Ralph Burkinshaw (26 March 1898 – June 1951) was an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played for a number of clubs.

Career

Burkinshaw had guested for a number of South Yorkshire clubs during

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

football, before starting his full career at

South Shields South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England; it is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. The town was once known in Roman Britain, Roman times as ''Arbeia'' and as ''Caer Urfa'' by the Early Middle Ag ...

in 1919. He played just two games at South Shields during the club's first season in Division Two before having brief spells at

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...

and

Gainsborough Trinity Gainsborough Trinity Football Club is a Association football, football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Established in 1873, the club became members of the English Football League, Football League i ...

. In November 1920 he signed for Bury where he spent nearly five years, including 13 games in Division One during his 1924–25 benefit season. In July 1925 he signed for

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The club competes in , the third tier of English football, and is managed by Graham Alexander. The club was founded in 1903 and ...

as an

inside forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...

although he spent much of his Bradford career as a

right half In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. He also spent five seasons at Bradford, including being top scorer with 12 league goals and two

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

goals in the 1927–28 season and being an ever-present in the club's 1928–29 title-winning season in

Division Three (North) The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated to ...

. He signed for

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

in July 1930, winning a

Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup (), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the most prestigious of the cup competitions ...

in his first season and later served as assistant manager. He left Wrexham to finish his career in non-league, with first

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

, then Mexborough Athletic and finally Denaby United. He was also a useful batsman in Yorkshire league cricket. Burkinshaw died in June 1951.

Honours

Bradford City *

Football League Third Division North The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated t ...

: 1928–29 Wrexham *

: 1931

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burkinshaw, Ralph 1898 births 1951 deaths People from Kilnhurst Sportspeople from the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham Footballers from South Yorkshire English men's footballers Men's association football inside forwards Men's association football wing halves Gateshead A.F.C. players Gainsborough Trinity F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players Bury F.C. players Bradford City A.F.C. players Wrexham A.F.C. players Scarborough F.C. players Mexborough Athletic F.C. players Denaby United F.C. players English Football League players Sheffield United F.C. wartime guest players 20th-century English sportsmen