Ossie Bailie

Name: Oswald Bailie
Born: c.1923, Ballymena
Died: 5 December 2015, Antrim (age 92)
Height:
Weight:
Position: Goalkeeper

Representative Honours: Northern Ireland: 1 Amateur Cap (1955).
Club Honours: (with Ballymena) Festival of Britain Cup Winner 1951/52.

Club Career:

Teams	Seasons	Signed	Fee	League	FA Cup	Other
Ards	-	-	Amateur	-	-	-
Belfast Celtic	48/49	-48	Amateur	-	-	-
Cliftonville	-	-	Amateur	-	-	-
Ballymena United	51/52-52/53	-	Amateur	13/0	6/0	10/0
Distillery	-	-	Amateur	-	-	-
Cliftonville	-	-	Amateur	-	-	-
TOTALS	-	£0		-	-	-

Biography:
Ossie Bailie was picked-out as a goalkeeper with potential by the legendary Elisha Scott who signed him for Belfast Celtic from Ards IIs. Bailie made his debut for Celtic on Christmas Day 1948 in a 5-0 win away to his hometown team, Ballymena United. Two days later regular custodian Kevin McAlinden returned to the side that faced Linfield for the infamous Boxing Day clash that preempted Belfast Celtic's withdrawal from the Irish League. Injuries sustained by McAlinden during the riot gave Bailie a run in the firstteam. Much to Bailie's regret, the return to fitness of McAlinden denied him a place in Celtic's "farewell tour" of America in the summer of 1949.

A multi-talented sportsman, Bailie chose to remain an amateur so that he could continue to play representative tennis. He also played cricket, notably as an opener for the Cregagh team that won the Senior League in 1947 and, in later life, bowls. Following Belfast Celtic's resignation from the Irish League he signed with Cliftonville, then the only all-amateur club playing in senior football. 

In May 1952 Bailie was a member of the Ballymena side that won the one-off Festival of Britain Cup as he kept a clean-sheet in the 3-0 final win over Crusaders. Around this time he was still playing cricket for Mid-Antrim (later Ballymena) CC, with whom he would feature in the 1958 Junior Cup and 1974 Senior Cup finals. Indeed, he was still featuring on the crease as he approached his sixtieth year.

Bailie was capped once at Amateur level in 1955 while back playing with Cliftonville. It proved an inauspicious occasion as a visiting England team cruised to a 4-1 victory in front of 8,000 fans at Solitude.

Ulster Cricketer 

Northern Ireland Amateur Cap Details:
17-09-1955 England. H L 1-4

Summary: 1/0. Won 0, Drew 0, Lost 1.

Ballymena career details courtesy of Neil Coleman - The Official History of Ballymena United FC. 

Kevin O'Flanagan

Name: Dr. Kevin Patrick O'Flanagan
Born: 10 June 1919, Dublin
Died: 26 May 2006, Dublin
Position: Forward

Representative Honours: (Northern) Ireland: 2 "Victory" Caps (1946), 2 Amateur Caps / 1 Goal (1949-1950); Eire: 10 Full Caps / 3 Goals (1937-1947), Junior Representative (1937); League of Ireland Representative;
(at Rugby) Ireland: 1 Cap (1947), 2 Unofficial Caps (1942-1946); Leinster; Irish Universities.
Club Honours: (with Bohemians) FAI Cup Runner-Up 1944/45; Dublin-Belfast Inter City Cup Winner 1944/45.

Club Career:

Clubs	Seasons	Signed	Fee	League	FA Cup	Other	War-Time
Home Farm	-	-	Youth	-	-	-	-
Bohemians	35/36-44/45	-	Amat	*145/95	-	-	-
Arsenal	45/46-46/47	Aug-45	Amat	14/ 3	2/0	-	18/11
Corinthian-Casuals	-	-	Amat	-	(Isthmian League)
Barnet	-	-	Amat	-	(Athenian League)
Brentford	49/50	Nov-49	Amat	6/ 0	1/0	-	-
TOTALS		£-		165/98	3/0	-	18/11

* all games.

Rugby Career:
Teams
UCD
Lansdowne
London Irish

Biography:
Kevin O'Flanagan was a multi-talented sportsman. He was capped at international level in football and rugby, was a Gaelic footballer for Dublin Minors, an Irish champion at athletics, a scratch golfer and an accomplished tennis player. His younger brother, Mick, was also a dual-code international having represented southern Ireland at football and Ireland at rugby.

