Stanley Harris
Harris (seated, second to right) in 1903
Personal information
Full name Stanley Charles Harris
Date of birth 1884
Place of birth Scotland
Date of death 31 January 1909 (aged 24)
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
Craven School XI
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1899 Team Anglès
1899–1901 FC Barcelona
1901–1902 Barça B 9 (4)
1902–1906 FC Barcelona
Total 68 (20)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Stanley Charles Harris (1884 – 31 January 1909) was an English footballer who played as a forward for Spanish club FC Barcelona.[1] He is best known for being the very first player in Barça's history to have been sent off during a match.

Playing career

Stanley Harris was born in Scotland, and in his native country he gained experience playing at Craven School in North Yorkshire. FC Barcelona made its official debut on 8 December 1899, and Harris actually played for the rival team, Team Anglès, a team made up of members of the British colony living in Barcelona,[2] featuring alongside the two Parsons brothers (John and William), which had been among the founder of the club two weeks earlier, on 29 November. Harris joined Barça on 13 December, only five days after that match.

On 11 February 1900, in the match against a combination of the best players of FC Català and Escocès FC, Harris brought down Scottish player Willie Gold with a strong tackle. Gold's reaction caused a fight between players of both teams, and as a result, he was sent off, the first time that sanction had been used in Spanish football. Harris did not escape punishment - he was then sent-off as well, thus becoming the very first player in Barça's history to be sent off during a match.[3] This incident caused Arthur Witty, Barça's captain in this match, to resign from the position.

In the following year, Harris was a member of the Barcelona side that participated in the first edition of the Copa Macaya, which was the first football championship played on the Iberian Peninsula, and the forerunner for the Catalan championship which began in 1903, but despite his best efforts, Barça finished as runner-ups to Hispania AC.[4]

In the 1901–02 season, he was part of Barça's second team, with which he won a local tournament, the Medal of the Spanish Gymnastics Federation, playing 9 games and scoring 4 goals.

Together with Arthur Witty, Romà Forns, José Quirante and Carles Comamala, he helped Barcelona win the 1904–05 Catalan championship.[5] He remained loyal to the club for seven years, playing a total of 59 matches and netting 16 goals.

Honours

Club

FC Barcelona B

  • Medal of the Spanish Gymnastics Federation:
    • Champions: 1902

FC Barcelona

References

    1. ↑ "Stanley Charles Harris - Footballer". www.bdfutbol.com. Archived from the original on 30 August 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
    2. ↑ "Stanley Charles Harris stats - FC Barcelona Players". players.fcbarcelona.com. Archived from the original on 31 August 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
    3. ↑ "The incredible story of the Motherwell man who scored Barcelona's first ever goal". www.glasgowlive.co.uk. 26 April 2020. Archived from the original on 31 August 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
    4. ↑ "Primera edición de la Copa Macaya Enero-Abril 1901" [First edition of the Macaya Cup January–April 1901]. www.cihefe.es (in Spanish). 1 June 2014. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
    5. ↑ "Squad of Barcelona 1904-05 Campionat de Catalunya". www.bdfutbol.com. Archived from the original on 30 August 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
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