Tufnell Harry Image 1 Barnsley 1910

Description

Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire born inside left Harry Tufnell began his football career with Long Eaton in 1905 and spent the 1906-07 season with Worcester City before joining First Division Bury in the 1907 close season. He made his Football League debut at Bolton Wanderers that September, scoring twice in a sensational 6-3 victory at Burnden Park, but he failed to find the net in 9 further appearances for The Shakers during his debut season, and found further opportunities limited in 1908-09, when he scored once in a mere three further outings.

He joined Second Division Barnsley in the summer of 1909 and played a key part in their fantastic FA Cup run to the 1910 Final, scoring 6 times in 9 FA Cup ties (to add to his 7 League goals) including a goal in the semi final replay victory over Everton at Old Trafford, he scored the only Barnsley goal in the Final at The Crystal Palace, putting the ball in off the post from a Wilf Bartrop cross to put Barnsley ahead in the 37th minute, although a late Newcastle United equaliser led to a 1-1 draw, and Barnsley were defeated 2-0 in the replay at Goodison Park five days later.

After a season of struggle in 1910-11, when Tufnell was the club’s top scorer with 14 goals, Barnsley embarked on another epic FA Cup run in 1912 that saw Tufnell play 12 FA Cup ties in total including 6 replays, as they won the FA Cup against First Division West Bromwich Albion. Having drawn the first Final 0-0 at The Crystal Palace, it was Tufnell who scored in the last few minutes of extra time after a solo run from the half way line to take the Cup to Oakwell.

Tufnell continued to be a regular goalscorer for Barnsley until the suspension of peacetime football in 1915 due to the outbreak of the First World War, and indeed he was one of the few Barnsley players not to be sold in the aftermath of the Cup triumph. Tufnell served in the Royal Army Service Corps between 1915 and 1919 and in 1918 he was sent to Basra in southern Iraq where he contracted malaria, being discharged in 1919. He then returned to Oakwell and made his final 5 appearances for The Tykes, scoring twice, through to February 1920. In all he scored 70 goals in 229 appearances for Barnsley.

When he retired from playing in 1920 he stayed in the game, managing Wakefield City in 1920-21 and Doncaster Rovers (while still a Midland League club) in 1921-22 before then joining the training staff at Oldham Athletic.