9:00pm Friday 29th May 2009
By Peter Magill
THE life of a Clarets’ legend who battled back from injuries sustained in the First World War to lift the League Championship for Burnley is to be featured in a new book.
Burnley author Mike Smith, 54, is piecing together a comprehensive biography of ex-Clarets captain Tommy Boyle, the only man to lift football’s oldest prize, the FA Cup, for the Turf Moor outfit.
The Yorkshireman’s exploits, which saw his career inter-rupted by hostilities in Europe, is real Roy of the Rovers stuff and Mike believes Tommy’s exploits could prove a real inspiration to the newly promoted team.
Boyle served Burnley from 1911 to 1923, after signing for a then record club fee of £1,150, from his hometown side Barnsley.
He lifted the 1914 FA Cup for the Clarets at Crystal Palace, receiving the trophy from King George V after a 1-0 victory over Liverpool.
But like many, when football was suspended because of the war, Tommy signed up and served on the Western Front.
Despite being severely wounded in battle, he returned to the front line and later rejoined Burnley after being demobbed.
He then famously played alongside George Halley and Willie Watson, with the trio’s playing skills still revered by fans today.
His leadership would even-tually take the Clarets to their Championship title in 1921.
Mike, a lecturer and lifelong Clarets fan, said: “Tommy was quite a character as the stories I have collected about him so far will tell.
“What I really would like is to find out if there are any surviving, or long-lost relatives of Tommy still living locally.
“Tommy married a Burnley girl, Annie Elizabeth Varley, in 1917 and one of his sisters was married to a Mr C Cotterill from Halifax.
“So I’m trying to find any Varleys, Cotterills or Boyles, any long-lost relatives out there, to see if they would like to contribute anything. It would be great if they could get in touch.”
For Tommy, the title-winning season was his last regular run in the side. He later turned out for the reserves before transferring to Wrexham.
Retirement saw him beset by health difficulties and financial worries and he died, aged 51, in January 1940.
Mike can be contacted with any information via e-mail, at mikepsmith55@yahoo.co.uk
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