Spinning fine tale of Tufnell helping Barnsley lift Cup

As Barnsley get on the Wembley trail this weekend in the FA Cup, a new book chronicles the amazing story of the Oakwell club's sole success nearly a century ago. Dave Craven reports.

NEARLY 100 years have passed since Barnsley lifted the FA Cup for the only time in their history.

Since that glorious day in 1912, the Tykes have rarely come as close again and it remains the South Yorkshire club's most illustrious era.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Although a solitary Premier League season tackling the might of Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal was exhilarating in 1997-98, nothing quite holds up to that golden period Barnsley witnessed near the start of the last century.

The name of the great Harry Tufnell will forever be etched into club folklore for securing the goal that defeated West Bromwich Albion in a nervy replay at Sheffield United's Bramall Lane.

But the inside-right's moment of glory was only the finishing touch to an incredible tale spanning three years of ups and downs.

There are few survivors from that era to give any first-person accounts of how events unfolded but in the recently released Lifting The Cup: The Story of Battling Barnsley 1910-1912, Mark Metcalf and club historian David Wood chronicle those escapades brilliantly to keep the fascinating story alive.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

With Barnsley set to face Premier League West Ham in a third round FA Cup tie on Saturday, the launch of the book marking the celebration of that seminal period's centenary could not be better timed.

Like now, they were in the second division when they kicked off their 1909-10 FA Cup campaign and were given no chance of progressing to the final.

The furthest Barnsley had got in their previous 16 appearances was a quarter-final slot three years earlier and, fittingly given his exploits later, they needed Tufnell to save them from a first round exit at Blackpool.

After his strike forced a replay, they went on to thrash their opponents 6-0 and began a march to a first FA Cup final appearance.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Metcalf and Wood, with the use of a plethora of photographs – many never published before – memorabilia and newspaper reports, chart the journey as Barnsley went so close to stunning reigning league champions Newcastle at Crystal Palace.

The Tykes were ultimately undone in a replay at Goodison Park but had enjoyed a brilliant year – both on and off the field – and were seemingly ready to push on for promotion the next season. However, bizarrely, despite retaining all their squad, Barnsley went on to endure their worst campaign on record, being slumped at the bottom of the division in mid-March and eventually suffering the embarrassment of seeking re-election to the league.

To witness such a fall from grace, a chapter which unsurprisingly consists of just one-and-a-half pages, made the subsequent events the following season all the more remarkable.

Proving their date at Crystal Palace – Wembley did not open until 1923 – was no one-off, they battled their way to a second final in three years and this time emerged victorious.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

With in-depth analysis of the manner in which they achieved it, led by the inspirational Archie Taylor, and detailed insights into fellow players, such as Tufnell and legendary Dickie Downs, Bob Glendenning and Tommy Boyle, the book also interweaves a history of the social and political change occurring at the time.

The tale remains a vivid reminder of the true beauty of the FA Cup.

Given West Ham's perilous position near the foot of the Premier League, success for Mark Robins's current Barnsley side at the weekend may not be such a shock but after those exploits in 1910-12, their supporters already know anything is possible.

Lifting The Cup: The Story of Battling Barnsley 1910-1912, by Mark Metcalf and David Wood is published by Pen & Sword Books Ltd, priced 12.99