Biography
Outside right Harry Barley joined Hull City in late August 1931 after impressing in a trial match and made his senior debut for the Tigers the next day. He scored his first City goal in his second official appearance as City trounced Walsall 4-1 (an intervening game against Wigan Borough was later expunged when the Lancastrians went bust). However by November 1931 he had drifted out of the first team and only returned for single appearances in December 1931 against Accrington Stanley and May 1932 against Wrexham – in this final game Barley opened the scoring as City won the last game of the season 5-0. He left Anlaby Road in August 1932.
Henry Frank Barley was often reported in the press of the 1930s as being a young player, indeed if you believed the Yorkshire press he was 22 years of age for three seasons in a row. Despite being reported as 17 years of age in 1929 when he broke his leg playing for Grimsby Town, he was actually coming up to his 25th birthday on that Christmas Day. He was born in Winteringham on the south bank of the Humber Estuary and raised by his extended family in nearby Winterton. He played for Grimsby Humber United in the Louth League before joining Division One side Grimsby Town in August 1929. He made four starts on the Mariners’ wing as the winter months approached and had scored his first goal for Grimsby during the Christmas Day fixture against Leicester City, on the same day he broke his leg. He made just one further appearance for Grimsby, a year later on New Years Day 1931, before leaving Blundell Park in the 1931 close season.
Barley joined Division Three North side New Brighton in August 1932, a move that began a seven year odyssey of seven different clubs. He made only five starts in his first season on the Wirral but in 1933/34 season he wa a regular starter from October onwards and netted a hattrick in an FA Cup tie against Mansfield Town. At the start of February 1934 he joined Division Two side Notts County, who parted with a £750 fee to secure Barley’s signature. He made seven starts for the Magpies but was not able to establish himself at the higher level of football and moved to Midland League side Scunthorpe United six months later. After a season at Scunthorpe Barley joined Bristol Rovers in May 1935 and his season at Eastville five goals in 20 senior appearances. He returned north in May 1936 and joined Division Three North side Barrow, and at Holker Street he enjoyed the best season of his career as he scored eight goals in 42 senior starts – including an obligatory goal against his former side Hull City in March 1937. Despite this fine season Barley again dropped into the lower leagues, spending 1937/38 season at Birmingham League side Kidderminster Harriers then returning to the Midland League in 1938/39 season when he signed for Frickley Colliery. He remained with Frickley until May 1940 when the war ended his playing career.
Barley returned to live in the South Humber area after World War Two and died in Scunthorpe in 1958.
Details
Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 2 January 1905, Winteringham
Hull City First Game: 29 August 1931, Halifax Town H (Division Three North), 26 years, 239 days old
Hull City Final Game: 7 May 1932, Wrexham H (Division Three North), 27 years, 126 days old
Clubs
Grimsby Humber United, Grimsby Town (1929-1931), Hull City (1931-1932), New Brighton (1932-1934), Notts County (1934), Scunthorpe & Lindsey United (1934-1935), Bristol Rovers (1935-1936), Barrow (1936-1937), Kidderminster Harriers (1937-1938), Frickley Colliery (1938-1940)
Hull City Record
Career: 13 apps, 2 goals
Harry Barley| Season | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1931/32 | 13 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |