Barry Hancock

Barry Hancock

Personal information
Full name	Barry John Hancock
Date of birth	(1938-12-30)30 December 1938
Place of birth	Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, England
Date of death	10 September 2013(2013-09-10) (aged 74)
Position(s)	Inside-forward
Youth career
	Birches Head R.C.
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1954–1964	Port Vale	21	(1)
1964–1965	Crewe Alexandra	3	(0)
	Stafford Rangers
	All Blacks
Total		24+	(1+)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Barry John Hancock (30 December 1938 – 10 September 2013) was an English footballer who played as an inside-forward. He played 24 league games in the English Football League for Port Vale and Crewe Alexandra from 1961 to 1965.

Career

Hancock supported Port Vale since childhood and also spent matchdays working as a matchday programme seller at Vale Park. He managed to join the club as an amateur after a time with Birches Head R.C. He signed as a professional in July 1957 and finally made his debut on 24 April 1961 against Potteries derby rivals Stoke City in the (replayed) final of the Supporters' Clubs' Trophy in 1961. He played two Third Division games in 1960–61, though Norman Low played him just six times in 1961–62. He impressed in league FA Cup games against Bradford Park Avenue, but had to reject an approach to join the club by player-manager Jimmy Scoular as Vale retained his registration. He featured nine times at Vale Park in 1962–63, before scoring his first and only senior goal on 9 September 1963, in a 1–1 draw with Mansfield Town at Field Mill, in one of only five appearances for the "Valiants" in 1963–64; Hancock was released by manager Freddie Steele at the end of the season. He moved on to Crewe Alexandra, playing three Fourth Division games in 1964–65, and later played for non-League Stafford Rangers. He later played for All Blacks before going back to Birches Head R.C. as a referee. After retiring, he once more became a programme distributor at Vale Park.

Career statistics

Source:

Club	Season	Division	League		FA Cup		Other[A]		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Port Vale	1960–61	Third Division	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
	1961–62	Third Division	5	0	1	0	0	0	6	0
	1962–63	Third Division	9	0	0	0	0	0	9	0
	1963–64	Third Division	5	1	0	0	0	0	5	1
	Total		21	1	0	1	0	0	22	1
Crewe Alexandra	1964–65	Fourth Division	3	0	0	0	1	0	4	0
Career total			24	0	1	0	1	0	26	1

A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the League Cup, Football League Trophy, English Football League play-offs and Full Members' Cup.