Raymond John Barlow (17 August 1926 – 14 March 2012) was an

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

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 ...

who made more than 400 appearances 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, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

, most of which were for

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional Association football, football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English foo ...

Playing career

West Bromwich Albion

Barlow joined

in 1944 and helped them to promotion to the First Division in 1948–49. The team would remain in the top flight for the rest of Barlow's playing career with the club. Under the management of

Vic Buckingham Victor Frederick Buckingham (23 October 1915 – 26 January 1995) was an English football player and manager. He played for the then second division side Tottenham Hotspur. As manager he won the 1953–54 FA Cup with West Bromwich Albion and fi ...

, he was part of the 1954 FA Cup winning team. In the final West Bromwich Albion beat

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syst ...

3–2. This team came close to accomplishing a League and Cup

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

that year, but finished runners-up in the League behind

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 United ...

by four points. Barlow remained a regular in midfield until 1960, by which time players like

Derek Kevan Derek Tennyson Kevan (6 March 1935 – 4 January 2013) was an English footballer. He spent the majority of his club career playing as a centre-forward for West Bromwich Albion, where he earned the nickname "The Tank". In 1961–62 he was j ...

Bobby Robson Sir Robert William Robson (18 February 1933 – 31 July 2009) was an English footballer and football manager. His career included periods playing for and later managing the England national team and being a UEFA Cup-winning manager at Ipswi ...

and Dave Burnside were all playing.

Birmingham City

Barlow joined Albion's neighbours

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...

in 1960. He ended his playing career with non-League

Stourbridge Stourbridge is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands, England, situated on the River Stour. Historically in Worcestershire, it was the centre of British glass making during the Industrial Revolution. The ...

in 1961 after only a handful of appearances for the Blues.

International career

Barlow won just one cap for

, in a

Home Championship The British Home Championship * sco, Hame Internaitional Kemp * gd, Farpais lìg eadar-nàiseanta * cy, Pencampwriaeth y Pedair Gwlad, name=lang (historically known as the British International Championship or simply the International Champio ...

match against

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. North ...

on 2 October 1954 which England won 2–0. This was an experimental England side which contained seven debutants.

Johnny Haynes John Norman Haynes (17 October 1934 – 18 October 2005) was an English association footballer who played as an inside forward. He made 56 appearances for his country including 22 as captain. He was selected for three World Cup finals squads ...

, who also made his debut in that match was the only player who would become an England regular. Besides this, Barlow had two outings for

England B England B is a secondary football team run occasionally as support for the England national football team. At times they have played other nations' full teams; they have also played matches against 'B' teams from other football associations. Si ...

and four for

the Football League XI The English Football League XI was a representative side of the Football League. The team regularly played against the Scottish Football League XI and other national league select teams between 1891 and 1976. For a long period the annual fixture b ...

, and an FA tour of South America.

After retirement

After retirement, Barlow went on to run a

tobacconist A tobacconist, also called a tobacco shop, a tobacconist's shop or a smoke shop, is a retailer of tobacco products in various forms and the related accoutrements, such as pipes, lighters, matches, pipe cleaners, and pipe tampers. More speci ...

's and sweet shop in

West Bromwich West Bromwich ( ) is a market town in the borough of Sandwell, West Midlands, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is north-west of Birmingham. West Bromwich is part of the area known as the Black Country, in terms of geography ...

and then a post office in

Legacy

In 2004 Barlow was named as one of West Bromwich Albion's 16 greatest players, in a poll organised as part of the club's 125th anniversary celebrations. He was described by

as one of the best players he had played alongside. In his autobiography

Bobby Moore Robert Frederick Chelsea Moore (12 April 1941 – 24 February 1993) was an English professional footballer. He most notably played for West Ham United, captaining the club for more than ten years, and was the captain of the England natio ...

said that he modelled his game on Barlow. Barlow was the last surviving member of the team that won the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competit ...

in 1954 against

. He died on 14 March 2012, aged 85, after a long illness. The flags at

The Hawthorns The Hawthorns is an all-seater football stadium in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England, with a capacity of 26,688. It has been the home of Championship club West Bromwich Albion since 1900, when it became the sixth ground to be used by the clu ...

were lowered to half-mast on the day of Barlow's funeral, and a minute's applause was held at The Hawthorns before West Brom's game against

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional Association football, football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football league system, English football. The club was ...

on 25 March.

References

External links

Englandstats.com profile

from the Official Albion website {{DEFAULTSORT:Barlow, Ray 1926 births 2012 deaths Footballers from Swindon English men's footballers England men's international footballers England men's B international footballers Men's association football wing halves West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Stourbridge F.C. players English Football League players English Football League representative players English cricketers Wiltshire cricketers