World's first Black football pro gets blue plaque in stadium where he played
More than 120 years after his athleticism thrilled sports fans, pioneering Arthur Wharton is being honoured with a blue plaque.
The sign, highlighting his key role as the world’s first Black professional footballer, was unveiled by Give Racism The Red Card ambassador, Dutch ex-player Ken Monkou. It has been put up at Clifton Lane stadium, where the talented goalkeeper played for Rotherham Town, in South Yorkshire, from 1889.
Wharton signed for the team six years after moving from the Gold Coast, now Ghana, aged 18 to become a missionary. The son of wealthy parents, he first lived in the North East and started playing for Darlington FC. He also had spells at high-flying Preston North End, Sheffield United and, finally, Stockport County.
In 1886 he became the Amateur Athletics Association national 100 yards champion – the first man to run it in 10 seconds flat in a championship event – and a year later set a record time for cycling between Preston and Blackburn. Despite being a professional player, Wharton had to supplement his income by running two pubs in Rotherham, the Albert Tavern and the Plough Inn in Masbrough.
Arthur's blue plaqueHe married a Rotherham girl, Emma Lister, in 1890 and when his playing days ended in 1902, worked pushing coal trucks at Yorkshire Main Colliery, at Edlington, near Doncaster. Wharton eventually ended up in a sanitorium and died of cancer in 1930 aged 65. His feats had largely been forgotten and he was buried in an unmarked grave in Edlington – until the Arthur Wharton Foundation provided a headstone in 1997.
Stars who have supported the foundation include Usain Bolt, Marcus Rashford, Viv Anderson, Trevor Nelson and Les Ferdinand. In recent history only blue plaques unveiled in London are recognised by English Heritage. But proposed national expansion is being debated as part of the Levelling up and Regeneration Bill.
Arts and Heritage Minister Lord Parkinson said: “London’s blue plaques are world-renowned. They have helped to celebrate the rich and diverse heritage of our capital city. But people everywhere should be able to celebrate the figures who have shaped their community, which is why we are seeking to extend this opportunity across the country.”
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