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Local Hero: Geoff Barrowcliffe R.I.P.
Local Hero: Geoff Barrowcliffe R.I.P.
Wednesday, 7th Oct 2009 13:34

This is our tribute to one of the club's finest servants, who died recently.

As reported last week, one of Derby County’s all-time greats Geoff Barrowcliffe has passed away aged 77, a victim of Alzheimer’s disease. RamZone wish to pass on sincere condolences to Geoff’s family and friends and know that many senior Rams fans will always carry fond memories of seeing him play with skill and pride for Derby County. 

Barrowcliffe was a local hero, a boy from the pits who used to report for training at Derby County after a day down the mines when he first joined the Rams as a teenager from Ilkeston Town FC in 1950. My neighbour in the East Stand seating, Ron, said that Geoff came from a time “when men were men - and women chewed tobacco!”

Rams fans observed an immaculate minute’s silence for Geoff before the Sheffield Wednesday home game last Saturday and on Monday, when a Rams side played a friendly at Ilkeston Town, the crowd gave a resounding minute’s applause in tribute to a home-town footballing great. Barrowcliffe resides in the top seven of Derby’s all-time appearances chart with 503 starts for the club.

Barrowcliffe’s footballing ability made him a versatile player; whilst most of his appearances were at full back wearing the No.2 or No. 3 shirts, he also wore Nos. 6, 8, 9 and 10 for the club, obviously in the days when the number on your back was the position in which you played. He weighed in with nearly 40 goals and occasionally went ‘up front’ when required - and was a formidable presence in attack, as well as Derby’s ‘penalty king’.

He was revered as a footballing full back that spent his whole professional career at Derby - despite his undeniable talents and the fact that Derby fell briefly into the Third Division North during his career. My friend Ron likened Geoff to David Nish, one of the classiest of all the Rams stars, and called him ‘stylish and elegant’. More tributes can be found at: http://www.lastingtribute.co.uk/tribute/barrowcliffe/3158094. Please add your own tribute!

Geoff was touted as a possible England player but stayed loyal to Derby County. Harry Storer’s enterprising Rams’ side scored over 100 goals in both those Third Division North seasons with promotion back to Division Two gained in 1956-57, when Ray Straw - another Ilkeston boy - scored his Derby’s record of 37 goals in a season.

The Rams were then a fluent attacking side, aided by Barrowcliffe’s flair, though he was always a solid defender too. Derby scored 111 goals in their promotion season, conceding 53 - a formidable goal difference of +58! The Rams had scored 110 goals the previous season (with a goal difference of +55!) but were pipped to the single promotion spot by Grimsby Town.

After his playing days were over, Geoff coached or managed local sides right through until the mid-1990s. The ex-Rams centre forward Roger Davies, who has looked after the Rams’ Legends charity football team for many years, commented that Geoff was a keen participant in the ex-Rams’ schedule and was still playing benefit games in his late 60s!

Barrowcliffe belonged to an era when it was an honour to play for your local team; his loyalty, commitment and skilful contribution to Derby County is testimony to an age when local heroes would emerge to give everything to their club over many years of service.

Bert Mozley, Barrowcliffe’s predecessor at full back at the Baseball Ground - who himself played 321 games for the Rams and won England caps - reflected upon that period in his own autobiography, ‘When Football Was Fun’. Bert compared his era to modern-day football, saying: “It would seem that it’s not what you can give to the game but what you can take from it”. 

Geoff Barrowcliffe and his like were the living antithesis of these latter-day sentiments; you wonder whether any of today’s well-paid ‘stars’ will come anywhere close to emulating him. Perhaps we need not wonder, at all!

Today’s Derby County players would do well to read up on talismanic Derby stalwarts like Bert and Geoff Barrowcliffe and aspire to those standards - if they can carry just a little of such past dedication and resilience with them in the execution of their duties, Derby County might again become a force. Rest in peace, Geoff - and thank you from us all.

 

Photo: Action Images



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