Paul Jason Barber (born 21 May 1955) is 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 ...

former

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...

player. He was vice-captain of the gold winning

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

squad in the

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

Summer Olympics in Seoul. Four years earlier he won Bronze at the

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

Summer Olympics in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. He also won silver with the

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

squad at the

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

Hockey World Cup in London, and he scored the two goals in the semi-final that helped England defeat

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

2-1 and progress to the final. In a career that spanned over 25 Years, Barber won 99 caps for England & 68 for Great Britain. A player of uncompromising physicality and determination, he was recognised as one of the finest defenders and short corner strikers in the world. In 1983 Barber was awarded ''UK Hockey Player of the Year''. Following the 1988 tournament, in which he scored 5 goals, Barber retired from international hockey at all levels, and continued to play for Slough Hockey Club until the early 1990s when he joined Newbury & Thatcham Hockey Club. He played on for several more years until retiring from all forms of hockey in 1998. Barber was born in

Peterborough, Cambridgeshire Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until 19 ...

, and went to The King's School. He resides in Bath with his wife, Jennie and has three sons, Michael, Stephen & Mark

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barber, Paul 1955 births Living people English male field hockey players English Olympic medallists Olympic field hockey players for Great Britain British male field hockey players Field hockey players at the 1984 Summer Olympics Field hockey players at the 1988 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain People educated at The King's School, Peterborough Olympic medalists in field hockey Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics