A Brief History of Barrow AFC
A Brief Club History by Phil Yelland
Chapter 6: Making Progress
Courtesy of Keith Griffiths
In 1979, despite a lack of playing success, the club joined the APL (now the Nationwide Conference) and the opening home game saw a crowd of 2,027 as the team defeated Yeovil Town 2-0. In April 1981, the club won its first Trophy since losing League status as manager Mickey Taylor led the side to a 2-1 ATS Trophy success over Chorley at Wigan. However, two years later, the club was relegated back to the NPL.
Former Sunderland star Vic Halom was appointed as player/manger in the summer of 1983 and he took the club to the NPL title at the first attempt. However, his talents were noted in the Football League and one year after his arrival, he departed, along with top scorer Barry Diamond to join Rochdale. Over the next two seasons, the club had a succession of managers, including Brian Kidd before being relegated again.
