Arthur Wharton
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Arthur Wharton (1865 - 1930) was the first black professional football player in England. Wharton was born in Jamestown, Gold Coast (now Accra, Ghana), his father was half-Grenadian and half-Scottish, and his mother was a half-Scottish member of the Ghanaian royalty. He moved to England in 1882, to train as a Methodist missionary, but soon abandoned this in favour of becoming a full-time athlete.
Wharton started as a semi-professional playing as a goalkeeper for Darlington, and then Preston North End (with whom he reached the FA Cup semi-finals in 1887). He became the first black professional footballer when he joined Rotherham United in 1889 playing as a goalkeeper. He would later play several games for Sheffield United, though he was overshadowed (perhaps in more than one way) by William "Fatty" Foulke. As well as playing in goal, he would also occasionally feature outfield as a winger.
Wharton was an all-round sportsman - in 1886, he set a world record of 10 seconds for a 100 yard sprint in the AAA championship. He was also a keen cyclist and cricketer, playing for local teams in Yorkshire and Lancashire. After retiring from sport, he descended into destitution and alcoholism, spending the last 15 years of his life working at as a labourer in a Yorkshire colliery. He died penniless in 1930 and was buried in an unmarked grave in Edlington, South Yorkshire; his grave was given a headstone in 1997 after a campaign by anti-racism campaigners for recognition of Wharton's achievements.
Wharton never won a major medal (having moved from Preston before they completed their League and FA Cup "double" of 1889), nor an England cap. Another black player, Andrew Watson, pre-dates Wharton by 11 years, however football at that time was only played in an amateur capacity.
Club career
- Darlington (1885 - 1886) (Semi-professional)
- Preston North End (1886 - 1888) (Semi-professional)
- Rotherham United (1889 - 1894)
- Sheffield United (1894 - 1895)
- Stalybridge Celtic (1895 - 1897)
- Ashton North End (1897 - 1899)
- Stalybridge Celtic (1899 - 1901)
- Stockport County (1901 - 1902)
Further reading
- Phil Vasili, The First Black Footballer, Arthur Wharton, 1865-1930: an absence of memory (ISBN 0714649031)
External links
- Football Unites, Racism Divides (http://www.furd.org/arthurwharton.asp)
- BBC h2g2 entry (http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A752410)