Wallace "Walley" Barnes (January
16,
1920 –
September 4,
1975)
was a
Welsh
footballer.
Born in Brecon
to English parents (his father, a
soldier, was
stationed there at the time), Barnes initially played as an inside-forward for
Southampton in
wartime
games, where he was spotted and duly signed by
Arsenal.
He played in virtually every position on the pitch for Arsenal in wartime
matches (including a match as
goalkeeper),
and despite a serious knee injury incurred in
1944, he recovered
to make his League debut for the Gunners against
Preston North End on
November 9,
1946.
Barnes soon found a regular place in the Arsenal side, at left back, and was
part of their
First Division Championship-winning side of
1947-48. By then he had also become a regular for
Wales, winning his first cap against
England on
October 18,
1947, where he was
given the uneviable task of having to mark
Stanley Matthews. Barnes went on to win 22 caps, and became captain of his
country.
Barnes switched to right back following an injury to
Laurie Scott, and won an
FA Cup winners'
medal in 1950 after
Arsenal beat
Liverpool. Two years later, Arsenal got to the Cup final again, this time
against
Newcastle United, but Barnes twisted his knee badly and had to come off the
pitch; with no
substitutes permitted, Arsenal were down to 10 men, and went on to lose 1-0.
As a result of his Cup final injury, Barnes was out for the entire
1952-53 season (in which Arsenal won the League), although he was back in
the side for the next two seasons. With age as well as past injury now counting
against him, he retired from playing in the summer of
1956. In all he
played 294 matches and scored 12 goals (he was often the club's designated
penalty taker).
After retiring from playing, Barnes entered the world of
broadcasting, joining the
BBC. He presented
coverage of FA Cup finals and, with
Kenneth Wolstenholme, was one of the commentators for the very first edition
of
Match of the Day in
1964. He continued
to serve the BBC in various capacities, until his early death, at the age of 55,
in 1975.
