John Barr

Diminutive forward John Barr could have been one of the finest locally produced goalscorers seen at the Showgrounds but only for injury to curtail his career in his prime.

Born of the town and a native of Queen Street, John Barr junior followed in his family’s footballing footsteps, shortly after his father (John snr) was killed in action during the First World War in France. In his teenage years, Barr was noted as playing for local junior sides Shamrock Swifts, Springfield and Victoria Rangers during the early 1920’s.

His short and stocky build, coupled with his notably small feet – his size 3 and a half boots needed specially made at the time! – proved deceptive to opposition defences, as Barr proved to be a fine goalscorer with a thunderously powerful strike, and quickly adapted to whichever level or league he played in at centre-forward.

It was at Intermediate League side Summerfield during the 1924/1925 campaign that 20-year-old John came to prominence. After hitting the ground running at Flixton Park, he became an integral figure in the team, with his goals firing Summerfield to the Clements Lyttle Cup in 1925/1926 for winning the Intermediate League Second Division and also to the final of the Steel and Sons Cup – where the Braidmen lost 4-0 to St. Marys.

Now attracting the attention of senior clubs, John almost signed for Larne in the summer of 1926 but continued to serve Summerfield during that season – despite sitting out two months for a lengthy suspension during the Autumn. In July 1927 made move to Belfast to join Crusaders, who were the top Intermediate club at the time, having just come off the back of a clean sweep of all the main silverware in Intermediate football during the 1926/1927 season.

In August 1929, he was coaxed back to Belfast to sign for Linfield Swifts and potentially played out the first half of the season in the Windsor Blues’ second string before his big break into senior football in February 1930. Drafted into the first team deputise for the famous Joe Bambrick – John stunned the expectant Linfield fans with four goals on his debut in a 7-1 win against Larne. Despite these heroics, chances to impress on the big stage were infrequent for the remainder of the 1929/1930 season as Linfield went onto win the Gibson Cup at a canter.

John also earned a Junior International cap for Ireland in 1930 against Wales and therefore was eager to make his mark in the senior football ranks, now aged 26, and despite leaving Windsor to rejoin Crusaders in the summer of 1930 – he returned to the Irish League to join Coleraine in September 1930. He became a regular leading the line at the Coleraine Showgrounds throughout the 1930/1931 scoring plenty of goals, before assisting his old club Summerfield for their final games of the campaign in May 1931.

He finally earned his move home to Ballymena FC in September 1931; John made his debut in the Gold Cup against Ards a few days later, before scoring twice on his league debut against the same opponents, in a game which the Light Blues won 6-2. He never looked back from that point onwards, and capturing the wider public attention with a stunning hat-trick against Linfield at Celtic Park in the semi-final of the Gold Cup – however the team’s run in the competition would end in disappointment as Ballymena lost by the same scoreline in the final to his old team-mates at rivals Coleraine.

Barr would finish the 1931/1932 season at the leading scorer at the Showgrounds, with 32 goals in just 38 appearances, which included four more hat-tricks and even a four-goal outing against Bangor in October 1931 as Ballymena finished sixth in the Irish League. However, a difficult second season was plagued by injuries and inconsistencies as the new-look Light Blues struggled during the 1932/1933 campaign as he could only contribute seven goals in 26 appearances, as the club stumbled to their lowest league position to date, finishing eighth.

Disaster struck on 22 April 1933 in an inconsequential end-of-season City Cup tie, as John Barr suffered a broken leg against Bangor. It would be an injury that his career would never recover from, and it proved to be not only his last game in a Ballymena shirt but the last of his career at the age of just 29. In just two seasons, he amassed 39 goals in 64 appearances for the Braidmen.

After football, John – a joiner by trade - moved to Larne and married his wife who was the sister of Larne & Linfield footballer Charlie Fergie; he kept his interests in football alive by joining the committee of Newington Rangers in 1937. He also maintained a family connection with the new Ballymena United club as his nephew Hubert Barr played in Sky Blue before becoming a full international, and another of his nephews Ken Barr became club secretary.

John Barr passed away in Larne in March 1974, aged 69.

Career
Shamrock Swifts; Springfield; Victoria Rangers; (1924) Summerfield; (Jul 1927) Crusaders; (1928) Summerfield; (Aug 1929) Linfield; (Aug 1929) Crusaders; (Sep 1930) Coleraine; (May 1931) Summerfield; (Sep 1931) Ballymena

Honours
(with Summerfield)
Clement Lyttle Cup: (winner) 1925/1926
Steel and Sons Cup: (finalist) 1925/1926
(with Linfield Swifts)
Intermediate Cup: (finalist) 1929/1930
Steel and Sons Cup: (finalist) 1929/1930
(with Ballymena)
Gold Cup: (finalist) 1931/1932