O'Flanagan, already an Éire Junior international, made his international bow at the age of just eighteen as the FAI's Ireland side drew 3-3 against Norway in a must-win World Cup qualifier. A win would have sealed qualification for the 1938 World Cup Finals in France, though the youngster made do with a goal (according to some sources the team's 50th) having had another ruled out for off-side in the opening minutes. He remained a regular for the FAI team until after the War.

As a teenager O'Flanagan had combined his association and Gaelic football codes with some success, that is until is daliances with the "foreign game" were discovered and the GAA issued him with the mandatory life-ban. It wasn't until he was studying medicine at University College, Dublin that he first tried his hand at rugby and he proved a natural, first earning selection for Leinster in 1940 and for an Ireland XV that faced the Army at Ravenhill two years later. In parallel with his successes in team sports he was a four-time Irish long-jump champion and Irish sprint champion at 60 and 100 metres.

O'Flanagan rose to captain the all-amateur Bohemians club and in 1945 his goalscoring, and that of brother Mick, fired the club to an FAI Cup Final appearance against Shamrock Rovers and a Intercity Cup Final win over Belfast Celtic. O'Flanagan did blot his copy book against Celtic as he was sent-off.

In 1945, after completing his studies, O'Flanagan took a medical post in Middlesex. He signed amateur forms with Arsenal, turning down a professional deal so that he could continue playing rugby. He scored on his Gunners debut in a 6-2 Football League South defeat by Charlton in October 1945 and finished the last War-Time season as the club's topscorer with eleven goals, mainly from the wing. He was also honoured by the IFA for the first time with selection for the Victory Internationals against Scotland and Wales.

Nicknamed "The Flying Doctor", with the oval ball O'Flanagan was turning out with London Irish and played for an Ireland XV against France on 26 January 1946 in an unofficial international. Two weeks later he missed out on an appearance against England at Lansdowne Road in the Five Nations as he was fog-bound in London.

O'Flanagan made his Football League-proper debut against Blackburn in a 3-1 defeat in September 1946 but played just fourteen times in that first post-War season due to work and, to a lesser extent, rugby commitments. In December 1947 he lined out for Ireland in a test match against a touring Australia side for his only full rugby cap.

Although he remained on the books at Highbury until 1949, O'Flanagan made no further appearances for Arsenal. He did play non-league football with Corinthian Casuals and Barnet, earning a first Amateur Ireland cap as centre-forward against England in February 1949. During the 1949/50 season he played with Brentford, and won a second Amateur cap, scoring a second half consolation from outside-right, before his playing career was ended by an ankle injury.

In 1948 O'Flanagan, who would have likely appeared at the Olympics of 1940 and 1944 had they not been cancelled due to the Second World War, was appointed to the British Olympic Medical Committee and so began a five decade association with the Olympic movement. With his own sporting days behind him, O'Flanagan became an acknowledge sports injury expert, worked with the Irish Olympic team and in 1976 was appointed to the International Olympic Committee.

Obituary

Ireland Victory Cap Details:
02-02-1946 Scotland...... H L 2-3
04-05-1946 Wales......... A W 1-0

Summary: 2/0. Won 1, Drew 0, Lost 1.

Ireland Amateur Cap Details:
05-02-1949 England....... A W 1-0
04-02-1950 England....... H L 1-3 1 Goal

Summary: 2/1. Won 1, Drew 0, Lost 1.

Eire (FAI) Cap Details:
07-11-1937 Norway........ H D 3-3 WCQ 1 Goal
18-05-1938 Czechoslovakia A D 2-2 FR
22-05-1938 Poland........ A L 0-6 FR
13-11-1938 Poland........ H W 3-2 FR
19-03-1939 Hungary....... H D 2-2 FR
18-05-1939 Hungary....... A D 2-2 FR. 2 Goal
23-05-1939 Germany....... A D 1-1 FR
30-09-1946 England....... H L 0-1 FR
02-03-1947 Spain......... H W 3-2 FR
04-05-1947 Portugal...... H L 0-2 FR

Summary: 10/3. Won 2, Drew 5, Lost 3.

League of Ireland Representative Games:
11-03-1939 Irish League... A W 2-1 1 Goal
17-03-1939 Scottish League H W 2-1
14-04-1941 NIR League..... A L 1-2 1 Goal
17-03-1944 NIR League..... H L 3-4
10-04-1944 NIR League..... A D 2-2
17-03-1945 NIR League..... H W 2-1
02-04-1945 NIR League..... A W 5-3 1 Goal

Summary: 7/3. Won 4, Drew 1, Lost 2.

