in tall, his superb timing in the air made him on of the most powerful headers of a ball the game has ever seen. He was hard and strong in the tackle, and his distribution of the ball was first class. His greatest quality however was his leadership. His ability to motivate the players around him was unequalled and he is arguably the club's best ever captain. He won only one England cap and played three times for the Football League. His representative honours certainly do not reflect his contribution to the success of Burnley Football Club.
Boyle was bon in Holland, near Barnsley, in 1888 and played for several juniors' side in the area before signing to the Oakwell club as a 16 year old in 1905.
He soon made an impact at the club and was undoubtedly the star in the galaxy of talent that was uncovered in this dour Yorkshire mining area at the end of the Edwardian decade. In 1909-10, he was the captain in a team of Barnsley hard men that was beaten by Newcastle United in the FA Cup final. The nucleus of this side won the FA Cup two years later, but without Tommy Boyle. Still in the Second Division, but determined to get back up to the top at the earliest opportunity, Burnley paid a then club record fee of £1,150 to bring Boyle to Turf Moor in September 1911. He joined Jerry Dawson, Willie Watson, Tom Banford and Bert Freeman, who were already at the club and made his Clarets debut ironically at Barnsley in a 1-1 draw, on the same day as Teddy Hodgeson, 30 September 1911.
Boyle was, without doubt, the fulcrum around which the great Burnley side of the next dozen years were to revolve. Within weeks he was appointed as the club's captain and at the end of his first season at Turf Moor, the clarets just missed promotion by two points, finishing the campaign as the league's top scorers with 77 goals in 38 matches. His success carried on the Clarets managed to play 30 games without losing one of them and that still stands strong to this very day.
The best years of Boyle's career were behind him however and at the age of 33 he played his last League game for Burnley's first team in February 1922. After from recovering from his injury he played again in the reserves, but in April 1923 he was transferred to Wrexham as a player-coach.
After coaching in Germany for a time he returned to England to live in Blackpool, but his health began to deteriorate and financial difficulties contributed to a nervous breakdown. He was under medical treatment for the rest of his life, which ended in Whittingham Hospital on January 1940. He was 50 years old.
Tommy Boyle remains one of the all-time grates of Burnley Football Club. Although only 5ft 7in tall, his superb timing in the air made him on of the most powerful headers of a ball the game has ever seen. He was hard and strong in the tackle, and his distribution of the ball was first class. His greatest quality however was his leadership. His ability to motivate the players around him was unequalled and he is arguably the club's best ever captain. He won only one England cap and played three times for the Football League. His representative honours certainly do not reflect his contribution to the success of Burnley Football Club.
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