| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William Barbour | ||
| Date of birth | (1865-09-21)21 September 1865 | ||
| Place of birth | Kilmarnock, Scotland | ||
| Date of death | 17 June 1900(1900-06-17) (aged 34) | ||
| Place of death | Gravesend, England | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1887 | Queen of the South Wanderers | ||
| 1888–1890 | Accrington | 53 | (33) |
| 1891–1894 | Annan | ||
| 1894–1898 | Bury | 101 | (11) |
| 1898 | Gravesend | ||
| 1898 | Millwall | ||
| 1899–1900 | Gravesend | ||
| 1900 | Grays | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
William Barbour (21 September 1865 – 17 June 1900)[1] was aScottishfootballer who played in theEnglish Football League forAccrington andBury football clubs.[2][3]
Barbour began his footballing career atQueen of the South Wanderers in 1887. Fans of the club were angry when he left to join Accrington in September 1888, and this led to the club being suspended by theScottish Football Association for professionalism. Billy Barbour had received groceries in lieu of payment. Billy Barbour, playing at centre–forward, made his Accrington and League debut on 22 September 1888 at theCounty Ground, the then home ofDerby County. The match ended as a 1–1 draw.[4][3]
Barbour scored his debut League goal on 29 September 1888 atVictoria Ground, the then home ofStoke. Billy Barbour put Accrington 3–0 ahead of the home side early in the second–half. Accrington defeated Stoke 4–2. Barbour appeared in 19 of the 22 League matches played by Accrington in season 1888–89 scoring 13 League goals. Barbour, playing at centre–forward (18 appearances), was part of the Accrington forward–line that scored three–League–goals–or–more on seven separate occasions. Barbour top scored for Accrington in 1888–89 with 13 goals with eight of those goals coming in just four matches. Barbour scored two–in–a–match on the following dates/matches; 6 October 1888 atThorneyholme Road, home of Accrington, in a 4–4 draw withWolverhampton Wanderers; 3 November 1888 atStoney Lane, the then home ofWest Bromwich Albion. Barbour got both Accrington goals in a 2–2 draw; 10 November 1888 atTrent Bridge, the then home ofNotts County. Barbour got two of Accrington' goals in a 3–3 draw; 1 December 1888 at Thorneyholme Road, with Barbour getting two Accrington goals in a 5–1 victory overBurnley.[5][3]
Season 1889 - 1890 was Accrington' most successful League campaign in its short membership of the League. The club finished sixth. Barbour played 16 League Matches (out of 22) six of which were won (Accrington won nine). He was Accrington' Joint top-scorer withArthur Wilkinson scoring 11 goals plus two goals in the 1889-90FA Cup campaign. Barbour scored in five of the nine wins Accrington achieved that season. At the end of the 1889-90 Season Barbour had scored 24 League goals over two seasons, all for Accrington, and he was Accrington' highest scorer.[6]
Barbour continued to score regularly for Accrington making 34 League appearances and scoring 20 League goals from 1889 to 1891. He also played in four FA Cup ties and scored two goals in the same period. When he returned to Scotland in 1891 he had made 59 League and Cup appearances and scored 35 goals.[4][3]
In 1891 he returned to Scotland to play forAnnan.[7]
In 1894 he joined Bury scoring 11 goals in 101 appearances over four seasons (109 appearances when you include the FA Cup).[7]
In 1898 he joinedGravesend United, and left to joinMillwall Athletic later the same year. He rejoined Gravesend in 1899.[3]
Barbour worked as a dock labourer and played forGrays in 1900, which was sadly his last season, as in June 1900 he died suddenly due to failure of the heart caused by chronic alcoholism.[1]
Source:[8]
| Club | Season | Division | League | FA Cup | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Accrington | 1888–89 | The Football League | 19 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 21 | 13 |
| Accrington | 1889–90 | Football League | 16 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 19 | 13 |
| Accrington | 1890–91 | Football League | 18 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 9 |
| Bury | 1894–95 | Second Division | 28* | 5 | 2 | 0 | 30 | 0 |
| Bury | 1895–96 | First Division | 25 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 26 | 6 |
| Bury | 1896–97 | First Division | 28 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 31 | 3 |
| Bury | 1897–98 | First Division | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 2 |