The "Memories" page in the middle of the Chronicle encourages readers to write in with their historic anecdotes and since Barnsley is now one of the top clubs in the country, letters flooded in from Barnsley fans reminding us of the legacy set by the traditions of Barnsley's football.
I am not saying for one minute that the Johnstone's Paint Trophy was due only to our local lads but Barnsley has always had a strong inheritance and there is much to celebrate.
In 1949 Barnsley (School) Boys won the conveted English Schools FA Shield, a competition still played for today. In the 2015-16 competition, present "schoolboys" representing Barnsley Sixth Form College, suffered a 1-3 defeat by Thomas Rotherham College in Round 8.
Barnsley (Sixth Form) College also won the shield in 1985 and 1990.
The 1949 team played the first leg of a two-legged final at Oakwell in front of 27,000 on May 7th. The Young Tykes won the home game 3-1 and also the away leg 1-0 against Derby Schools at the Baseball ground four days later. They won a national cup.
Like the JPT winners, the boys were welcomed by thousands of fans lining the town's streets with bells and rattles. The team also won the Yorkshire Schools' Shield and went to a civic reception at the Town Hall to celebrate their double success.
ESFA was founded in 1904 and organises football for English, Manx and Channel Island schools. If you go to their website you will see how much is provided for schools' footballers from U12s to Colleges, boys and girls, small sided, 11 v11, "B" teams, small schools, regional associations and counties.
http://www.esfa.co.uk/competitions/?2015/
There is also an international section with the English School's teams (boys and girls) playing the home countries and other prestigious matches including a foreign tour.
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