A sentence from Wikipedia perhaps defines this club’s history perfectly: “Barnsley have spent more seasons in the second tier of English football than any other club in history and have produced some notable talents over the years who have gone on to be successful at other clubs.” They joined the Football League (Second Division, naturally) in…

Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds are rivals, although it seems neither of them worries about the Tykes much. It would seem to us that any Yorkshire club would qualify as a rival, particularly Doncaster

Barnsley Women FC play in the fourth-tier National League Division One North. Home games are at Oakwell Academy. See barnsleywomensfc.org for

None that we know of, but one bears mention here anyway. It’s not specific to Barnsley, but they seem fond of smuggling a plant pot into the stadium, putting it on people’s heads, and singing, “He’s got a plant pot on his head.” Don’t believe us? Google “plant pot on head.” You’ll…

Oakwell, seen from a hill in town, seems to fit right into the scenery as a football ground should. Also, the rusty corrugated iron roof on the West Stand dates to the early 1900s, and some of the seats in there are original! Good on the club for keeping these touches around. The East Stand is on a hillside, so there’s quite a walk up to its…

GETTING THERE: It’s just a 10-minute walk from the train station. PUBS: There are a few pubs right around Oakwell, the most football-looking being The Mount on Pontefract Road. It’s got a picture of a bulldog carrying a football; we assume that’s a tyke. Over on Doncaster Road, the Dove Inn is recommended in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide, and kids…