Barnsley Football Club is saddened to learn of the recent passing of our former player Roy Sawyer (81).
A member of a Worsbrough Bridge team that played in the Yorkshire League, Barnsley-born centre half Roy Sawyer signed for the Reds in May of 1958, and was a regular performer in the Club's reserve team that played in the Central League.
He had to wait nearly three years before making his first team debut against Bournemouth away from home, replacing skipper, Duncan Sharp. Just 14 minutes into the match and with the Reds leading 1-0, goalkeeper Don Leeson burst a blood vessel in his leg and had to retire from the field. This resulted in Roy taking over between the sticks and the side hung for a famous 2-1 victory.
His only other first team game came seven months later in a 3-2 defeat at Portsmouth. He was released on a free transfer at the end of the following campaign.
Roy remained a Red regardless, and was a regular at Oakwell as a season ticket holder.
Our thoughts as a Club are with the Sawyer family at this difficult time.
Once A Red, Always A Red
