Unreliable History
Founded by the Rev. Tiverton Preedy, the Yorkshire club were originally named after the church, Barnsley St. Peters. They played on the adjoining fields, but were soon required to move after their heavy footballs were forever breaking the Vicar’s stained glass windows. These breakages earned them the title of the “Little Tykes”, but by 1912 they had transformed into “Battling Barnsley” as they vanquished all-comers to win the FA Cup. The trophy was paraded through the streets of the town on the back of an open-topped cart and over 45,000 whippets turned out to welcome home the victors.
During the intervening years, Barnsley anonymously trawled the lower leagues plying their trade at the Oakwell Ground. The name was taken from the great tree close to the water supply for that parish, which both had to be removed to make space to build the stadium. It is thought that the wish to fill in the well led to the lack of luck suffered by the club for the greater part of it’s history. In fact, the majority of Barnsley’s fame during these wilderness years has come from being Danny Blanchflower’s first English club and that Michael Parkinson was one of their fans. Their recent ascent has seen them achieve a place in the top flight for the first time in their history. To retain their position on this plane, their crew have been trying to encourage their players by singing “It’s just like watching Brazil”. Unfortunately, the players have taken this to heart and are playing like Brazil – 1974 !! A swift return to the Division One playing fields was soon bestowed upon them and their paranoid fans, who believed that there was some sort of conspiracy to keep the bigger clubs in the top flight at their expense. That grassy knoll overlooking their ground has been viewed with suspicion ever since. The ground is sited on a hill overlooking the windswept Yorkshire Moors and has a longer than average players tunnel, that also has a 1 in 3 slope to it. Therefore, it is advisable that you stand well away from the mouth of it, as even lumbering carthorses can build up a head of steam by the time they reach the pitch. A sad note to finish on as we must report that Barnsley’s famous Toby Tyke mascot has had to be put down after a short illness, suffering from distemper. Reports that it is to be replaced with a whippet have not yet been confirmed. The side almost returned to the Premier League in 1999-2000, but lost in the play-off final to long time nearly men, Ipswich Town. Since then, successive managers have struggled on a budget to keep Barnsley in the Championship, which they have done successfully.
FAMOUS PLAYERS :- Danny Blanchflower, Claude Higginbottom, Clint Marcelle, Paul Wilkinson, Charlie Williams. FAMOUS FANS : – Ian Kelsey (TV Actor – Dave in “Emmerdale”, Patrick Spiller in “Casualty), Dickie Bird (Former cricket umpire), Michael Parkinson (TV Chat Show host) |
Club Records
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Formed | 1887 |
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Turned Professional | 1888 |
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Became a Limited Company | 1899 |
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Previous names | Barnsley’s St. Peter’s = 1887-1897 |
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Previous grounds | – |
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Nickname | “The TYKES” or “The REDS” or “The COLLIERS” |
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Club Colours [Images courtesy of the wonderful Colours of Football website] |
HOME :
AWAY : THIRD : |
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Record Football League Win | 9-0 v Accrington Stanley Division 3 (S) 03.02.1934 9-0 v Loughborough Town Division 2 28.1.1899 |
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Record Premier League Win | 2-0 v Coventry City (Home) 20.10.1997 |
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Record Football League Defeat | 0-9 v Notts. County Division 2 19.11.1927 |
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Record Premier League Defeat | 0-7 v Manchester United (Away) 25.10.1997 |
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Record Cup Win | 6-0 v Blackpool FA Cup First Round 20.01.1910 6-0 v Peterborough United League Cup First Round 2nd Leg 15.09.1981 |
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Record Fee Paid | £1.5 million to Queens Park Rangers for Mike SHERON (January 1999) £1.5 million to Partizan Belgrade (Serbia) for Georgi HRISTOV (July 1997) |
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Record Fee Received | £5 million from Swansea City for Alfie MAWSON (30th August 2016) |
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Record Appearances | 569 – Barry MURPHY (1962-1978) |
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Record League Appearances | 514 – Barry MURPHY (1962-1978) |
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Record Premier League Appearances | 37 – Neil REDFEARN (1997-1998) |
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Record League goal-scorer | 123 – Ernest HINE (1921-1926 and 1934-1938) |
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Record Premier League goal-scorer | 10 – Neil REDFEARN (1997-1998) |
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Record all-time goal-scorer | 131 – Ernest HINE (1921-1926 and 1934-1938) |
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Record goal-scorer in a League season | 33 – Cecil McCORMACK Division 2 1950-1951 (42 games) |
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Most goals scored in a League match | 5 – Frank EATON v South Shields Division 3 (North) 09.04.1927 5 – Peter CUNNINGHAM v Darlington Division 3 (North) 04.02.1933 5 – Beau ASQUITH v Darlington Division 3 (North) 12.11.1938 5 – Cecil McCORMACK v Luton Town Division 2 09.09.1950 |
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Record Home Attendance | 40,255 v Stoke City FA Cup Fifth Round 15.02.1936 |
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Record total of goals in a League season | 118 – Division 3 (North) 1933-1934 (42 games) |
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Record League points total | 3 points for a win – 91 League One 2018-2019 (46 games) 2 points for a win – 67 Division 2 1981-1982 (42 games) |
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Record Premier League points total | 35 – 1997-1998 |
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Most Capped Player while at club | 35 – Gerry McTAGGART (Northern Ireland) |
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Youngest Players | Reuben NOBLE-LAZARUS – 15 years 45 days v Ipswich Town (as a sub) (Championship) (Away) 30.09.2008 |
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Oldest Players | Mike POLLITT – 41 years and 206 days v Nottingham Forest (Championship) (Away) 14.09.2013 |
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Stadium details
Address : Oakwell Ground, Grove Street, Barnsley, South Yorkshire S71 1ET
Telephone : 01226 211211
Ticket Office :
Capacity : 23,287
Pitch size : 100.5m x 68.5m (110 yards x 75 yards)
Official website : www.barnsleyfc.co.uk
Directions
There are good directions to the Oakwell Ground on the Barnsley FC Website.
