Harold Barratt (25 December 1918 – 23 September 1989) was an English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player and manager. Barratt played in the

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 ...

for Coventry City as a

utility player In sports, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently. Sports in which the term is often used include association football, basketball, American football, baseball, rugby union, rugby league, softball, ice hockey, and water ...

, making 170 appearances between 1938 and 1952. He managed Football League club Gillingham between 1958 and 1962.

Early life

Barratt was born in Headington in 1918. He was the son of former

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

player Joe Barratt.

Playing career

Barratt played for Herberts Athletic before joining Coventry City in December 1935. He had a loan at Cheltenham Town in 1936. He made his debut for Coventry against Blackburn Rovers in April 1938, but only made five appearances before the outbreak of World War Two, and the suspension of the Football League. He joined the

Royal Warwickshire Regiment The Royal Warwickshire Regiment, previously titled the 6th Regiment of Foot, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. The regiment saw service in many conflicts and wars, including the Second Boer War ...

at the start of the war and thus only appeared occasionally for Coventry City during the war. Following the war, Barratt became an important player for Coventry, scoring 27 goals in the 1945–46 season. He was club captain for Coventry in his last four years at the club, retiring due to a knee injury in early 1952. He was a

for Coventry, having played in nine different positions, including emergency goalkeeper. In total, he scored 12 goals in 170 games for the club.

Managerial career

Barratt became club trainer at Coventry City following his retirement, and shortly afterwards took up managerial positions with Rugby Town and later with Snowdown Colliery Welfare, managing George Curtis, Alf Bentley and Eric Jones, who would all follow him to Coventry when he became Coventry chief scout in 1955. Barratt served as Gillingham manager between 1958 and 1962. His best season was the 1959–60 season where the club finished 7th in the Fourth Division. He became secretary-manager of

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells (formerly, until 1909, and still commonly Tunbridge Wells) is a town in Kent, England, southeast of Central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone ...

in 1962. He would later become a coach for the British Crown Green Bowling Association.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barratt, Harry 1918 births 1989 deaths Footballers from Oxford English men's footballers Coventry City F.C. players Cheltenham Town F.C. players English football managers Gillingham F.C. managers Men's association football defenders English Football League players Men's association football utility players 20th-century English sportsmen