Longest running team in S.Wales
The Barry Basketball Club, as it was originally known, was founded in 1963 when the Colcot Sports Centre was built with Cliff Robinson being appointed as its first warden. Having played basketball in the Army, he was interested in getting the local youth interested in playing so he organised a trip to Sophia Gardens, Cardiff to watch the Great Britain team play. The original team included Ron Rowlands, Clive Rowlands, Francis Bowsher, Billy Bowsher, John Griffths, Keith Thomas, Alun Rees and Peter Robinson.
The team joined the South Wales Coast League with some mixed results and competed against teams from Cardiff Central, Treorchy Boys Club, Newport, Swansea Pirates, Pontypridd YMCA and Porth YMCA.
Mid schoolAfter a few years, Bill Hadden replaced Cliff as warden of the Sports Centre. Fortunately he was also interested in basketball and at Easter 1967 the team traveled to Fecamp, France for the inaugural Easter Games between the Twin Towns of Barry, Fecamp and Rheinfelden, organised by the Barry Sports Council.
The team continued playing in the local South Wales Coast League throughout the 1970s and 1980s at Senior and Junior levels. The Barry team of the mid 80s contained Welsh Internationals Mark Gibbons, Colin Webb and Paul O’Connor, together with Americans John Dauparis and Roger Kryzynski and was arguably one of the best sides that the Club has ever produced. Despite always being competitive, the Club didn’t win as many honours as perhaps they should have. In fact, they seemed to be the bridesmaid on many occasions, being runners up in the League and Cup on an almost annual basis. At the time, the dominant teams from Cardiff and the Rhondda proved to be the Club's nemesis.
Despite the relative lack of winners’ medals, the Club has produced a number of Welsh internationals at Senior and Junior levels and has also supplemented local sides playing in the English National Leagues since the early 80s. The Club also hosted a Welsh Junior International game against England in 1993, with Barry being represented by Adrian Whitlow and Andrew Rosser.
Another strong Barry side emerged in the mid 90s with Mark Gibbons, still a force in Welsh basketball, joined by his brothers Chris and Ian, together with James Stephenson, Martin Tanner and Elliott Thomas. This core of players, who were all Senior and/or ex-Junior Welsh Internationals, won the South Wales Plate competition in 1999/2000 and the South Wales Coast League Division 1 the following season.
Who is that good looking bloke? Having played competitively every season since 1963, the Club took a one-year sabbatical in 2002 due to falling numbers. However, hard work led to a recruitment drive which gave the Club enough players to start competing again the following season. Since the early 2000s, the Club has played in the South Wales Valleys League, winning the competition in 2006, and not finishing below third in any other season. This team was another strong Barry side, still featuring Chris & Ian Gibbons and Elliott Thomas together with Welsh Senior International Anthony Trigg, and ex-Welsh Junior Internationals Stuart Peters, Lloyd Roberts and James Newton.
In 2007, the Club adopted the nickname ‘Huskies’ and entered a Junior team into the English National League, a first for the Club. This team featured Welsh Junior Internationals Jake Hollings, Chris Lewis and Jack Dyer. After a single season the team broke up as players graduated from the age group, with the majority joining the Senior squad.
As basketball in South Wales has continued its resurgence, Barry Huskies are now firmly established as South Wales’ oldest club.
