Tommy Barber

Tommy Barber

Personal information
Full name	Thomas Barber[1]
Date of birth	(1888-02-20)20 February 1888[2]
Place of birth	West Stanley, England
Date of death	18 September 1925(1925-09-18) (aged 37)[2]
Place of death	Nuneaton, England[2]
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[3]
Position(s)	Half back, inside left
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1905–1906	Shankhouse
1906–1907	West Stanley
1907–1908	Hamsterley
1908–1912	Bolton Wanderers	102	(14)
1912–1919	Aston Villa	57	(9)
1917	→ Brentford (guest)	2	(0)
1918	→ Celtic (guest)	4	(0)
1918	→ Partick Thistle (guest)	1	(1)
1919	→ Linfield (guest)
1919	→ Belfast Celtic (guest)
1919	→ Distillery (guest)
1919	Stalybridge Celtic
1919–1920	Crystal Palace	20	(7)
1920	Merthyr Town	2	(0)
1920	Ton Pentre
1920	Pontypridd
1921–1922	Walsall	5	(2)
1922–1923	Darlaston
1923–1924	Hinckley United
1924–1925	Barwell United
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Thomas Barber (20 February 1888 – 18 September 1925) was an English professional footballer who played in the Football League for Aston Villa, Bolton Wanderers, Merthyr Town and Walsall as a half back or inside left.[1][4][5][6][7] He scored the winning goal for Aston Villa in the 1913 FA Cup Final.[8]

Personal life

Barber attended Todd's Nook School.[9] He served as a private in the Football Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment during the First World War and saw action at Delville Wood and Waterlot Farm in the summer of 1916,[2] before suffering gunshot wounds to the legs at Guillemont.[10] Barber was evacuated to Britain and after recovering in Aberdeen,[10] he spent another period in hospital suffering from pleurisy.[11] He was later transferred to the Labour Corps and also worked in a munitions factory in Glasgow.[2] Barber died of tuberculosis in 1925.[2]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Bolton Wanderers	1908–09[2]	Second Division	20	2	0	0	20	2
	1909–10[2]	First Division	15	1	1	0	16	1
	1910–11[2]	Second Division	17	5	1	0	18	5
	1911–12[2]	First Division	38	4	3	0	41	4
	1912–13[2]	First Division	12	2	—		12	2
	Total		102	14	5	0	107	14
Aston Villa	1912–13[12]	First Division	15	2	5	1	20	3
	1913–14[12]	First Division	28	4	5	0	33	4
	1914–15[12]	First Division	14	3	1	0	15	3
	Total		57	9	11	1	68	10
Celtic (guest)	1918–19[9]	Scottish League First Division	4	0	—		4	0
Partick Thistle (guest)	1918–19[9]	Scottish League First Division	1	1	—		1	1
Crystal Palace	1919–20[2]	Southern League First Division	20	7	0	0	20	7
Merthyr Town	1920–21[2]	Third Division South	2	0	0	0	2	0
Walsall	1921–22[2]	Third Division South	5	2	1	0	6	2
Career total			191	33	17	1	208	34

Honours

Bolton Wanderers

• Football League Second Division: 1908–09[2]
• Football League Second Division second-place promotion: 1910–11[2]

Aston Villa

• FA Cup: 1912–13[8]

References

1. Joyce, Michael (2012). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: Tony Brown. p. 17. ISBN 978-1905891610.
2. "Tom Barber Aston Villa". Football and the First World War. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
3. "Third Division. Northern Section. Walsall". Athletic News. Manchester. 15 August 1921. p. 6.
4. White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. p. 364. ISBN 0951526200.
5. "Overall Appearances/Goals Record - B". Archived from the original on 15 March 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
6. "Appearances". Crystal Palace FC. Archived from the original on 30 May 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
7. "Barber Tommy Aston Villa 1913". Vintage Footballers. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
8. "Great games: Aston Villa 1 Sunderland 0 – April 19, 1913". Birmingham Mail. 15 March 2012. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
9. Litster, John. Record of Pre-War Scottish League Players. Norwich: PM Publications.
10. Riddoch, Andrew; Kemp, David (2010). When the Whistle Blows: The Story of the Footballers' Battalion in the Great War. Sparkford, Yeovil, Somerset: Haynes Publishing. p. 146. ISBN 978-0857330772.
11. Riddoch & Kemp 2010, p. 259.
12. "Tommy Barber". 11v11.com. Retrieved 5 November 2017.