Honours
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Division One Runners-up (Second Tier) | 1996-1997 |
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Division Three North Champions (Third Tier) | 1933-1934, 1938-1939, 1954-1955 |
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Division Three North Runners-up (Third Tier) | 1953-1954 |
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Division Three Runners-up (Third Tier) | 1980-1981 |
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League One Runners-up (Third Tier) | 2018-2019 |
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Division Four Runners-up (Fourth Tier) | 1967-1968 |
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FA Cup Winners | 1912 |
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FA Cup Finalists | 1910 |
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Football League Trophy Winners | 2016 |
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Managers
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Arthur FAIRCLOUGH | 1898 – 1901 |
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John McCARTNEY | 1901 – 1904 |
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Arthur FAIRCLOUGH | 1904 – 1912 |
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John HASTIE | 1912 – 1914 |
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Percy LEWIS | 1914 – 1919 |
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Percy SANT | 1919 – 1926 |
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John COMMINS | 1926 – 1929 |
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Arthur FAIRCLOUGH | 1929 – 1930 |
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Brough FLETCHER | 1930 – 1936 |
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Matthew WALKER | 1936 – 1937 |
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Angus SEED | 1937 – 1953 |
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Tim WARD | 1953 – 1960 |
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Johnny STEELE | 1960 – 1971 |
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John McSEVENEY | 1971 – 1972 |
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Johnny STEELE | 1972 – 1973 |
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Jim ILEY | 1973 – 1978 |
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Allan CLARKE | 1978 – 1980 |
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Norman HUNTER | 1980 – 1984 |
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Bobby COLLINS | 1984 – 1985 |
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Allan CLARKE | 1985 – 1989 |
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Eric WINSTANLEY (Caretaker) | 1989 |
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Mel MACHIN | 1989 – 1993 |
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Eric WINSTANLEY (Caretaker) | 1993 |
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Viv ANDERSON | 1993 – 1994 |
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Danny WILSON | 1994 – 1998 |
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John HENDRIE | 1998 – 1999 |
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Eric WINSTANLEY (Caretaker) | 1999 |
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Dave BASSETT | 1999 – 2000 |
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Eric WINSTANLEY (Caretaker) | 2000 – 2001 |
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Nigel SPACKMAN | 2001 |
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Glyn HODGES (Caretaker) | 2001 |
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Steve PARKIN | 2001 – 2002 |
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Glyn HODGES | 2002 – 2003 |
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Gudjon BORDARSON | 2003 – 2004 |
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Paul HART | 2004 – 2005 |
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Andy RITCHIE | 2005 – 2006 |
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Simon DAVEY | 2006 – 2009 |
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Mark ROBINS | 2009- 2011 |
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Keith HILL | 2011 – 2012 |
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David FLITCROFT | 2012 – 2013 |
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Micky MELLON (Caretaker) | 2013 |
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Danny WILSON | 2013 – 2015 |
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Mark BURTON (Caretaker) | 2015 |
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Lee JOHNSON | 2015 – 2016 |
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Paul HECKINGBOTTOM (Caretaker) | 2016 |
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Paul HECKINGBOTTOM | 2016 – 2018 |
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Paul HARSLEY (Caretaker) | 2018 |
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Jose MORAIS | 2018 |
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Daniel STENDEL | 2018 – 2019 |
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Adam MURRAY (Caretaker) | 2019 |
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Gerhard STRUBER | 2019 – 2020 |
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Adam MURRAY (Caretaker) | 2020 |
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Valerian ISMAEL | 2020 – |
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League Record
The Football League structure has historically been as follows …
1888-1892 | 1892-1920 | 1920-1921 | 1921-1958 | 1958-1992 | 1992-2004 | 2004 to date | |
First tier | Football League | Division One | Division One | Division One | Division One | Premiership | Premier League |
Second tier | Division Two | Division Two | Division Two | Division Two | Division One | Championship | |
Third tier | Division Three | Division Three (North) and (South) |
Division Three | Division Two | League One | ||
Fourth tier | Division Four | Division Three | League Two | ||||
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Elected to Division Two (Second Tier) | 1898 |
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Division Two (Second Tier) | 1898-1932 |
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Division Three North (Third Tier) | 1932-1934 |
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Division Two (Second Tier) | 1934-1938 |
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Division Three North (Third Tier) | 1938-1939 |
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Division Two (Second Tier) | 1939-1953 |
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Division Three North (Third Tier) | 1953-1955 |
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Division Two (Second Tier) | 1955-1959 |
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Division Three (Third Tier) | 1959-1965 |
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Division Four (Fourth Tier) | 1965-1968 |
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Division Three (Third Tier) | 1968-1972 |
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Division Four (Fourth Tier) | 1972-1979 |
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Division Three (Third Tier) | 1979-1981 |
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Division Two (Second Tier) | 1981-1992 |
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Division One (Second Tier) | 1992-1997 |
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Premier League (Top Tier) | 1997-1998 |
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Division One (Second Tier) | 1998-2002 |
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Division Two (Third Tier) | 2002-2004 |
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League One (Third Tier) | 2004-2006 |
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Championship (Second Tier) | 2006-2014 |
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League One (Third Tier) | 2014-2016 |
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Championship (Second Tier) | 2016-2018 |
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League One (Third Tier) | 2018-2019 |
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Championship (Second Tier) | 2019- |