239 Harry Barley

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 “Harry” 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 seventeen years of age in 1929 when he broke his leg playing for Grimsby Town, he was actually coming up to his 25th birthday. 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 his Mariners debut against Bolton Wanderers in November 1929 and made four starts on the Mariners’ wing as the winter months approached, scoring his first goal for Grimsby (and later breaking his leg) during the Christmas Day fixture against Leicester City. He made one further appearance for Grimsby a year later against Middlesbrough on New Years Day 1931 before leaving Blundell Park in the 1931 close season.

In August 1932 Barley left the Tigers and joined Division Three North side New Brighton, 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 between October 1933 and January 1934 he was a regular starter and netted a hattrick in a November 1933 FA Cup tie against Mansfield Town – in a season and a half at New Brighton Harry scored eight goals in 26 appearances.

At the start of February 1934 Barley joined Division Two side Notts County, who parted with a £750 fee to secure his signature. He made his Notts debut against Bradford City in February 1934 and scored against Blackpool four days later. By the end of the 1933/34 season he had scored one goal in 11 starts for the Magpies but was not able to establish himself at the higher level of football. In August 1934 he moved to Midland League side Scunthorpe United, serving the Iron during the 1934/35 season.

In May 1935 Barley joined Division Three South side Bristol Rovers, making his September 1935 debut against local rivals Bristol City and scoring five goals in 20 senior appearances. He returned north in May 1936 and joined Division Three North side Barrow – at Holker Street he enjoyed the best season of his career, scoring eight goals in 42 appearances including an obligatory goal in March 1937 against his former side Hull City. 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.

After World War Two Barley lived in Winteringham, a village in the South Humber area, and worked in the Scunthorpe steel industry. He died in Scunthorpe in September 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