Barrow
Formed 1901
Founder member of Division Three (North) 1921. Failed re-election 1972.
Kit History
1901-1902 g
1912-1913 e
1920-1921 a
1921-1922 g
1922-1923 g
1933-1934 h
1934-1935 e
1937-1938 e
1947-1948 e
1956 d
1957-1959 e
1962-1964 e
1964-1965 c e
1966-1967 e
1967-1968 e
1968-1969 e
1969-1970 i
1970-1972 b e
Background
On 16 July 1901 one Mr Hinds,
a publican arranged a public meeting at the Drill Hall in Barrow-in-Furness to garner
support for a football club. £280 in subscriptions was raised and
Barrow FC was born. Two months later the new club was admitted to the
Lancashire League and played their first match against Blackpool in front
of 4,000 spectators. The season brought a financial loss, a perennial
feature of Barrow’s existence. Faced with stiff competition from
the town's rugby league side and given their geographical isolation, life
was destined to be a constant struggle. One commentator has described
Barrow's position as being at the end of a 60-mile cul-de-sac.
In 1921 Barrow won the Lancashire Combination and successfully applied to join the new Football League Third Division (North). They kicked off their League campaign at home against Stockport County, losing 0-2. The club’s priorities were about survival and it was not until the late 1960s that they achieved promotion.
The town’s main, indeed practically only, employer was the Vickers Armstrong Company whose shipyard built warships for the Royal Navy. During the Forties and Fifties only generous donations from the company kept the club in being.
In 1967, Barrow won promotion for the first and only time, finishing third in Division Four. The following year they finished eighth in Division Three, their highest ever placing. It would be all downhill from here. A disastrous campaign in 1969-70 lead to relegation and in 1972, the club faced re-election for the eleventh time. Never a popular destination for visiting fans or players, Barrow's lack of ambition finally caught up with them and they lost out to Hereford United whose FA Cup exploits had captured the public imagination. Barrow joined the Northern Premier League and despite leading a constant hand to mouth existence, the club continues to draw a small but loyal support.
Sources
- (a) Nelson FC
- (b) Galleries of English Football Cards
- (c) Workington AFC - Images of Sport (Paul Eade 2003)
- (d) Football Focus
- (e) barrowfc.com
- (f) The Football Encyclopaedia (Associated Sporting Press 1934) Information provided by Arthur Fergus
- (g) Rejected FC (Dave Twydell) - information provided by Greger Lindberg.
- (h) Association of Football Statisticians - provided by Pete Wyatt
- (i) Ralph Pomeroy