Louis Bookman
Encyclopedia
Louis Bookman also known as Louis Buckhalter or Louis Buchalter, was a Lithuanian Jewish
footballer and cricket
er who represented his adopted country, Ireland
, at both sports. The Buchalter family emigrated from Lithuania to Ireland in the 1890s to escape anti-Semitism
and subsequently changed their name to Bookman.
before joining English
side Bradford City
in 1911. He failed to establish himself as a first team regular at City, making just 32 First League
appearances in three seasons. In 1914 Bookman joined West Bromwich Albion
but his football career was interrupted by the outbreak of the First World War
. During the war he returned to Ireland
to play for Glentoran
and Shelbourne
.
After the war Bookman was bought by Luton Town
for £875, where despite being over thirty, he enjoyed the most successful spell of his football career. In September 1923 he was signed by Second Division
Port Vale
for a £250 fee. He lost his first team place in December that year and was released at the end of the season
.
Bookman returned to Ireland and signed for Shelbourne.
, Bookman gained an Irish amateur cap. In 1914 Bookman, together with Val Harris
, Patrick O’Connell
, Billy Gillespie
and Bill Lacey was a member of the Ireland
team that won the British Home Championship
. He won the first of four caps for Ireland in a 2–1 win against Wales
on 1 January. He won a further three caps in 1921, including an impressive 1–1 draw with England
on 22 October at Windsor Park
.
for the Railway Union Cricket Club, the Leinster Cricket Club
and Bedfordshire
. A left-handed batsman and left-arm spin bowler, Bookman made his debut for Ireland in a first-class
match against Scotland in July 1920, and went onto play for Ireland on fourteen occasions. He played in eight more first-class matches, including a match against the West Indies. His last match was against Sir Julien Cahn's XI
in July 1930.
with Belfast Celtic
with Shelbourne
with Ireland
Lithuanian Jews
Lithuanian Jews or Litvaks are Jews with roots in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania:...
footballer and cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er who represented his adopted country, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, at both sports. The Buchalter family emigrated from Lithuania to Ireland in the 1890s to escape anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
and subsequently changed their name to Bookman.
Football career
Louis Bookman came on the public scene as a teenager, playing football for the Dublin Jewish team, Adelaide, (named after the large Adelaide Road synagogue). Adelaide, captained by William Woolfson (later founder and long time CEO of a prominent Irish industrial firm) were the winners of the All Ireland Under-18 Football Cup in 1908, and the first Jewish team to make history. It was from this beginning that Bookman went on to a professional sports life.Club career
Bookman began his senior football career with Belfast CelticBelfast Celtic
Belfast Celtic Football Club was a football club in Northern Ireland that was founded in 1891, and was one of the most successful teams in Ireland until forced to withdraw from the Irish League in 1949.-History:...
before joining English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
side Bradford City
Bradford City A.F.C.
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, playing in League Two....
in 1911. He failed to establish himself as a first team regular at City, making just 32 First League
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
appearances in three seasons. In 1914 Bookman joined West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion F.C.
West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands...
but his football career was interrupted by the outbreak of the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. During the war he returned to Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
to play for Glentoran
Glentoran F.C.
Glentoran F.C. is a semi-professional, football club in Northern Ireland. The club was founded in 1882 and plays its home games at the Oval in east Belfast. Club colours are green, red, and black.Glentoran's biggest rivals are Linfield...
and Shelbourne
Shelbourne F.C.
Shelbourne Football Club is an Irish professional football club based in the Drumcondra area of Dublin, currently playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division....
.
After the war Bookman was bought by Luton Town
Luton Town F.C.
Luton Town Football Club is an English professional football club based since 1905 at Kenilworth Road, Luton, Bedfordshire. The club currently competes in the fifth tier of English football, the Conference National, for the third consecutive season during the 2011–12 season.Formed in 1885, it was...
for £875, where despite being over thirty, he enjoyed the most successful spell of his football career. In September 1923 he was signed by Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
Port Vale
Port Vale F.C.
Port Vale Football Club is an English football club currently playing in Football League Two. They are based in Burslem, Staffordshire — one of six towns that make up the city of Stoke-on-Trent. The club's traditional rivals in the city are Stoke City, and games between the two clubs are known as...
for a £250 fee. He lost his first team place in December that year and was released at the end of the season
1923–24 Port Vale F.C. season
The 1923–24 season was Port Vale's fifth consecutive season of football in the Football League. Another season of slow and steady progress saw the club finish one point, and one place higher than the previous campaign. The club still lacked a regular goalscorer since selling Bobby Blood, however...
