Our feature for this month is on former Canary captain Barry Butler.

Early Life

He was born in the Robson Maternity home, Stockton on Tees on 30 July 1934.

He attended and played for the Richard Hind Secondary School and played for Stockton Schoolboys. On leaving school he became an apprentice electrical fitter at Imperial Chemical Industries, Billingham. He played for North Riding, Stockton West End, Billingham Minors, South Bank Juniors, and South Bank (in the Middlesbrough area). He also had trials as an amateur with Middlesbrough and with Dundee.

He was transferred from South Bank to Sheffield Wednesday for a fee of £300 after 3 ‘A’ team matches on trial with them. He signed for them as a professional on 20 September 1952 and played in 36 League and Cup matches, scoring 1 goal. He was in their team that lost to Preston North End in the 1954 Football Association Challenge Cup, semi-final. 

While with Sheffield Wednesday he underwent his National Service in the Royal Air Force and he played for the ‘Royal Air Force XI’.

He married Thelma Nicholls in Cleveland on 9 June 1956. (She had attended school with actress Wendy Craig.)

Signed by Norwich City

He was signed by Norwich City from Sheffield Wednesday on 17 August 1957 for “a substantial 4 figure sum”. (Several years later the fee was said to have been £8,000.) He left the Royal Air Force 3 weeks after joining City.

On 4 October 1961 he played for a ‘Football Association XI’ in their 13-0 victory against a ‘Royal Air Force XI’ at London Road, Peterborough. His involvement in this match meant he was unable to play for City against Lincoln City on the same evening and thus ended a run of consecutive appearances in City’s League and Cup matches which had commenced on 21 September 1957.

He became City’s captain after Ron Ashman. He played in both legs of the Final in which City won the Football League Cup in 1961/62.

He died in a car accident just before 11.00 p.m. on 9 April 1966. His Morris 1100 car hit a number 91 Eastern Counties’ bus driven by Reginald Collins opposite St George’s Roman Catholic Church on Sprowston Road, Norwich. He had left a public house he attended with Phil Kelly and was driving towards the ring road. The subsequent inquest determined that some alcohol was in his bloodstream but not at an unduly high level. 

City had intended to announce in the following week that he had been granted a Testimonial and agreement had been reached that he was to be appointed as player/coach with a permanent coaching position to follow.

At the time of his death his home was at 43 Meadow Rise Road, Norwich.

His funeral service was at the church of St Peter Mancroft in Norwich. The grant of probate valued his estate at £6,051.

The testimonial match, in which City played Ipswich Town went ahead, on 25 May 1966. The attendance was 5,678.

Barry Butler Memorial Trophy

On Friday 15 April 1966, a memorial service was held for Barry Butler at St Peter Mancroft in Norwich.

City’s chairman Geoffrey Watling announced that he was to present the club with a cup to be known as the ‘Barry Butler Memorial Trophy’.

It was to be awarded annually to the player chosen by supporters as the club’s ‘player of the season’ and it was intended that the process perpetually commemorate Butler.