Arthur Wharton (28 October 1865 – 12 December 1930) is widely considered to be the first
black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...
professional
A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and sk ...
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugb ...
in the world.
Though not the first black player outright – the amateurs
Robert Walker, of Queen's Park, and
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...
international player,
Andrew Watson, predate him (possibly a professional before Arthur Wharton for
Bootle F.C.
Bootle Football Club is an English football club based in Bootle, Merseyside. The club are members of the and play at New Bucks Park.
History
Previous clubs in Bootle
The original Bootle F.C. were formed in 1879 and played their first fi ...
in 1887) – Wharton may have been the first black professional and the first to play in the
Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...
.
Early life, ancestry and early career
Wharton was born in
Jamestown,
Gold Coast (now
Accra
Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...
,
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Tog ...
). His father Henry Wharton was a
Grenadian missionary of Scottish and African descent, while his mother, Annie Florence Egyriba was a member of the
Fante Ghanaian royalty.
Wharton moved to England in 1882 at age 19, to train as a
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...
missionary
A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...
, but soon abandoned this in favour of becoming a full-time athlete.
He was an all-round sportsman – in 1886, he equalled the amateur world record of 10 seconds for the 100-yard sprint in the
AAA championship.
He was also a keen
cyclist and
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...
er, playing for local teams in
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
and
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancas ...
. However, Wharton is best remembered for his exploits as a footballer; while he was not the first mixed-heritage footballer in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
— leading amateurs
Robert Walker and
Scotland international Andrew Watson predate him, however Wharton was the first mixed-heritage footballer to turn professional.
Football career
![Darlington FC Winners of the Cleveland Challenge Cup 1887](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/Darlington_FC_Winners_of_the_Cleveland_Challenge_Cup_1887.jpg)
Wharton started as an amateur playing as a
goalkeeper
In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting ...
for
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town.
In the 19th century, Darlington underw ...
, where he was spotted by
Preston North End
Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...
after playing against them.
He joined them as an amateur, and was part of the team that reached
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football compet ...
semi-finals in
1886–87.
During the third round victory against
Renton, Wharton's clean sheet was described by
Athletic News as "one of the best exhibitions of goalkeeping I have seen for a long time." Though part of "
The Invincibles" of the 1880s,
he left Preston in 1888 to concentrate on his running, and thus was not part of the team that subsequently won
the Double in
1888–89.
In 1888 the Sheffield Football Association agreed to give a testimonial to Sheffield Wednesday's
Billy Mosforth, versus Preston North End. The meeting of both clubs in the FA Cup meant that the match was postponed until February, by which point the Olive Grove was snow covered and the match was switched to Bramall Lane. Arthur volunteered for the 'Sheffield Wednesday and District' team but despite both clubs being locked into a draw in the first half Preston ran away with the match, winning 8–1. It was reported that Wednesday's heavy loss was "in great measure owing to the wretched performance of Wharton, who utterly failed to uphold his high reputation as a goalkeeper" and that he "could not have stopped the ball had it been half as big as a balloon". It was reported that at times the Wednesday fans applauded every kick Arthur took and one fan angrily asked the Preston team where they had "brought him from" as it was well known that Arthur was a former Preston player. There were even fears that Arthur would be the victim of violence as he left the field. Arthur did have a connection to Sheffield Wednesday, through his trainer in Sheffield 'Billy' South, who amongst other noted Sheffield sporting icons of the day also trained Wednesday's
Tommy Crawshaw
Thomas Henry Crawshaw (27 December 1872 – 25 November 1960) was a professional footballer who played almost his entire League career with Sheffield Wednesday. Crawshaw was a centre-half whose career lasted from 1894 to 1909 during which time ...
.
Having failed to impress at Sheffield Wednesday he returned to football in 1889, joining
Rotherham Town, signing as a professional. In 1890 he married Emma Lister (1866–1944) at
Rotherham
Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...
in Yorkshire. By 1891 he was the landlord of the Albert Tavern in Rotherham. In 1894 he moved to
Sheffield United
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...
, though he was understudy to regular first-team goalkeeper
William "Fatty" Foulke.
During the
1894–95 season, Wharton played three games for Sheffield United, against
Leicester Fosse,
Linfield and
Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
— the latter being a
First Division game, making Wharton the first mixed-heritage player to play in the top flight.