Ireland Rugby International Caps:
06-12-1947 Australia..... H L 3-16

Summary: 1/0. Won 0, Drew 0, Lost 1.

Bob Collins

Name: Robert Collins
Born:
Died:
Height:
Weight:
Position: Outside-Left

Representative Honours: Ireland: 1 Full Cap (1922), 4 Amateur Caps (1921-1925).

Club Career:

Teams	Seasons	Signed	Fee	League	FA Cup	Other
Dundela		-	-	-	-	-
Broadway Young Men		-	-	-	-	-
Linfield Rangers	20/21	-	-	-	-	-
Cliftonville	21/22-22/23	-22	Amateur	-	-	-
Barn	23/24	-23	-	-	-	-
Linfield	-	-24	-	-	-	-
TOTALS	-	£-		-	-	-

Biography:
Bob Collins had a remarkable 1921/22 season, his first in senior football. Still a teenager he was a "deserving" selection at outside-left for Ireland's Amateur international against England in November 1921. Although a player of small stature, he had "plenty of pluck" and "never shirk[ed] a back no matter how big or strong he may be". A "polished" player who's pace allowed him to push a ball past defenders with ease to deliver "deadly centres", during his early career he was also criticised for his inconsistency and inclination to "dally".

Despite these flaws, at the close of that first campaign Collins was included in a "mixed" Ireland panel that travelled to Norway. He played in the opening match, a 2-1 international defeat, but was the only player who featured in that match not to make the line-up for the second game of the tour, a representative fixture against the Norwegian FA.

It was as a left-half that Collins first played his football, though he showed his attacking qualities while with Dundela. With Broadway Young Men he was used as "an extreme left-winger", the position in which took him into senior football. It was after joining Linfield Rangers that Collins first drew the attentions of Irish league teams, Cliftonville the first to react to the favourable reports of his capabilities. As already noted, Collins made the step-up with relative ease, holding "his own with more experienced opponents".

Collins had returned to the half-back line by the time he joined Barn in 1923 for their first season in the Irish League and he continued in a similar role when he signed for Linfield. The Blues were suffering a hang-over from their successes earlier in the decade and the major honours eluded Collins. He did maintain his amateur status and continued to feature for Ireland Amateurs during his stay at Windsor Park.

Away from the football field, Collins was a keen tennis player, "ever alert, and quick at getting into the action." He was also a keen motorist, deriving "much pleasure out of his jaunts, either by cycle or car."

Ireland Cap Details:
22-05-1922 Norway...... A L 1-2 FR

Summary: 1/0. Won 0, Drew 0, Lost 1.

Ireland Amateur Caps:
14-11-1921 England..... A L 1-4
10-11-1923 England..... A L 0-3
08-11-1924 England..... H L 2-3
11-05-1925 Irish League H D 2-2

Summary: 4/0. Won 0, Drew 1, Lost 3.

Picture kindly supplied by Roy Cathcart. Biographical details from an ISN profile provided by Jim Murphy.

Fred Horlacher

Name: Alfred F. Horlacher

Born: March 1910, Dún Laoire

Died: 17 March 1943, Dublin (age 33)
Height:
Weight:

Position: Inside-Forward

Representative Honours: Ireland: 1 Amateur Cap (1931); Irish Free State: 7 Full Caps / 2 Goals (1930-1936); League of Ireland.

Club Honours: (with Bohemians) League of Ireland Champion; FAI Cup Winner 1934/35; League of Ireland Shield Winner.

Club Career:

Teams	Seasons	Signed	Fee	League	FA Cup	Other
Bohemians	27/28-36/37	-	Amateur	*	-	#
Sneinton	37/38	-	Amateur	-	-	-
Bohemians	38/39-42/43	-	Amateur	*193/85	-	# /66
TOTALS	-	£0		193/85	-	/66

* all league games, both spells; # all other games, both spells.

Biography:

An ex-pupil of Wesley College Dublin, multi-talented sportsman, Fred Horlacher excelled at Gaelic football, water polo*, tennis, swimming and golf.

Initially a goalscoring inside-forward with Bohemians, his long career with the club saw him take the field in every position bar goalkeeper. His form won him selection for both the Free State and the IFA-run Ireland Amateur side. He played in a famous 3-1 win over England Amateurs in 1930, much to the chagrin of the FAI who suspended him for three months.

Bohemians top goalscorer during their amateur era, Horlacher died of pneumonia in 1943, just six weeks after announcing his retirement from playing.

