Career
Born in Kilnhurst, Barlow began working as a miner in South Yorkshire at the Silverwood Colliery, where he played football, representing the miners" team Barlow earned a £5,000 move to Wolverhampton Wanderers after being spotted by Frank Buckley. He would make only three appearances for the club, scoring once, before being signed by.
He left the club having netted 34 goals in 104 appearances.
After scoring nine times in 42 games for Leicester, Barlow made a move to Colchester United for a £1,000 fee in the summer of 1952. Making his debut on 13 September 1952 in a 1–0 defeat at Queens Park Rangers, Barlow would go on to make 60 appearances and score 16 goals in his two years at Layer Road before injury forced him to retire from the professional game, later representing Crittall Athletic and Long Melford.