Robert "Bobby" Barclay was an English Footballer

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 who played in the position of Inside Forward

Striker

Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals...

.

Football career

Barclay was born in Scotswood

Benwell and Scotswood

Benwell and Scotswood is an electoral ward of Newcastle upon Tyne in North East England. The ward encompasses the Benwell and Scotswood housing areas, as well as the Newcastle Business Park, which is located on the banks of the River Tyne and houses offices of companies such as British Airways and...

, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and started his career with amateur clubs; Scotswood United Church F.C., Bell's Close Amateurs F.C., Allendale F.C. and Scotswood F.C. before signing for Derby County

Derby County F.C.

Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...

 in 1928. Barclay was a protégé of George Jobey

George Jobey

George Jobey was an English football player and manager. He won the league championship as a player with his hometown club Newcastle United.-Career:...

 at Derby. He spent two seasons with The Rams scoring 23 league

The Football League

The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...

 goals from 61 games.

In 1931 he signed for Sheffield United

Sheffield United F.C.

Sheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.They were the first sporting team to use the name 'United' and are nicknamed 'The Blades', thanks to Sheffield's worldwide reputation for steel production...

 for £

Pound sterling

The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...

3,500. He was cool and methodical in his play, very clever, and was bought to lend inspiration to Jimmy Dunne

Jimmy Dunne

James Dunne , commonly referred to as Jimmy Dunne, was an Irish footballer who played for, among others, Shamrock Rovers, Sheffield United, Arsenal and Southampton...

 in attack, although he also provided plenty of openings for the other attacking team-mates (like inside-forward Jack Pickering

Jack Pickering

John Pickering was an English footballer who played for Sheffield United between 1925 and 1948. He played in the position of Inside-Left....

), and it was no surprise when he was handed his first of 3 England international

England national football team

The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...

 caps

Cap (sport)

In sports, a cap is a metaphorical term for a player's appearance on a select team, such as a national team. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of association football...

  in 1932 against Scotland

Scotland national football team

The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...

 on 9 April 1932 aged 25 years. He scored on his debut.

Barclay scored 67 league goals for The Blades in 231 starts, although it has been said on numerous occasions that he given his apparent unselfishness in front of goal, he should have scored many more.

He was part of Sheffield United’s FA Cup Final

FA Cup Final

The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the Football Association Challenge Cup. With an official attendance of 89,826 at the 2007 FA Cup Final, it is the fourth best attended domestic club championship event in the world and the second most...

 side which lost to Arsenal

Arsenal F.C.

Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

 0-1 on 25 April 1936. He joined Huddersfield Town

Huddersfield Town F.C.

Huddersfield Town Football Club is an English football club formed in 1908 and based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. They currently play in League One...

in the same year and scoring 19 goals from 74 league appearances.