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Article from Northamptonshire Telegraph 21 March 2019 by Jon Dunham
TRIBUTES ARE PAID AS LOCAL LEGEND ‘BO’ PASSES AWAY |
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Tributes have been flooding in after one of the most recognisable figures in local football has passed away. Roger ‘Bo’ Patrick was a true stalwart of the local game and was best known for his more than 50-year association with Future Lions United Counties League Division One club Burton Park Wanderers.
The club confirmed the news that he had passed away on Tuesday morning. ‘Bo’ held down numerous roles at Wanderers after the club was formed in 1960 including chairman, manager, player, coach and groundsman. And he was still the club’s president up until his death while his son, Mark, is the current chairman. He also played a key role in helping to form Kettering FC in 2012 as well as being a coach for numerous young players at grassroots level throughout the years. In 2017, ‘Bo’ received a 50-year service award from the Football Association to mark the work he did for Burton Park Wanderers and his efforts were also recognised at the Kettering Sports Awards in the same year when he received the special Outstanding Contribution to Sport Award. In announcing his passing, Burton Park Wanderers said in a statement: “It is with huge sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Bo Patrick. “He was the backbone of this club and will leave a huge space in our football family. “We wish to send our condolences to the Patrick family at this sad and difficult time.” Another stalwart of the local game who knew ‘Bo’ as well as anyone was Dave Fairbrother, the Midlands scout for Milton Keynes Dons and the Northamptonshire Football Association. He said: It is such sad news and a great loss to local football. “There are so many players and clubs that owe a huge thank you to Bo for their start in football. “I shall never forget our scouting missions together with both of us helping each other out to find talented young players from our area. “Yes, we were with different clubs but Bo wanted to give lads a chance so typically he would let me know about them. “Of course Burton Park Wanderers was his love and he helped build a genuine football club with like people who shared his passion. “The clubs, players and people from within the football world who knew him are his legacy.” The sad news resulted in local clubs, former and current players flooding social media with their tributes and memories of ‘Bo’. Kettering Town wrote on Twitter: “It is with great sadness that we have heard of the passing away of @official_bpw legend Bo Patrick. From all @KTFCOfficial we send our condolences and love to the family. RIP Bo.” Kettering FC tweeted: “It is with great sadness that we hear one of our founders Bo Patrick has passed away after illness. Our thoughts are with his family at this sad time. RIP Bo.” And Kettering Nomads also tweeted, saying: “Everyone at Kettering Nomads send their condolences to @official_bpw after learning of the sad passing of big Bo Patrick. Our thoughts are with his family and friends. A true local football legend. RIP Bo.” Further article from Northants Telegraph 28 March 2019 by James Wiles FITTING TRIBUTE AS ‘BO’ IS HONOURED WITH A VICTORY The local football community came out in force to pay their respects to ‘Bo’ Patrick on Tuesday night. An excellent attendance of 545 were on hand to watch Burton Park Wanderers beat Sileby Rangers 2-0 at Latimer Park in their first Future Lions United Counties League Division One home match since the club stalwart’s death last week. ‘Bo’ passed away after illness and left behind a 50-year legacy at Wanderers where he served in numerous roles including chairman, manager, player, coach and groundsman while he also played a key role in forming Kettering FC in 2012. Former players and managers of Burton Park Wanderers, members of the local football fraternity and the Burton Latimer community descended on Latimer Park to pay tribute to the local legend. A minute’s applause was held ahead of kick-off and the game had a fitting outcome as first-half goals from Brian Farrell, with a fine header, and Jurelle Philips gave Wanderers, who were captained by local Burton Latimer boy Sam Hearn, victory.
The club offered free entry and refreshments for all while the Wanderers squad warmed up in t-shirts which had a picture of Bo on there with the words ‘Mr Burton Park’ while the shirts they wore for the match itself contained the wording ‘Bo-1940-2019’. It was a special evening and current Wanderers manager Daren Young said: “We didn’t really know what to expect to be honest. “We knew plenty of people would want to come and pay tribute to Bo but to get the gate we got was great. “On the pitch we just wanted to do Bo proud and I think the players thrived on the attendance. “Bo would have wanted us to go out there and get the points. We did that, we probably could have scored a couple more but we did what we set out to do. “I think the picture of the players at the end of the game summed it up. There were smiles all-round and that was because we know Bo would have been happy with that result.
“Everyone there would have had their own stories about Bo. But from my point of view when I first went into the UC with Peterborough Northern Star, it was Bo who gave me advice about the league and how to deal with it. “I never forgot that and it was one of the reasons why I came to help Burton out when they needed it. I was just paying Bo back for the help he gave me.” |
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