fullname heightweight death_date death_place years birth_place clubs image_size position statsend coachyears originalteam birth_date coachclubs image article_title name
sydney quinton barker , sr. 183 cm / 95 kg 23 march 1930 abbotsford , victoria 1908 ` vfl total - '' ' 1909 -- 1921 1921 -- 1924 1927 '' collingwood , victoria richmond -lrb- vfl -rrb- north melbourne -lrb- vfa -rrb- essendon north melbourne 75 ruckman 1927 1922 -- 1924 1927 essendon association -lrb- vfa -rrb- 26 november 1887 essendon north melbourne sbarkernmelb.jpg syd barker , sr. .
 syd barker
syd barker , sr. .

sydney quinton barker , senior -lrb- 26 november 1887 -- 23 march 1930 -rrb- was an australian rules footballer who played with richmond , essendon and north melbourne in the victorian football league -lrb- vfl -rrb- .
his son , also named syd barker , had a brief league career with north melbourne .
barker 's long footballing career began at essendon ` a ' in the victorian football association -lrb- vfa -rrb- with whom he played before joining richmond in 1908 for their inaugural vfl season .
he managed just a couple of games and decided to return to the vfa , this time with north melbourne .
a ruckman , barker became an integral player in north 's illustrious `` invincibles '' side that won premierships in 1910 , 1914 , 1915 and 1918 .
he captained the club in their last two premierships and through a record 58 game unbeaten streak from 1914 -- 1919 .
in 1921 , north disbanded as part of a plan to merge with essendon and join the vfl in 1922 .
barker moved to essendon 's vfl side in mid-1921 in good faith that the merger would go ahead , but it ended up being blocked by the state government , and barker was stuck at essendon .
he became captain-coach in 1922 and led the club to back to back premierships in 1923 and 1924 before announcing his retirement .
barker came out of retirement in 1927 and returned to his old club north melbourne , who were in their third vfl season .
as captain-coach he could only manage 3 wins and the club finished the season second last .
barker was a fireman by profession and less than three years after his last vfl match he died suddenly while at work at the abbotsford fire station .
today north melbourne best and fairest winners are awarded the syd barker medal .
