[1] A key figure in a successful period at Richmond, Bourke is a five-time premiership player who was honoured with selection in the AFL's Team of the Century.
A tall (193 cm) and lean (85 kg) full forward with an excellent reputation in country football,[1] Frank returned to the city after the war and resume his playing career with Richmond.
In the opening weeks of the 1946 season Frank kicked five or more goals six times in the first seven matches to lead the VFL goalkicking table.
[1] Bourke was raised on the family's dairy farm, about 40 km north west of Shepparton in northern Victoria, where his father was appointed captain-coach of his home town team, Nathalia.
His success was achieved despite a severe setback at age 14 when doctors detected a heart murmur and recommended that he give up playing sport.
He was convinced to move to Melbourne for the 1967 season by the prospect of playing a few senior games, enough to make him credentialled to coach country clubs.
He debuted for Richmond as a second rover (to Kevin Bartlett), but after a few games was switched to a wing, forming a brilliant centreline with Dick Clay and Bill Barrot.
In 1971, in a game against Hawthorn, he unwittingly broke a bone in his leg, but continued to play until the extent of his injury was realised,[1] then managed to walk off the ground.
Following their thrashing in the 1972 Grand Final, the Tigers decided that the team's defence required bolstering, so Bourke was shifted to half back.
Bourke was so disappointed with his form at one point he privately contemplated retirement, but he continued on and proved his mettle by captaining Victoria against West Australia and leading Richmond into the finals.
Although he could barely see through the mass of blood, he dived full-length to take a chest mark, then kicked an important goal to ensure Richmond had a narrow win.
However, his form was not always equal to the personal standard that he had set and when it became obvious that Richmond wouldn't make the finals to defend the premiership, Bourke retired.
However, in 1982 Bourke took the Tigers to only their third minor premiership since the war and impressed critics with a brilliant tactical display in the semi-final against Carlton.
Media speculation about the security of Bourke's position began in earnest, and few believed the club when Richmond denied that there was an ongoing crisis.
His winning rate over the two seasons was a very reasonable 56.5% 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.
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.
The advertisement pays reference to the time when Bourke played an entire quarter with a broken leg, and also to when he collided with a teammate which opened up a cut to his head that bled profusely into his eye.