Barney Battles, Jr.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Bernard Joseph Battles | ||
| Date of birth | 12 October 1905 | ||
| Place of birth | Musselburgh, Scotland | ||
| Date of death | 15 November 1979 (aged 74) | ||
| Place of death | Edinburgh, Scotland | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Boston Celtics | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1924–1928 | Boston Soccer Club | 116 | (41) |
| 1928–1936 | Hearts | 148 | (133) |
| Total | 264 | (174) | |
| National team | |||
| 1925 | United States | 1 | (0) |
| 1928–1930 | Scottish League XI | 5 | (13) |
| 1930 | Scotland | 1 | (1) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Bernard "Barney" Joseph Battles (12 October 1905 – 15 November 1979) was a Scottish footballer whose name is synonymous with Heart of Midlothian. A dual-internationalist, he represented both Scotland and the United States at full international level.
Battles was the son of former Scotland internationalist Barney Battles senior, who played for and won honors with both Celtic and Hearts, amongst others, in the 1890s and 1900s. Battles senior contracted pneumonia and died aged 30, before the birth of his son, who was named in his memory. The monies taken from the stand at the 1905 Scotland v Ireland match at Celtic Park were donated by host club Celtic to the grieving Battles family in tribute to their former player.
Battles junior was raised in the Edinburgh area, where he attended the city's Holy Cross RC Academy, and developed his footballing skills in the city's inter-school competitions. While he was still a teenager his mother decided to emigrate to the United States of America and Battles and an elder sister accompanied her across the Atlantic.
On his arrival in the U.S., Battles began playing for the Boston Celtics, a Sullivan Square team. While playing for the Celtics, he caught the attention of a scout from the Boston Soccer Club. Although not enjoying the popular status of baseball, soccer (as the sport was known) was buoyant in 1920s America, boosted by a ready supply of talent from the country's numerous immigrant communities and significant corporate investment from industrial giants such as the Bethlehem Steel Corporation. Aged 19, Battles was offered a contract with the newly founded Boston Soccer Club, playing in the American Soccer League (ASL). The club recruited extensively from British football and among his team-mates were fellow Scots Johnny Ballantyne and Alex McNab, while former Rangers player Tommy Muirhead was appointed player-manager.
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