Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Michael Patrick Byrne [1] | ||
Date of birth | 20 March 1880 [2] | ||
Place of birth | Bristol, England | ||
Date of death | 1931 (aged 50–51) [1] | ||
Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) [3] | ||
Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | ( Gls) |
1902–1903 | Bristol Rovers | ||
1903–1905 | Southampton | 5 | (0) |
1905–1907 | Chelsea | 4 | (0) |
1907–1908 | Glossop | 11 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Michael Patrick Byrne (20 March 1880 – 1931) was an English footballer who played as a goalkeeper for various clubs in the 1900s.
Byrne was born in Bristol and after serving in the Grenadier Guards and the Gloucestershire Regiment, [4] joined Bristol Rovers of the Southern League in 1902. [3] The following season, he moved to join the Southern League champions, Southampton as cover for George Clawley. He made his debut in a 2–0 victory over Swindon Town on 23 January 1904, and followed this with a clean sheet in the next match before Clawley's return. [5] He made three further appearances (all victories, with two further clean sheets) [6] before a move to Chelsea in August 1905, for their inaugural season in the Football League. [2]
At Chelsea, he was at first the understudy to William "Fatty" Foulke, making four appearances in the 1905–06 season. [2] Following Foulke's departure at the end of the season, Bob Whiting was promoted to the first-choice 'keeper, helping Chelsea gain promotion to the First Division at the end of the season, in which Byrne made a single appearance. [2]
Byrne then moved on to join Glossop, where he made 11 Second Division appearances before retiring in 1908. [1]
Byrne later returned to Bristol to settle and took up employment with the Imperial Tobacco Company. [3] He served as a private in the Royal Defence Corps during the First World War. [4]