Footballsup Heroes No. 3 – Arthur Wharton

Weve had Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Ronaldo (not ‘had’ had – that would be weird) – the next in our heroes series is Arthur Wharton. ‘Who?’ I hear you cry. Read on…

Looks cool doesn’t he?

But who is he?

That, my friends, is Arthur Wharton. The first black professional footballer EVER. That’s some accolade. Long before Luther Blissett became the first black player to score for England, or Viv Anderson became the first black player to captain England, Mr Wharton was striking a blow for black footballers everywhere.

In an entirely white footballing world he was a trailblazer, playing for Darlington in 1885 when it was more a cataclysmic shock than a novelty to see a black man trotting out for your – or any other – side.

At this point an honourable mention must go to Andrew Watson, the first black man to play international football (bizarrely for Scotland, who don’t seem to have had a black player since. Apart from Chris Iwelumo. And look how that turned out…) But he was still an amateur – it was Wharton who made the first inroads for black people into football as a profession.

That is enough to earn Wharton hero status in our book. But that’s not all. Incredibly he also held the world 100m record for a time, running it in 10 seconds. And he was a goalkeeper!

AND, he played county cricket for Yorkshire.

AND, he died a penniless alcoholic. No wait, that one’s not good.

But for being the the first professional black footballer, and holding the world 100m record whilst being a goalkeeper (although he did occasionally play on the wing), and playing county cricket, and liking a drink, Mr Wharton, we salute you. A true hero.