Joshua Parlby (1855 in
Longton, Staffordshire
Longton is one of the six towns which amalgamated to form the county borough of Stoke-on-Trent in 1910, along with Hanley, Tunstall, Fenton, Burslem and Stoke-upon-Trent.
History
Longton ('long village') was a market town in the parish of ...
– ?) was an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
football manager who managed
Manchester City in the 1890s.
Details of Parlby's life before he moved to Manchester are unclear, though some sources indicate he played for
Stoke
Stoke is a common place name in the United Kingdom.
Stoke may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
The largest city called Stoke is Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. See below.
Berkshire
* Stoke Row, Berkshire
Bristol
* Stoke Bishop
* Stok ...
in the pre-professional era.
[ p234] Parlby moved to Manchester to run a
public house
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...
. His links with the brewing trade led to a role on the committee of Ardwick Association Football Club, who used a public house, the
Hyde Road Hotel, as their headquarters. Parlby advocated employing a full-time secretary-manager, and in 1893 became the club's first paid secretary.
[ p158] A larger than life character, Parlby had a reputation for wrangling the club out of financial trouble by whatever means possible. Contemporary accounts tell of him sneaking players onto trains when the club struggled to afford travel expenses for away matches
At the end of Parlby's first season as manager Ardwick finished thirteenth in the
Second Division
In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
, and were required to seek re-election to the league. Believing the club needed to establish an identity capable of appealing to all Mancunians, Parlby was an influential figure in the reformation of Ardwick as Manchester City in 1894, and the subsequent success in achieving re-election to the league.
Parlby managed the club for one more season, in which they finished ninth. He returned to the pub trade in 1895, but retained a role on the club committee for several years.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parlby, Joshua
English football managers
Manchester City F.C. managers
1855 births
Year of death missing