Barber was born at Ilkeston, Derbyshire. He made his first-class debut for Derbyshire in May 1907 against Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) when he took a total of three wickets, but was out for a duck in both innings. He next played two matches in 1911, and then another two matches several years later in 1920. Barber took 9 first-class wickets at an average of 29.66 and a best performance of 2 for 19. He played ten innings in five first-class matches with an average of 3.33 and a top score of 10.Frederick Barber at Cricket Archive
