Thomas Bartley (footballer)

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Thomas Bartley
Personal information
Full name Thomas Bartley
Date of birth 1874
Place of birth Flint, Wales
Date of death (1951-12-24)24 December 1951 (aged 77)
Place of death Newton-le-Willows, England
Position(s) Inside-right
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1890–1896 Flint
1896–1897 Port Sunlight
1897–1899 Glossop North End 7[1] (2)
1899–1900 Llandudno
1901–1902 Earlestown
1902–1903 Ashton Wanderers
1903–19?? Earlestown
International career
1898 Wales 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Thomas Bartley (1874 – 24 December 1951) was a Welsh footballer who played as an inside forward for various clubs in the 1890s and 1900s and made one appearance for Wales.

Football career[edit]

Bartley was born in Flint in North Wales and played for his local club in the North Wales Coast League[2] as well as reaching the first final of the Welsh Amateur Cup in 1891.[3] At Flint, he gained a reputation for his goal-scoring, although he did "tend towards rough play".[2] His older brother, Arthur, played as goalkeeper for Flint and died from injuries sustained during a match in August 1891, thus becoming the first known fatality in modern Welsh football.[2][4]

In 1896, he moved to England spending a year at Port Sunlight in the Wirral & District League before he was signed for Glossop North End. Described as "good in the air and possessing a rasping shot", Bartley "infused bite and determination into the (Glossop) forward line".[2]

Glossop NE were backed by Samuel Hill-Wood with ambitions of reaching the English Football League. Having finished as runners-up in the Midland League in the 1896–97 season, they could only manage to finish ninth in Bartley's first season.[5] Despite this, they were invited to join an expanded Football League Second Division, finishing as runners-up in 1898–99.[6] Bartley played in Glossop's opening match in the Football League in September 1898 against Blackpool.[2] During his one season in the Football League, Bartley made seven appearances, scoring twice.[7] He didn't play in the First Division and in the summer of 1899 returned to North Wales to spend a year at Llandudno.[2]

Bartley's solitary international appearance came in March 1898, when he replaced Thomas Thomas for the Home Championship match against England; the match finished 3–0 in favour of England.[8]

In 1901, he returned to Lancashire where he settled at Newton-le-Willows for the rest of his life.[2] He joined Earlestown, where he became known for his "splendid ball control" and heading ability.[9] In particular, he was renowned for his ability to place a corner kick under the crossbar, providing scoring opportunities for his fellow forwards.[9] Described as "a great utility player", he was able to take over from an injured player anywhere on the pitch.[9]

Later career[edit]

During World War I, Bartley enlisted in the Royal Welch Fusiliers.[9] He later worked as a wood machinist in a railway wagon works.[2] He remained associated with the Earlestown club for the rest of his life, spending some time on the club committee.[9]

He died on 24 December 1951, aged 77.[9]

Honours[edit]

Flint
  • Welsh Amateur Cup finalists: 1891
Glossop North End

References[edit]

  1. ^ Football League only
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Davies, Gareth; Garland, Ian (1991). Who's Who of Welsh International Soccer Players. Bridge Books. pp. 15–16. ISBN 1-872424-11-2.
  3. ^ "Welsh Amateur Cup Final Results". penmon.org. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  4. ^ "1898". Interesting and curious facts about full internationals and national players (1872–1900). IFFHS. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  5. ^ Abbink, Dinant (31 July 2008). "Final Table Midland League 1897–98". RSSSF. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  6. ^ Gibbons, Philip (2001). Association Football in Victorian England – A History of the Game from 1863 to 1900. Upfront Publishing. p. 420. ISBN 1-84426-035-6.
  7. ^ Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: Tony Brown. p. 19. ISBN 1-899468-67-6.
  8. ^ "Wales 0 England 3". Welsh Football Data Archive. 28 March 1898. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  9. ^ a b c d e f Dowd, Steven (21 September 1979). "Some Earlestown Sporting History". Warrington Guardian. newton-le-willows.com. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
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