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Nicholas "Nicky" Rackard (28 April 1922 – 10 April 1976) was an Irish hurler and Gaelic footballer who played as a full-forward for the Wexford senior teams. Born in Killane, County Wexford, Rackard first excelled at hurling whilst at school in St. Kieran's College. He arrived on the inter-county scene at the age of twenty when he made his senior debut in the 1942 championship. Rackard went on to play a key part for Wexford during a golden age for the team, and won two All-Ireland medals, four Leinster medals and one National Hurling League medals. His Gaelic football career ran concurrently and earned him one Leinster medal. As a member of the Leinster inter-provincial team on a number of occasions over a fourteen-year period, Rackard won just one Railway Cup medal. At club level he won four championship medals with Rathnure. Rackard remains the most proficient goal-scorer in the history of the championship. His career tally of 59 goals and 96 points was a record score which briefly stood until it was surpassed by Christy Ring and others. Throughout his career, Rackard made 36 championship appearances for Wexford. His retirement came following Wexford's defeat by Kilkenny in the 1957 championship. Rackard's brothers, Billy and Bobby, also enjoyed All-Ireland success with Wexford. In retirement from playing, Rackard became involved in team management and coaching. As manager and selector at various times, he helped Wexford to further All-Ireland honours in the 1960s. Rackard is widely regarded as one of the greatest hurlers in the history of the game. He has been repeatedly voted onto teams made up of the sport's greats, including at full-forward on the Hurling Team of the Century. Rackard was sensationally omitted from the Hurling Team of the Millennium in favour of Ray Cummins. ==Early life== Nicky Rackard was born in Killanne, County Wexford in 1922. The eldest son in a family of five boys and four girls.〔Billy Rackard, ''No Hurling at the Dairy Door'', p. 1.〕 His parents were Robert (Bob) Rackard and Anastasia Doran,〔 who had been married in 1918.〔Billy Rackard, ''No Hurling at the Dairy Door'', p. 17.〕 He was born into a family that was mildly interested in sport. His granduncle had played with the famous Wexford football team that captured four All-Ireland titles in-a-row between 1915 and 1918. Rackard's father Bob had planned that his son would play cricket, however, young Rackard was much more interested in Gaelic games. He was educated locally and later attended St. Kierans College, Kilkenny, a virtual academy for young hurling talent. Rackard later attended University College Dublin where he studied to be a veterinary surgeon. In all, his studies took eight years to complete because of his huge commitment to his sporting exploits. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Nicky Rackard」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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