Conyers Kirby (18 March 1884 – 9 April 1946), also known as Ralph Kirby, was an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

for

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

. He played as an

outside right In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on bei ...

Playing career

Kirby was born in the

Bordesley Green Bordesley Green is an inner-city area of Birmingham, England about two miles east of the city centre. It also contains a road of the same name. It is in the Bordesley Green Ward which also covers some of Small Heath and Little Bromwich. Borde ...

district of

. While serving in the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) was a specialist corps in the British Army which provided medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. On 15 November 2024, the corps was amalgamated with the Royal Army De ...

, he represented them at football and became a champion sprinter. In 1905 he joined Southern League club

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

, for whom he played four league games. In the 1906 close season he joined

, for whom he made his only

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

appearance, on 6 September 1906 in the

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

match at home to

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

which Birmingham lost 4–2. He later joined

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

, without appearing in the Football League, and played

non-league football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

for

Worcester City Worcester City Football Club is an English Association football, football club based in Worcester, England, Worcester, Worcestershire. The club play in the Southern Football League Premier Division Central, the seventh tier of English football. ...

Kidderminster Harriers Kidderminster Harriers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The team competes in the National League North, the sixth level of the English football league system. Formed in ...

and Willenhall Pickwick, before returning to Fulham in 1913.

Coaching career

Kirby retired from playing in 1918 and moved to Spain, where he became a

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other title ...

and a football manager. He coached both

CE Europa Club Esportiu Europa () is a Catalan football team based in the city of Barcelona, with close links to the Vila de Gràcia, in the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain. Founded in 1907, its first men's team plays in the , the fourth category ...

and

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...

during the 1920s. He was appointed Europa manager in August 1922. In 1923 he guided Europa to the

Campionat de Catalunya The Catalan football championship ''(Campionat de Catalunya)'' was a football competition in Catalonia and the first football league in Spain before La Liga was established in 1929. In December 1900, Alfons Macaya, the president of Hispania AC, o ...

. After finishing level on points with Barcelona, Europa beat them 1–0 in a title play-off. They then represented Catalonia in the

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

and after defeating

Sevilla Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Seville ...

and

Sporting Gijón Sporting may refer to: *Sport, recreational games and play *Sporting (neighborhood), in Alexandria, Egypt Sports clubs *Alexandria Sporting Club, a sports club from Alexandria, Egypt *BFA Sporting, a football club from Beirut, Lebanon *Real Sporti ...

in earlier rounds, they lost 1–0 to

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club (; ), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao (), or simply Athletic, is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Southern Basque Country, Basque Country, Spain. They are known ...

in the final at Les Corts. Kirby was subsequently appointed coach of Barcelona in December 1924, replacing

Jesza Poszony Imre Pozsonyi (also known as Jesza Poszony, first name also as Emmerich and Emérico; 12 December 1880 – 2 October 1963) was a Hungarian football player and manager. Career Pozsonyi started his career playing for MÚE and moved 1903 to M ...

. His first game in charge was a 2–0 win in a friendly against

First Vienna First Vienna FC is an Austrian football club based in the Döbling district of Vienna. Established on 22 August 1894, it is the country's oldest team and has played a notable role in the history of the game there. It is familiarly known to Aust ...

on Christmas Day 1925. He remained in charge for 39 games. He joined Athletic Bilbao in September 1925, and returned to England in May 1926.

Honours

CE Europa *

runners-up:

1923 In Greece, this year contained only 352 days as 13 days was skipped to achieve the calendrical switch from Julian to Gregorian Calendar. It happened there that Wednesday, 15 February ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Thursday, 1 March ' ...

: 1922–23 FC Barcelona *

1925 Events January * January 1 – The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria (1925–1930), State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini m ...

: 1925 Athletic Bilbao * Basque football championship: 1925-26

References

External links

Profile at Athletic Bilbao
*

entry at BDFutbol
Ralph Kirby (1922–24)

(per 21 January 2021)
Ralph Kirby (1925–26)

(per 20 August 2020) {{DEFAULTSORT:Kirby, Conyers 1884 births 1946 deaths Military personnel from Birmingham, West Midlands Footballers from Birmingham, West Midlands English men's footballers Men's association football wingers Fulham F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Worcester City F.C. players Kidderminster Harriers F.C. players English Football League players Southern Football League players English football referees Royal Army Medical Corps soldiers Athletic Bilbao managers FC Barcelona managers CE Europa managers English football managers English expatriate football managers La Liga managers Willenhall F.C. players 20th-century British Army personnel