Percy Barton (20 January 1893 – October 1961) was an

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

international

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 as a

left half In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. He played 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 ...

both before and after the First World War, making 349 appearances in all competitions, and was a member of the team that won the Second Division title in 1920–21.

Career

Barton was born in

Edmonton, London Edmonton is a town in north London, England within the London Borough of Enfield, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London. The northern part of the town is known as Lower Edmonton or Edmonton Green, and the southern ...

where he attended Montague Road School. He worked as a butcher's boy on leaving school, and played football for a local team, Sultan F.C. One of his Sultan teammates,

Richard Gibson Richard Gibson (born 1 January 1954) is an Ugandan-born British actor, best known for his role as the archetypal Gestapo Officer Herr Otto Flick in the BBC hit sitcom series, Allo 'Allo!''. Early life and education Gibson was born in Kamp ...

, had gone on to play professionally for

, and Gibson recommended Barton to the club. Barton signed for Birmingham in January 1914 at the age of 18, went straight into the first team, and missed only two league games in a season and a half before

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 ...

was suspended for the duration of the war. He missed only one match in the 1920–21 season as Birmingham won the Second Division title. Towards the end of his Birmingham career he played in positions other than his customary left-half; in the 1926–27 season he was used at

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

and later still he played centre-half or filled in occasionally on the right. He was a hard-working player, whose combative style did not always find favour with referees, resulting in him being sent off three times. After leaving Birmingham he spent four seasons with

Stourbridge Stourbridge () is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Situated on the River Stour, Worcestershire, River Stour, the town lies around west of Birmingham, at the southwester ...

in the Birmingham & District League. He won seven caps for

between 1921 and 1924. Barton died in Birmingham in October 1961 at the age of 68.

References

External links

* 1893 births 1961 deaths Footballers from the London Borough of Enfield People from Edmonton, London English men's footballers England men's international footballers Men's association football wing halves Birmingham City F.C. players Stourbridge F.C. players English Football League players Place of death missing 20th-century English sportsmen {{England-footy-midfielder-1890s-stub