:Jack Barnes (English footballer)
{{short description|English footballer}}
{{use British English|date=July 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2023}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Jack Barnes
| image =
| caption =
| fullname = John Benjamin Barnes
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1908|4|28|df=y}}
| birth_place = Atherstone, Warwickshire, England
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2008|4|1|1908|4|28|df=y}}
| death_place = Coleshill, Warwickshire, England
| position = Outside forward
| youthyears1 =
| youthclubs1 = Atherstone Town
| years1 = 1928–1929
| clubs1 = Coventry City
| caps1 = 8
| goals1 = 0
| years2 = 1929–1931
| clubs2 = Walsall
| caps2 = 68
| goals2 = 18
| years3 = 1931–1933
| clubs3 = Watford
| caps3 = 75
| goals3 = 11
| years4 = 1933–1934
| clubs4 = Exeter City
| caps4 = 18
| goals4 = 1
| years5 = 1934–1935
| clubs5 = York City
| caps5 = 15
| goals5 = 1
| years6 = 1935–?
| clubs6 = Atherstone Town
| caps6 = ?
| goals6 = ?
| totalcaps =
| totalgoals =
}}
John Benjamin Barnes (28 April 1908 – 1 April 2008) was an English footballer who played as an outside left for several Football League clubs,{{cite book |last=Joyce |first=Michael |title=Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939 |publisher=SoccerData (Tony Brown) |page=17 |location=Nottingham |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-899468-67-6}} as well as for non-League side Atherstone Town.
Early life
Born in Atherstone, Warwickshire, Barnes left school at 12, to help provide for his family. He worked in various coal mines, as well as a bakery. His football career began as an amateur for Atherstone Town. He signed on professional terms for Coventry City in March 1928.{{cite web |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/At+99,+Jack+is+football%27s+great+survivor%3B+BIRTHDAY%3A+Oldest+living...-a0162655943 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315215032/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/At+99%2c+Jack+is+football%27s+great+survivor%3b+BIRTHDAY%3a+Oldest+living...-a0162655943 |archive-date=15 March 2016|title=At 99, Jack is football's great survivor; BIRTHDAY: Oldest living ex-City player is looking forward to a big celebration |work=Coventry Evening Telegraph |publisher=The Free Dictionary |access-date=19 January 2010 |date=27 April 2007 |last=Clarke |first=Samantha}}
Professional career
Barnes played eight consecutive games for Coventry at the end of the 1927–28 season. One of these matches—a 2–2 draw with Crystal Palace—was the lowest attendance in Coventry's history, attracting 2,059 spectators.{{cite web|url=http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/coventry-city-fc/coventry-city-fc-news/2008/04/14/tv-remote-takes-the-strain-in-coventry-city-relegation-battle-92746-20761198/|title=TV remote takes the strain in Coventry City relegation battle|work=Coventry Evening Telegraph|accessdate=20 January 2010|date=14 April 2008|author=Jim Brown|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080508060739/http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/coventry-city-fc/coventry-city-fc-news/2008/04/14/tv-remote-takes-the-strain-in-coventry-city-relegation-battle-92746-20761198/|archivedate=8 May 2008}} After being confined to Coventry's reserves the following season, Barnes joined Walsall in June 1929. He stayed there for two years, scoring 18 goals in 68 appearances as they recorded consecutive 17th-placed finishes in the Third Division South.{{cite web|url=http://www.statto.com/football/teams/walsall/1929-1930/table|title=Walsall 1929–1930: English Division Three (South) table|publisher=Statto.com|accessdate=20 January 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227075934/http://www.statto.com/football/teams/walsall/1929-1930/table|archive-date=27 February 2012|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.statto.com/football/teams/walsall/1930-1931/table|title=1930–1931 : English Division Three (South) Table|publisher=Statto.com|accessdate=20 January 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227075947/http://www.statto.com/football/teams/walsall/1930-1931/table|archive-date=27 February 2012|url-status=dead}} In July 1931 he joined Watford, managed by Neil McBain.{{cite book|title=The Watford Football Club Illustrated Who's Who|author=Trefor Jones|year=1996|isbn= 0-9527458-0-1|page=32}} After 83 games and 11 goals for the Vicarage Road based club, he was transfer listed for an asking price of £300, before eventually joining Exeter City for a third of that figure. His stay in Exeter lasted just one season, before he joined what would be his last professional club, York City, in August 1934. Barnes played 15 York City games, scoring once, before retiring from professional football due to a foot injury.{{cite web|url=http://findarticles.com/p/news-articles/coventry-evening-telegraph-england/mi_7969/is_2007_March_10/senior-citizen-game-sky-blues/ai_n34605970/|title=Our most senior citizen... Game on Sky Blues|work=Coventry Evening Telegraph|accessdate=20 January 2010|date=10 March 2007|author=Jim Brown|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180302051014/http://www.findarticles.com/?noadc=1|archivedate=2 March 2018}} [http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Our+most+senior+citizen...+Game+On+SKY+BLUES.-a0160347299 Alt URL] Barnes rejoined first club Atherstone Town as an amateur in 1935.
After football
Following his retirement, Barnes worked in a munitions factory during the Second World War, and later did work as a painter/decorator, plumber and tanner. His family included wife Nancy, daughter Janet (who later had two children Angela and Paul), and he lived to see all four of his grandchildren, Naomi, Niall, Jenna, and Matthew. Apart from football, Barnes' sporting interests included golf, boxing, cricket, swimming and greyhound racing. Barnes considered becoming a professional golfer in 1938, and although he did not pursue this possibility, he continued playing until the age of 93. Barnes died from Alzheimer's disease in a nursing home in Coleshill, Warwickshire, only 27 days before his 100th birthday. Prior to his death, he was the oldest surviving former Football League player and one of the last surviving professional footballers to have played before World War II.{{cite web|url=http://www.ccfpa.co.uk/?page_id=91|title=Gone But Not Forgotten: Jack Barnes|publisher=Coventry City Former Players Association|accessdate=23 December 2010}}
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Jack}}
Category:People from Atherstone
Category:English men's footballers
Category:Men's association football forwards
Category:Coventry City F.C. players
Category:Exeter City F.C. players
Category:York City F.C. players
Category:Atherstone Town F.C. players
Category:English Football League players
Category:Deaths from dementia in England
Category:Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in England