Only just read of the passing of Duncan Sharp

Was he part of the Short Sharp and Swift line-up?

My dad often mentioned them.

Played in the 1950s I would guess?

 

Mi fatha waxes lyrical about that team/era.

RIP indeed

 

I missed that as well. He was just coming to the end of his Barnsley career as I was starting my lifelong love affair.

By all accounts a proper hard man centre half. Luckily we had a terrific prospect coming through the ranks to replace him. Young teenager by the name of Eric Winstanley.

RIP Mr Sharp. May you enjoy your new situation kicking lumps out of celestial centre forwards.

 

Our old man talks of Duncan Sharp in the highest terms. RIP and condolences to his family


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passed away in care home in Penistone on Friday. Lovely bloke

 

I remember him (just). My limited impression was of a tough guy. I seem to recall him running into the goal post when clearing the ball off The Reds' goal line and breaking his nose but continued to play in his customary robust style for the remainder of the game. I think it was against Bury in a 3rd/4th round F.A. cup tie (Bury were then a Division 2, now Championship, club). Can anyone confirm this ?

Recalling this reminded me of the time Alan Hill injured his arm in, I think, the fist half of a game. Alan played goalkeeper (later transferred to Nottingham Forest). No subs allowed in those days so someone else went in goal (Tony Leighton ?) and Alan went up front with his arm in a sling. He played that way for about an hour - showed tremendous energy chasing the ball without looking at all threatening, but it looked strange as the sling was strapped tight to him and he could not move his arm at all. Does this ring a bell with anyone else ?

 

Duncan Sharp, my first footballing hero. I was lucky enough to start my love affair with the Reds towards the end of his career so I still have a few treasured memories of him.

A salt of the earth local lad who consistently gave his all, in the style of the archetypal centre half of the day - the ball might get past him, the man might get past him, but both together - nah! It was from players like big Dunc that the phrase "Gerrim int wall bottom!" was hewn.

The world is suddenly a sadder place for me. RIP big man.

 

Duncan finished playing for us in 1961 - are you getting the FA Cup tie with Bury mixed up with the one in 64/65 when we played them in the 4th Round having knocked out another Second Division side - S****horpe in the 3rd Round. We then went on to lose 0-4 at home to Man Utd in the 5th. Duncan Sharp was long retired by then. By the way, Bury are not in the Championship now, nor probably ever will be

I was at all of those games I just mentioned and I was also at the match against Forest when Alan Hill broke his arm and played up front. A player would never do that these days, even if there weren't so many subs. I can only guess at the pain he must have been in, and yet he ran around, trying to add at least nuisance value, for the rest of the match. Maybe the Forest defenders were kind to him and didn't knock him about. Or maybe he just didn't see much of the ball! He was one of our best ever keepers though. Home-grown, tall and athletic and it was such a shame that he had to leave us to get a better standard of football. He had a great career but I'm sure he remembered where he came from.

 

I remember Duncan Sharp well from the 50's. Norman Hunter was a pussycat compared with Duncan. He was the hardest man I have ever seen playing for the Tykes. Legend has it that he was kept in a cage at Oakwell and fed on raw meat, and was let out just before the game. Anyone who had the temerity to get past him usually ended up in the wall bottom! He quit football at an early age to go into the haulage business. Great memories of a big man in every sense of the word. RIP Duncan.

 

Just had a fantasy thought - imagine he was transported a few decades into our late 1990s team and he found himself up against another hard man, also called Duncan.

It's Barnsley V Everton in a Premier League fixture. Sharp is marking Ferguson. Literally marking him, from first minute to last. Ferguson wouldn't stand a chance and would be begging to be taken off well before the end.

But no, just in time, our Duncan shadows him to the touchline and, just as the ball is chipped forward, Sharp clatters him so hard that he flies off the pitch, hits the lower West Stand wall and shatters it. Ferguson ends up on the concrete at the feet of some of our fans who are laughing their heads off.

