John ‘Barrel’ Barnes shed the excess kilos, but couldn’t shake his beloved nickname.By Glen Atwell
AS a selfconfessed ‘keg on legs’, John Barnes was barrelled with a nickname he has never been able to shake.
The Garfield Football Club legend admits he was a chubby child, but despite losing the excess weight, ‘Barrel’ could never shed his nickname.
“I was about 12 or 13 and at Drouin High School when the nickname Barrel was coined,” he said.
“I sort of looked like a barrel back then, so I guess it was an obvious choice.”
Barrel can’t quite remember exactly who used the rounded nickname first, but said it is something he has learnt to love.
“I went through a stage as a kid where I never grew taller,” he said.
“After a while, I thought I’d better make a go of losing some weight and began playing a heap of sports and doing a lot of running.
“The weight came off, but the nickname wouldn’t budge,” John laughed.
The 46yearold played 366 club games for Garfield and is now the coach of an under12s junior football team.
Barrel said he wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of people didn’t know his real name.
“A lot of football people would struggle to come up with John, it’s Barrel to most of the people around football,” he said.
