THE Robledo brothers began their footballing journey at Barnsley but they could well have gone full circle and back to Oakwell if an ambitious transfer had been pulled off.
That is just one the stories revealed in Spencer Vignes’s book, Postcards from Santiago, which is now on sale.
The West Melton brothers, George and Ted who were born in Chile, began their careers at Barnsley.
George was undoubtedly the star and when Newcastle United came calling for his services he insisted that they signed his brother too.
The double deal was almost a British record but it paid off with George netting 82 times in 146 appearances and forming a formidable partnership with the legendary Jackie Milburn. He also won the FA Cup twice, in 1951 and 1952.
He netted the winner in the latter with his brother Ted also playing alongside him in the 1-0 victory over Arsenal.
George also played in the 1950 World Cup for his homeland against England despite not knowing a word of Spanish.
His time on Tyneside ended in 1953 when Chilean giants Colo-Colo moved for the duo with 2,000 fans awaiting their arrival at the airport.
But after several successful years in Santiago, Barnsley FC tried to bring them both home.
In an exclusive exert from the book, Spencer writes: ‘Labán (Colo-Colo’s president) received a letter postmarked England which had, nonetheless, been translated into Spanish.
The correspondence was from Joe Richards, chairman of Barnsley Football Club, and he was interested in knowing whether George Robledo was for sale. Labán cabled Richards straightaway yes, ‘Jorge’ was available to buy with, inevitably, ‘Eduardo’ in tow.
The final decision, though, would be down to George himself, with a transfer fee in the region of £15,000 being acceptable to Colo-Colo. The amount, even by 1955 standards, was a colossal sum for a club such as Barnsley, especially considering George’s age (five months shy of turning 30). Even so, Richards told Labán he was serious about doing a deal, and would be approaching George in the coming days to gauge his feelings.
Of all the offers that came George’s way throughout 1954 and 1955 to return to the UK, the one from Barnsley unquestionably tugged at his heartstrings the most.
It didn’t matter that the wages on offer paled in comparison to what he was earning at Colo-Colo. It didn’t matter that Barnsley were, by that time, a struggling Second Division side.
It didn’t matter that the Pennines, and not the Andes, would’ve greeted him in the mornings. None of that mattered because Barnsley and its surroundings were the nearest thing he’d ever had in his life to a home.
It was Yorkshire that had taken him, and his family, in when circumstances started working against them in the Atacama Desert of the 1930s. It was where he’d spent his formative years. The roots of so much of what was good in his adult life stemmed from Barnsley and the Dearne Valley.
It was a place that had always called to him. Now, thanks to Richards, he’d been given the opportunity to answer that call.
As Christmas presents go, George’s return to Oakwell would’ve been up there with the best of them as far as Barnsley fans of all ages were concerned.
‘First we must come to terms with Colo-Colo, and then the brothers,’ Richards declared on December 1, 1955 to a group of journalists who’d got wind of the story. ‘Perhaps nothing will be done this side of Christmas, but the issue is still alive.’
Barnsley’s chairman was confident he could find the money, but wanted some kind of assurance from George before setting the financial wheels in motion. With Colo-Colo reiterating that £15,000 would be enough to do a deal, all heads duly turned in George’s direction for an answer either way.
Never one to be rushed, unless on a football field, George thought long and hard. Once he’d done that, he thought long and hard some more, right the way through the Christmas period into the New Year.
The answer, when it finally came, wasn’t what Barnsley fans wanted to hear.
George would be staying in Chile, with Colo-Colo.
Once again, having weighed everything up, there were just too many reasons to stay put in South America, not least of all the love of a good woman who George increasingly believed may just be the one.
If moving back to Britain risked jeopardising his relationship with Gladys in any way, then he wasn’t prepared to do it.
Thanks, but no thanks, Mr Richards.’
George is unquestionably among the finest players to have ever come from this region and his tally of 33 goals in the 1951/52 season remains the highest ever by a foreign registered player in England’s top-flight.
George remained in Chile until his death in 1989 whilst Ted died in 1970 in mysterious circumstances after reportedly falling from an oil tanker in the Persian Gulf.
A blue plaque for the brothers is now in situ on their boyhood home on Barnsley Road, West Melton.
n Spencer will be at Library @ The Lightbox in Barnsley town centre on May 10 from 11.30am-12.30pm for an official launch of the book. You can reserve your place on the council website.