In 1895 he left for
Stalybridge Rovers but after falling out with the management moved to
Ashton North End in 1897, where he opened a tobacconist shop in
Ashton-under-Lyne
Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. The population was 45,198 at the 2011 census. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the north bank of the River Tame, in the foothills of the Pennines, east of Manche ...
. Ashton North End went bankrupt in 1899, and he returned to Stalybridge Rovers, playing with a young Herbert Chapman, before seeing out his career playing for
Stockport County
Stockport County Football Club are a professional association football, football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they wer ...
of the
Second Division
In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
in
1901–02.
As well as playing in goal, he would also occasionally feature outfield as a winger.
Legacy
![Arthur Wharton later](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Arthur_Wharton_later.jpg)
Having developed a drink problem,
Wharton retired from football in 1902 and found employment as a colliery haulage worker at the
Yorkshire Main Colliery
Yorkshire Main Colliery was a coal mine situated within the village of Edlington, south west of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England.
History
The colliery was created by the Staveley Coal and Iron Company, which bought land in Edlington and lea ...
in
Edlington
Edlington is a town and civil parish in the City of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England, lying to the south west of Doncaster and Warmsworth. It has a population of 8,276. The original parish town of Edlington is now known as ''Old Edlington ...
. By 1911 he was employed as a collier and living in
Moor Thorpe,
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...
, with wife Emma. When
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
began in 1914 Wharton joined the
Volunteer Training Corps
The Volunteer Training Corps was a voluntary home defence reserve force in the United Kingdom during World War I.
Early development
After war had been declared in August 1914, there was a popular demand for a means of service for those men who we ...
(roughly equivalent to the
Home Guard
Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense.
The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting wi ...
of World War II), volunteering to give his life in the defense of Britain if called upon. On his death in 1930 he was buried in an unmarked
pauper's grave
A potter's field, paupers' grave or common grave is a place for the burial of unknown, unclaimed or indigent people. "Potter's field" is of Biblical origin, referring to Akeldama (meaning ''field of blood'' in Aramaic), stated to have been p ...
. The grave was given a headstone in 1997 after a campaign by anti-racism campaigners
Football Unites, Racism Divides
Football Unites, Racism Divides (FURD) is a youth and social inclusion project and charity based in Sheffield, England which uses football as a tool to 'break down barriers created by ignorance or prejudice'. It works locally, nationally and i ...
. In 2003 Wharton was inducted into the
English Football Hall of Fame
The English Football Hall of Fame is housed at the National Football Museum in Manchester, England. The Hall aims to celebrate and highlight the achievements of the all-time top English footballing talents, as well as non-English players and man ...
in recognition of the impact he made on the game. A campaign to have a statue erected in
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town.
In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...
as well as in
Rotherham
Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...
to acknowledge Wharton's achievements has gained wide support within the professional game. In 2012, a small statue of Wharton was presented to
Sepp Blatter
Joseph "Sepp" Blatter (born Josef Blatter; 10 March 1936) is a Swiss former football administrator who served as the eighth President of FIFA from 1998 to 2015. He has been banned from participating in FIFA activities since 2015 as a result of ...
at the headquarters of
FIFA
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
, where it will be on permanent display. On 16 October 2014, a statue honouring Wharton was unveiled at
St George's Park National Football Centre.
In 2020, a mural was unveiled in Darlington on Arthur Wharton's 155th anniversary.
Career statistics
References
Further reading
* Phil Vasili, ''The First Black Footballer, Arthur Wharton, 1865–1930: an absence of memory'', Frank Cass, 1998 ()
* Phil Vasili ''Colouring Over the White Line. The History of Black Footballers in Britain'' ()
External links
The History of Black FootballersFootball Unites Racism Divides profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wharton, Arthur
1865 births
1930 deaths
English footballers
Association football goalkeepers
Darlington F.C. players
Preston North End F.C. players
Rotherham Town F.C. (1878) players
Sheffield United F.C. players
Stalybridge Rovers F.C. players
Stockport County F.C. players
English sportspeople of Ghanaian descent
English people of Grenadian descent
Footballers from Accra
Black British sportspeople
English Football Hall of Fame inductees
Ashton North End F.C. players
Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in England
Ghanaian people of Grenadian descent