Patrick graduated from St. John's High School of Shrewsbury in 1965. Bourque was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 1969 out of Holy Cross. He made his professional debut in 1971 with the Cubs, and went on to play parts of three and a half seasons with the franchise. He had a successful minor league tenure, winning the American Association MVP in 1972 while playing with the Evansville Triplets. Midway through the 1973 season, Chicago traded Bourque to the Oakland Athletics for fellow first baseman Gonzalo Marquez. He spent a season with Oakland before being traded to the Minnesota Twins in another summer deal. Oakland received Jim Holt in return. Oakland reacquired Bourque following the 1974 season, trading Dan Ford and a minor leaguer to the Twins. Ford went on to play for eleven seasons in the majors, while Bourque didn't play another major league game.