Meet the 80-Year-Old Assistant Manager Who Once Faced Pele

“It was one-on-one, me against Pele,” recalls former goalkeeper Jim Barron about an event at Yale Bowl, New Haven, Connecticut, in 1977. “I made the save.”

Barron was playing for the Connecticut Bicentennials, a team named in honor of the United States’ bicentennial anniversary. The team attracted its largest-ever crowd of 17,302 fans for their home opener against the New York Cosmos, 47 years ago.

Pele’s Cosmos won the match 3-2, but the Brazilian three-time World Cup winner didn’t score. “There’s a picture of me in a newspaper catching the ball with Pele jumping over me,” Barron tells BBC Sport. “It didn’t matter who it was, I always took great pride in stopping anyone from scoring.”

From facing a Brazilian football legend in the North American Soccer League to serving as caretaker manager for Wolverhampton Wanderers, Aston Villa, and Birmingham City, Barron has had a long and distinguished career in football. Now 80 years old, his passion for the game burns stronger than ever.

At least twice a week, Barron makes the 172-mile round trip from his home in Binfield, Berkshire, to Bath City, where he serves as assistant manager. Bath City plays in the sixth tier of English football and is managed by Jerry Gill, a former defender who helped Birmingham earn promotion to the Premier League in the 2001-02 season.

Barron will turn 81 on October 19 and will mark the occasion alongside Gill—whom he coached at Birmingham—when Bath visits Hornchurch on his birthday for a National League South game. Before that, they’ll face league rivals Salisbury in the third qualifying round of the FA Cup.

Barron lost a finger in an oil rig accident during a brief period away from coaching in the 1980s and suffered a collapsed lung while managing Cheltenham in 1989.

Barron’s Lifelong Love for Football

How does Barron feel as he nears his 81st birthday? “I’ve got aches and pains; one of my wrists isn’t so good, and I’ve got arthritis in a couple of fingers,” he admits. “Apart from that, I feel okay.”

“I’d be bored without football. I’ve been paid my whole life for something I’d do for free. Since leaving school, I’ve been involved in football, whether it’s playing, coaching, managing, or scouting. In that respect, it’s been a good life. I’ve been lucky.”

From £13-a-Week Keeper to Aston Villa Manager

Barron was 20 when he made his first senior appearance for Wolves in a goalless First Division draw against then-champions Everton at Molineux in 1963. His first paycheck was £13 plus a £1 bonus if the crowd was larger than expected.

The son of former Blackburn goalkeeper James Barron, Jim went on to play for Chelsea, Oxford United, Nottingham Forest, Swindon Town, Connecticut Bicentennials, and Peterborough United. After a playing career spanning over 400 games, Barron had coaching spells in Saudi Arabia and Iceland, as well as stints at Everton, Sheffield United, Crystal Palace, Wycombe Wanderers, and Northampton Town.

He even managed Aston Villa for one game in the Premier League after Ron Atkinson was sacked in 1994, seven months after winning the League Cup. “I was Ron’s assistant, and when he left, I was asked to take charge against Tottenham while they searched for a replacement,” says Barron. “We won 4-3 at White Hart Lane. Soon after that, they appointed Brian Little, and I left. As far as I know, I’m the only Aston Villa manager with a 100% winning record in the Premier League.”

Barron also signed former Aston Villa, Wolves, and Everton striker Andy Gray when he was managing non-league Cheltenham Town. During his one season at Chelsea in 1965-66, Barron encountered Terry Venables and Peter Osgood as a backup goalkeeper to Peter Bonetti.

But it was his encounter with the legendary Pele that remains a career highlight for the native of Tantobie, County Durham.

“Skydivers on the Pitch”

Barron was 33 and in the twilight of his playing career when he was offered the chance to join the Connecticut Bicentennials. It was an offer he didn’t need to think long about. George Best (Los Angeles Aztecs), Rodney Marsh (Tampa Bay Rowdies), and Gordon Banks (Fort Lauderdale Strikers) had already headed to the United States to play, and Barron was eager to experience the action in the North American Soccer League.

“There was a lot of razzmatazz,” he recalls. “I remember a game in Dallas where skydivers landed on the pitch before kick-off. It was just different and very enjoyable. We played in Minnesota on Independence Day, and there were almost 50,000 people in the stadium. The announcer said something like, ‘we’ve got players from nine different countries playing in this game, could you please show them your appreciation?’ It made the hairs on your neck stand up because 50,000 people stood up and started clapping. They just kept clapping throughout the game. That’s what it was like.”

“Do You Realize He’s Nearly 80?”

Barron has been assistant manager at Bath City since the summer of 2023 when Gill asked him to step up from his scouting role at the non-league club. “I replied, ‘Gilly, I’m done with coaching. I’m nearly 80, and it’s a long way from Berkshire to Bath,’” he reveals.

“In the end, I went and met the players. The way Gilly runs things is as good as, if not better than, many full-time clubs. In my opinion, he should be managing at a higher level. Everything is done on a very limited budget, and they’re a great group of lads who work their socks off and listen.”

Gill says Barron is one of the most active assistants he has had in his seven years in charge of Bath. “Jim has the work ethic of an enthusiastic 21-year-old,” says Gill, who at 54 is 26 years younger than his assistant.

“I honestly forgot how old Jim was when I went to the board to get permission to appoint him. My chairman said, ‘Do you realize he’s nearly 80?’ But this isn’t some 80-year-old sitting in an armchair. This is a guy who’s extremely active.”