The long, hard road to the top (1960–1995)

Throughout the sixties and seventies Barnsley were only a shadow of the team they had once been, and this is remembered as the most disappointing period in the clubs history. They now hovered around the Third and Fourth Division, unable to even break into the top two flights of English football. The club saw a resurgence in the late seventies, though, managing to get themselves from Division Four back up to Division Two within two years. Two of the players who contributed to this success were future Sheffield United manager Neil Warnock and future Republic of Ireland international manager Mick McCarthy. Most important, though, was the arrival of player/manager Allan Clarke from the hugely successful Leeds United team of the seventies, who rebuilt and completely turned the team around. He was joined on the squad by his Leeds teammate Norman Hunter, who would also spend a few years as manager.

The eighties and early nineties saw the club establish themselves as a very strong Division Two side, as they had been in their early history, eventually reaching a position to once again start challenging for a place in the top tier for the very first time.