Alternative 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 ona 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)

Formed	1887
Turned Professional	1888
Became a Limited Company	1899
Previous names	Barnsley's St. Peter's 1887-1897
Previous grounds	-
Nickname	"The TYKES", "The REDS" or "The COLLIERS"
Club Colours	Home : Shirts - Red Shorts - White Socks - Red Away : Shirts - Royal Blue and Black stripes Shorts - Black Socks - Black
Record Football League Win	9-0 v Accrington Stanley Div 3 (S) 3.2.1934 9-0 v Loughborough Town Div 2 28.1.1899
Record Football League Defeat	0-9 v Notts. County Div.2 19.11.1927
Record Cup Win	6-0 v Blackpool FAC R1 20.1.1910 6-0 v Peterborough United LC R1 L2 15.9.1981
Record Fee Paid	£1.5 million to Partizan Belgrade for Georgi HRISTOV (July 1997)
Record Fee Received	£4.2 million from Blackburn Rovers for Ashley WARD (December 1998)
Record Football League Appearances	514 - Barry MURPHY (1962-78)
Record League goalscorer	123 - Ernest HINE (1921-26 and 1934-38)
Record goalscorer in a League season	33 - Cecil McCORMACK 1950-51 Division 2
Most goals in a match	5 - Frank EATON v South Shields Division 3 (North) 9.4.1927 5 - Peter CUNNINGHAM v Darlington Division 3 (North) 4.2.1933 5 - Beau ASQUITH v Darlington Division 3 (North) 12.11.1938 5 - Cecil McCORMACK v Luton Town Division 2 9.9.1950
Record Home Attendance (all-time)	40,255 v Stoke City FAC R5 15.2.1936
Record match receipts	Undisclosed
Record total of goals in a League season	118 - Division 3(North) 1933-34
Record League points total	3 points for a win : - 82 - Division 1 1999-2000 2 points for a win : - 67 - Division 2 1981-82
Most Capped Player while at club	Gerry McTAGGART 35 (Northern Ireland)
Youngest Player	Glyn RILEY - 16 years 171 days v Torquay United 11.1.1975

Telephone :01226 211211
(Ticket Office)
(Credit Card Bookings)
09068 121 152 (News)
(Ticketline)
Fax : 01226 211 444