Francis Bourke - Third Generation

Third Generation

Unfortunately, Bourke became one of the club's many great servants who were treated poorly by Richmond and endured a period of estrangement from Punt Road. Bourke had a stint as a specialist coach for Melbourne during the 1980s, and finally returned to Richmond in 1992 as chairman of selectors. He stood down from the position when his son David (born 9 January 1976) was recruited by the Tigers as a father-son selection in the 1994 AFL draft. At 193 cm and just 80 kg, David was built like his grandfather. His career suffered from an inability to bulk up to a heavier weight, and he was frustratingly inconsistent. David inherited his father's fanatical desire to win the ball; however, his body wasn't built to take the punishment that this approach entailed. After 85 games in seven seasons (many of which started on the bench), David Bourke was traded to the Kangaroos for the 2002 season, but only managed one game in blue and white.

For many years, Bourke was involved in the pub trade and was a more than useful cricketer with the Camberwell Cricket Club. In 1996, his ground-breaking play as a wingman earned him that position in the AFL's Team of the Century. He is also a hall-of-famer and life member of the AFL. Richmond have honoured him on a number of occasions, most notably in 2005 when he was named as one of four "immortals" of the club. The annual award for "Best Clubman", bestowed during the Club's Best and Fairest count is named in his honour.

In September 2007 he was the subject of a Toyota Legendary Moments advertisement with Stephen Curry and Dave Lawson. The advertisement pays reference to the time when Bourke played an entire quarter with a broken leg, and also to when he colided with a team mate which opened up a cut to his head that bled profusely into his eye. Although Bourke could hardly see, he managed a spectacluar diving chest mark and converted the kick to a match winning goal.