Josiah Barratt (21 February 1895 – April 1968) 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 le ...

who played as a winger for various clubs in the 1920s.

Playing career

Barratt was born in

Bulkington Bulkington is a large village and former civil parish, now in the unparished area of Bedworth, in the Nuneaton and Bedworth district of Warwickshire, England.OS Explorer Map 232 : Nuneaton & Tamworth: (1:25 000) : In the 2011 census the ward ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

and played his early football with local side

Nuneaton Town Nuneaton Borough Football Club is an English football club that is based in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. The men's 1st team competes in the , the seventh tier of English football. In 1889, Nuneaton St. Nicholas FC was the first team in Nuneaton to ...

. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he served with the

Royal Berkshire Regiment The Royal Berkshire Regiment (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1959. The regiment was created in 1881, as the Princess Charlotte of Wales's (Royal Berkshire Regiment), by ...

and was a guest player for

Leicester Fosse Leicester City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Leicester in the East Midlands of England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

and

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

. At the end of the war, he signed for Southampton in time for the first post-war season. Playing on the

right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...

, he only missed one game in Southampton's final season in the Southern League as he provided the crosses for the forwards,

Arthur Dominy Arthur Albert Dominy (11 February 1893 – 23 September 1974) was an English professional footballer, who played as an inside-forward, and football manager, spending most of his career with Southampton. Playing career Southampton He played his ...

and

Bill Rawlings William Ernest Rawlings (3 January 1896 – 25 September 1972) was an English footballer. A centre-forward, he scored more than 196 goals in 367 league games in a 15-year career. He began his career with Southampton in 1918, who were elevated f ...

to score. In 1920 Southampton, along with most Southern League clubs, joined the inaugural

Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the f ...

. According to Holley & Chalk's "The Alphabet of the Saints", "his creative, storming runs down the right flank were most effective as Saints made the successful transition between the Southern League and Division Three". Barratt had the unusual habit of always playing with a piece of straw in his mouth. In March 1921, he was injured (to be replaced by

Charlie Brown Charles "Charlie" Brown is the principal character of the comic strip ''Peanuts'', syndicated in daily and Sunday newspapers in numerous countries all over the world. Depicted as a "lovable loser," Charlie Brown is one of the great American ar ...

) and was unable to help in the run-in to the end of the season when Saints finished second, missing out on the only available promotion spot. For the following season, he reclaimed his place in the starting line-up from Brown and missed only a few games before he was suddenly transferred to

in March. At the time Southampton were leading the

Third Division South The Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to on ...

table and their fans were confident of gaining promotion. Manager

Jimmy McIntyre James Alfred McIntyre (31 October 1881 – 1954) was an English footballer who became manager at Southampton, Coventry City and Fulham. Playing career McIntyre was born in Wednesbury, Staffordshire. He was a journeyman player of some repute, ...

shocked them by announcing a four player transfer, with wingers

Fred Foxall Frederick Howard Foxall (2 April 1898 – 17 June 1926) was an English professional footballer who played as an outside left for various clubs in the 1920s. Playing career Foxall was born in Stourbridge, and signed for Aston Villa in 1914, bu ...

and Barratt moving to Birmingham in exchange for

Jack Elkes Albert John "Jack" Elkes (31 December 1894 – 22 January 1972) was an English professional footballer who played as an inside left for various clubs between the two world wars. Playing career Elkes was born in Snedshill, Oakengates, Shropshi ...

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

) and

George Getgood George Getgood (15 November 1892 – 22 July 1970), also known as George Goodman, was a Scottish professional footballer who played as a half-back for various clubs in the 1920s. Playing career Getgood was born in Coylton, Ayrshire. He jo ...

(a half-back). In his three years at The Dell Barratt made 101 appearances in all competitions, scoring eight goals. Barratt played in 26 consecutive First Division games from his arrival at Birmingham until injury intervened in November 1922. He failed to regain a regular place, and in June 1923 joined

Pontypridd () (colloquially: Ponty) is a town and a community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Geography comprises the electoral wards of , Hawthorn, Pontypridd Town, 'Rhondda', Rhydyfelin Central/Ilan ( Rhydfelen), Trallwng (Trallwn) and Treforest (). The ...

for one season, during which he helped the club to the championship of the

Welsh Football League The Welsh Football League (also known as the Nathaniel Car Sales Welsh Football League for sponsorship reasons) was a club football league in Wales. For its final season in 2019–20 season it operated at levels 3 and 4 of the Welsh football leagu ...

. He returned to

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

with Lincoln City for two years, before spending 1926–27 with

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been c ...

. He then went back to his first club Nuneaton Town and also played for Coventry Colliery. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he joined

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...

as a youth team coach. He died in

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

in April 1968, aged 73.

Honours

Southampton *

Football League Third Division South The Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to on ...

champions: 1921–22

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barratt, Joe 1895 births 1968 deaths Military personnel from Warwickshire People from Nuneaton and Bedworth (district) English men's footballers Men's association football outside forwards Nuneaton Borough F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Pontypridd F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Southern Football League players English Football League players British Army personnel of World War I Royal Berkshire Regiment soldiers Footballers from Warwickshire