Now THAT, I suggest, would be worth the season ticket money. Just that one game. Shame it never happened

 

My dad used to go on about him as well, "Norman Hunter, hard? Tha should a seen Duncan Sharp."

 

Didn't know he'd died, very sad, I was talking about him with a mate only last week, we both agreed that for his day he was a very good centre half but he wouldn't last 10 mins in todays sanitised game. RIP.

 

Thanks for putting me straight on that. Maybe it was Luton Town then, I think we played them in the fourth or fifth round the season we played Leicester City in the 6th round. Something in my mind keeps suggesting Duncan Sharp broke his nose in a big cup game - but maybe it's the pitiful brain cells I have left !

Remember very clearly the Man Utd game - only time I've booed The Reds onto the pitch ! Being a cup game and a clash of colours The Reds wore blue shirts and Man Utd played in all white - when The Reds (in blue) came on I thought it was Man Utd and booed them roundly.

Remember the replay against S****horpe that you mention. We had drawn 2-2 at the Old Show Ground, I think Ken Oliver scored both goals. As you say they were also a 2nd Division (now called Championship) side. Went on the Hoyland Supporters club coach. There were more people than coach seats so another half dozen stools were fetched from the Gate Inn and a number of people (me included) sat on these in the aisle of the coach - don't think that would meet with official approval these days either ! I think it was c.20,000 attended the replay (by then we knew it would be Man Utd next). Their full back Brownfoot/Brownsword or something scored two penalties but I seem to remember Eddie O'Hara scoring a penalty for The Reds in the 3-2 win.

Anyway, I'll terminate my wallow in nostalgia now. Thanks for correcting my errors.

 

Just shows how the brain cells have gone ! Just re-read your post and the crowd couldn't have been down to the expectation of Man Utd as that was two rounds later. But I'm pretty sure the gate against Scunny was c.20,000 so it just shows how big an attraction the F.A. cup used to be. My recollection was the F.A. cup games were always looked forward to more than the league. Probably because during the sixties we were either in Division3 or Division 4 !

 

I was lucky enough to play in goal for a local team (Barnsley Optimists) in the 70s and we had Duncan Sharp playing for us at centre back. He was a mountain and scared the opposition strikers to death. He was intensely competitive even playing in local football, and woe betide me if I made a mistake, whether it resulted in a goal or not. A great experience to play with someone like that.

RIP Duncan Sharp and condolences to your family and friends.

 

I could quote you gates, scorers etc if only I still had my scrapbooks at home. When I moved earlier in the year I had to give them up to a relative. I might claim them back one day if I find the room!

Anyway, the match at the Old Show Ground was my first ever away match and I sat by the corner flag on top of one those concrete shelters most grounds used to have for the ambulance men to shelter in. We were way behind Scunny in status at that time so it was a great result to take them to a replay. It was left back Jack Brownsword that got their penalties. He never missed them.

Bury was an equally hard tie as they were also ahead of us in the league pecking order but we dispatched them anyway. Then came the star-studded Man Utd and I was one of the 38,076 who saw us roll over to the team that included Best, Law and Charlton. The result was never in doubt. Great occasion though and, as I have mentioned on here before, I saw the match from both ends of the ground.

Back of Ponty to start with - couldn't see much!
Kop for the rest of it, close to that sliding gate that was open on the day. Segregation was nowhere that day - in fact it rarely was if I remember.

 

You're right, the Man Utd result was never in doubt. If I remember right, George Best got the first around 20-odd minutes with a shot from the edge of the penalty area past Bobby Williamson in The Reds' goal. I think Denis Law got two and the other (I'm really struggling now) was David Herd ? There was a picture on the back page on one of the Sunday newspapers the next day of Eric Brookes laid on The Reds' goal line, propped up on his elbow with his head on his palm looking totally pissed off with Denis Law turning away with his classic one-hand-in-the-air pose having hammered the ball into the net.

Aaah, memories - jumpers for goal posts eh?