Barry Geoffrey Butler (4 June 1962 – 11 June 2024) was an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who spent eight years with Chester City from 1985 to 1993. Primarily operating as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

, Butler also had spells playing in defence and attack, and even took over in goal after regular

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

Billy Stewart William Larry Stewart II (March 24, 1937 – January 17, 1970) was an American R&B singer and pianist popular during the 1960s. Biography Stewart was 12 years old when he began singing with his younger brothers Johnny, James, and Frank as the ...

was sent off against

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The club competes in , the third tier of English football, and is managed by Graham Alexander. The club was founded in 1903 and ...

in October 1990. A former window cleaner, Butler was snapped up by Chester from Atherton Laburnum Rovers in December 1985, one of several occasions that manager

Harry McNally Harold McNally (7 July 1936 – 12 December 2004) was an English Association football, football player, coach and manager, noted for his spells as manager of Wigan Athletic F.C., Wigan Athletic and Chester City F.C., Chester City. The Non-Leag ...

would sign an unknown non-league player and successfully use him as a regular in the side. Butler made his

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

debut in a 1–0 derby victory over

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ...

in January 1986 at the relatively late age of 23. He was largely a regular for most of the rest of the season, which ended in promotion from

Football League Division Four The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Following the creation of the Premier L ...

. In October 1989, Butler scored a belated first goal for Chester in a 4–0 thrashing of

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

, in his 119th appearance for the club. He made up for lost time by scoring four more before the end of the season and had bagged 16 by the time he was released by

Graham Barrow Graham Barrow (born 13 June 1954) is an English former footballer who has since become a professional manager in the English game. He is currently working for Wigan Athletic as an assistant manager to Shaun Maloney. Playing career Having previo ...

in May 1993. Butler dropped back into non-league football with Barrow, before joining

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester, southwest of Sale, Greater Manchester, Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2021 United Kingdom ce ...

in March 1994. Butler died in June 2024, at the age of 62.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Barry 1962 births 2024 deaths Footballers from Farnworth English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Men's association football defenders Men's association football utility players English Football League players National League (English football) players Atherton Laburnum Rovers F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Barrow A.F.C. players Altrincham F.C. players