.
Bookman returned to Ireland and signed for Shelbourne.
International career
In 1911 while playing for Belfast CelticBelfast Celtic
Belfast Celtic Football Club was a football club in Northern Ireland that was founded in 1891, and was one of the most successful teams in Ireland until forced to withdraw from the Irish League in 1949.-History:...
, Bookman gained an Irish amateur cap. In 1914 Bookman, together with Val Harris
Val Harris
Valentine Harris , commonly referred to as Val Harris, was an Irish footballer who played Gaelic football for Dublin and soccer for, among others Shelbourne, Everton and Ireland...
, Patrick O’Connell
Patrick O'Connell (1887-1959)
Patrick Joseph O'Connell , also known as Paddy O'Connell or Patricio O'Connell, was an Irish footballer and manager. He played as a defender, most notably, for Belfast Celtic, Sheffield Wednesday, Hull City and Manchester United. As an international he captained Ireland and was a member of the...
, Billy Gillespie
Billy Gillespie
Billy Gillespie was a football player for Sheffield United over a twenty year period from 1913 to 1932, scoring over 137 League and Cup goals in 492 games for the South Yorkshire side....
and Bill Lacey was a member of the Ireland
Ireland national football team (IFA)
The Ireland national football team represented Ireland at association football, it was organised by the Irish FA , and is the fourth oldest international team in the world. It mainly played in the British Home Championship against England, Scotland and Wales...
team that won the British Home Championship
1914 British Home Championship
The 1914 British Home Championship was the last British Home Championship played before the First World War. The competition was played between January and April 1914 and won by Ireland with a team that included Patrick O’Connell, Billy Gillespie, Val Harris, Louis Bookman, Samuel Young and Bill...
. He won the first of four caps for Ireland in a 2–1 win against Wales
Wales national football team
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...
on 1 January. He won a further three caps in 1921, including an impressive 1–1 draw with England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
on 22 October at Windsor Park
Windsor Park
Windsor Park is a football stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland and the home ground of Linfield F.C. and the Northern Ireland national football team. It is also where the Irish Cup and Irish League Cup finals are played.-History:...
.
Cricket career
Bookman played cricketCricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
for the Railway Union Cricket Club, the Leinster Cricket Club
Leinster Cricket Club
Leinster Cricket Club was founded in Rathgar in 1852. The Dublin sports club now hosts tennis, squash, table tennis, bowls and cricket. The Leinster Sports Club complex is situated in the Observatory Lane ground, in the heart of Rathmines...
and Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire County Cricket Club
Bedfordshire County Cricket Club is one of the county clubs which make up the Minor Counties in the English domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Bedfordshire and competing in the Minor Counties Championship and the MCCA Knockout Trophy. The Minor Counties play three-day...
. A left-handed batsman and left-arm spin bowler, Bookman made his debut for Ireland in a first-class
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
match against Scotland in July 1920, and went onto play for Ireland on fourteen occasions. He played in eight more first-class matches, including a match against the West Indies. His last match was against Sir Julien Cahn's XI
Julien Cahn
Sir Julien Cahn, 1st Baronet was an entrepreneur, philanthropist and supporter of cricket.-His cricket XI:...
in July 1930.
Football
with Glentoran- Irish CupIrish CupFor the equivalent tournament in the Republic of Ireland, see FAI Cup.The Irish Cup is the national cup knock-out competition in Northern Irish football. Inaugurated in 1881, it is the fourth oldest national cup competition in the world...
runner-up: 1915–16 - County Antrim ShieldCounty Antrim ShieldThe County Antrim Shield is a football competition in Northern Ireland. The competition is open to senior teams who are members of the North East Ulster Football Association , often plus intermediate teams who...
winner: 1915–16
with Belfast Celtic
- Charity Cup runner-up: 1910–11
with Shelbourne
- Leinster Senior Cup winner: 1918–19
- Leinster Senior LeagueLeinster Senior League (association football)The Leinster Senior League is an association football league organised by the Leinster Football Association. The league is the highest level of football outside the Republic of Ireland football league system...
champion: 1918–19
with Ireland
- British ChampionsBritish Home ChampionshipThe British Home Championship was an annual football competition contested between the United Kingdom's four national teams, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland from the 1883–84 season until the 1983–84...
: 1- 19141914 British Home ChampionshipThe 1914 British Home Championship was the last British Home Championship played before the First World War. The competition was played between January and April 1914 and won by Ireland with a team that included Patrick O’Connell, Billy Gillespie, Val Harris, Louis Bookman, Samuel Young and Bill...
- 1914