Bohemians Website

Wikipedia

Ireland Amateur Cap Details:

15-11-1930 England H W 3-1

Summary: 1/?. Won 1, Drew 0, Lost 0.

Irish Free State Cap Details:

11-05-1930 Belgium.... A W 3-1 FR

13-12-1931 Spain...... H L 0-5 FR

08-05-1932 Netherlands A W 2-0 FR

08-04-1934 Netherlands A L 2-5 WCQ sub

16-12-1934 Hungary.... H L 2-4 FR

08-12-1935 Netherlands H L 3-5 FR. 2 Goals

17-03-1936 Switzerland H W 1-0 FR

Summary: 6(1)/2. Won 3, Drew 0, Lost 4.

* Horlacher may have represented Ireland in water polo at the Olympics. Clarification is required.

Dick Rowley

Name: Richard William Morris Rowley
Born: 13 January 1904, Enniskillen
Died: 18 April 1984, Southampton (England)
Height: 6.00 ft
Weight: 12.00 st
Position: Inside-Right

Representative Honours: Ireland: 6 Full Caps / 2 Goals (1929-1931).

Club Career:

Teams	Seasons	Signed	Fee	League	FA.Cup	Other
Tidworth Utd	-	-	-	-	-	-
Andover	-	Sep-22	Amateur	-	-	-
Swindon Town	25/26	Nov-24	Amateur	2/ 2	-	-
London Casuals	-	1925	Amateur	-	-	-
Southampton	26/27-29/30	May-26	Amateur	104/52	9/6	-
Tottenham.H.	29/30-31/32	Feb-30	£3,750	24/10	-	-
Preston N.E.	31/32-33/34	Dec-31	£5,000	51/14	7/2	-
TOTALS	-	£8,750		181/78	16/8	-

Biography:
The son of an army major, Dick Rowley spent his childhood in a number of barracks. He excelled at a number of sports, representing Wiltshire and Hampshire at cricket, golf, tennis, 100 yards, hurdles and motoring. Further, while on active service Rowley won the DCM.

Rowley first took to football with the Fulwood Barracks team but on attending Taunton College Grammar School he was forced to switch to rugby. With his schooling over he returned to football and played as an amateur with a number of clubs and played his first League games during a brief spell with Swindon Town.

In May 1926 Rowley signed for Southampton and quickly struck an understanding with Bill Rawlings and by that November he had been awarded his first professional deal. Regarded primarily as a "schemer" capable of working space from deep, he was also an adept goalscorer. In the Saints' run to the 1927 FA Cup semi-final he scored five goals and began to attract scouts from more "glamorous" clubs. In 1929/30 he managed 25 goals in as many games, including four away to Bradford City and hattricks on successive games against Nottingham Forest and Chelsea.

Capped for the first time in a 2-2 draw against Wales in February 1929, it was his role in the same fixture a year later for which Rowley is best remembered, his passes setting Ireland on the way to a 7-0 victory and Joe Bambrick to a double hattrick. Rowley scored his first international goal in front of a 40,000 crowd at Windsor Park on the occasion of his second cap - indeed he was one of the few Irish players to earn credit as Scotland "stronger in every respect" cruised to a 7-3 victory. In all Rowley won four caps while a Southampton player.

In February 1930 Tottenham had an irresistible £3,750 bid for Rowley accepted. It was not to prove a wholly successful move as he was largely restricted to the reserves though Rowley did add a further two caps to his collection while a Spurs player. When he left White Hart Lane behind after a little under two years Spurs still netted a sizable £5,000 fee from Preston North End in a deal that also included Ted Harper.

In 1932/33 Rowley laid on many of Harpers' 37 goals and claimed five himself as Preston fell well short of the Second Division promotion spots. In the following campaign the partnership was split up as Harper left to join Blackburn mid-season and injuries restricted Rowley to just five games as Preston claimed promotion to the First Division as runners-up. Unable to face a campaign in the topflight, Rowley retired in the summer of 1934.

With his playing days behind him, Rowley became a coach with the Lancashire AFA in July 1937 and in the 1940s shared his skills and knowledge with RAF Uxbridge.

Ireland Cap Details:
02-02-1929 Wales... A D 2-2 BC
23-02-1929 Scotland H L 3-7 BC 1 Goal
19-10-1929 England. A L 0-3 BC
01-02-1930 Wales... H W 7-0 BC
22-04-1931 Wales... A L 2-3 BC 1 Goal
19-09-1931 Scotland A L 1-3 BC

Summary: 6/2. Won 1, Drew 1, Lost 4.