Artist's statue bid for football's first black professional player

By Owen Amos

AN ARTIST is campaigning for a statue of the world's first black professional footballer to be erected outside one of the region's football clubs.

Arthur Wharton, from Ghana, played for Darlington from 1885 to 1886, after being sent to the town to train as a Methodist preacher.

Now, Shaun Campbell, 46, owner of Drum Art Furniture, in Grange Road, Darlington, is campaigning for a life-size statue of Wharton to be erected outside the Balfour Webnet Darlington Arena.

His plan has been supported by Kick It Out, football's anti-racism campaign.

Mr Campbell has spoken to the club, and written to Darlington Borough Council, seeking support and funding.

Mr Campbell, whose father is from Barbados, and mother from England, believes the statue would be visited by football fans from around the world - especially if England wins the chance to host the 2018 World Cup.

He says a match featuring England's most famous black and dual-heritage footballers, such as Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand and Tottenham Hotspur's Aaron Lennon, could be held to mark the statue's unveiling.

But Mr Campbell warns that if Darlington does not erect the statue, Wharton's other clubs will.

"Darlington has a number of firsts that I know of, " he said.

"The first railway, the first great children's book - Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. And, in Arthur Wharton, the world's first black professional footballer.

"We can either record that fact, or celebrate it and I think we should celebrate it."

Mr Campbell has commissioned a bust of Wharton to show the council and the club how a statue could look.

"If we don't do it, someone else will - which will be very embarrassing for the town, " he said. "I love Darlington, and it's no surprise to me the people of Darlington welcomed Arthur Wharton back then and allowed it to happen.

"The first club to employ a black professional footballer?

That's incredible."

Campaign co-ordinator for Kick It Out, Piara Power, said: "I think it's a good idea. Any celebration of difference is positive, particularly with the outstanding achievements of Wharton.

"His story is a great one. And, in an era where sometimes we forget the history of settlement, it's an interesting reminder.

"If it goes ahead, we would like to get involved in the unveiling. I look forward to it."

The football club and borough council said they were keen to speak further with Mr Campbell.

From preaching to playing

ARTHUR WHARTON, left, was born in October 1865, on the Gold Coast, in Africa, now known as Ghana.

He moved to Darlington aged 18, to train at Cleveland College as a Wesleyan missionary.

He was first noticed in 1885 when he ran a handicap race at Darlington Cricket Club. That year, he became the goalkeeper for Darlington.

A year later, representing Darlington Football Club, he ran 100 yards in ten seconds at the Amateur Athletic Associations championship in Stamford Bridge, London.

It was the first time it had been run in "even time", and the record stood until 1912.

He went on to play for the then-mighty Preston North End, before leaving Darlington for Sheffield in 1888. He played for Rotherham and Sheffield United, among others, sometimes as a winger.

A keen cricketer, as well as footballer and athlete, he became a haulage hand at Yorkshire Main Colliery, near Doncaster, after retiring.

He died penniless in December 1930, and was buried in an unmarked grave in Edlington cemetery, in South Yorkshire.

His grave was given a headstone in 1997 after a campaign by anti-racism campaigners Football Unites - Racism Divides for recognition of his achievements.

In 2003, he was inducted into the national Football Museum's Hall of Fame, alongside other footballing greats, such as Sir Geoff Hurst, Sir Bobby Moore, and Tony Adams.

He was not the first black footballer in the UK - leading amateur and Scotland international Andrew Watson predates him by 11 years - but was the first to turn professional.