Barron Bill Image 1 Northamptonshire 1947

Description

Houghton-le-Spring, County Durham born sportsman Bill Barron played both football and cricket either side of the Second World War.

As a footballer, initially an outside left, he was a left back who started his career in north east junior football, playing for Hetton Juniors in 1934, Bishop Auckland in 1935 and Annfield Plain in 1936, from where he signed for Hartlepools United in September 1936 and then as a professional for Wolverhampton Wanderers in November the same year, without making a first team appearance for either club. He returned to Annfield Plain in 1937 before signing for First Division club Charlton Athletic in November 1937, making his Football League debut against Brentford in February 1938, he scored in his first two matches for The Addicks in back to back wins but after Charlton lost at Bolton Wanderers a week after his debut, he was dropped.

At the end of the season he joined Third Division (South) club Northampton Town in May 1938 scoring 3 goals in 16 matches before the abandonment of peacetime football in September 1939 due to the outbreak of the Second World War. After the War he returned to The County Ground and, having converted to left back, both played in The Cobblers’ 1945-46 FA Cup campaign and was a regular for five post war League seasons, before joining non league Kettering Town in 1951, his last recorded club, by when he had scored 4 goals in 192 matches for Northampton Town.

His post-war focus was on cricket although he was almost 30 by the time he made his County Championship debut, although before the War he played Minor Counties cricket for Durham and played for them in their 1938 first class match with the touring Australians. He was a left-handed batsman and leg-break bowler and an occasional wicketkeeper, Barron played 118 first class matches for Northamptonshire between 1946 and 1951.His first-class debut, however, came in a 1945 match for Lancashire against Yorkshire. He also played once for Sir PF Warner’s XI in 1947. Barron passed 1,000 runs twice, in 1946 and 1947, and the highest of his six hundreds was 161* against Cambridge University in 1948.

In 120 first class matches, Barron scored 6 centuries and 22 half centuries, scoring 4,772 runs at an average of 25.51, holding 98 catches and effecting 2 stumpings as an occasional wicket keeper. He also took 5 wickets as an occasional bowler.

Barron’s son Roger also became a footballer, playing 19 matches for Northampton Town in the late 1960’s.

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