August, 2020 - Football's Black Pioneers

Albert Charles Payne makes his debut for Tranmere Rovers

Space limitations meant that there are many great stories we weren’t able to include in ‘Football’s Black Pioneers’. One such story concerns Albert Charles Payne who made his debut for Tranmere Rovers on 31st August 1946. Before you ask, no, the picture above is not of Albert!

Albert was born in Liverpool on 11^th November 1923, the son of Albert Ernest Payne and Lily May Payne (nee Tranter). So, what is the connection between Tranmere’s first black player and the distinguished looking gentleman in the picture?

On 1^st November 1853, on the Caribbean island of Barbados, Joseph Stanley Payne (pictured above) was born. As a young man Joseph took to the sea and, as so many seamen did, eventually made Liverpool his home port. It was here that he married a local white girl, Sarah Ann Mansfield, in 1880. On 28th June 1884 Joseph and Sarah had a son, Albert Ernest, who joined the growing ranks of Liverpool’s mixed heritage community.

On 12th February 1920, Albert Ernest married Lilian May Tranter and Tranmere’s first black player was born three years later.

Albert Charles Payne made only ten appearances in the Football League (more than enough to earn him a place in ‘Football’s Black Pioneers’), but his cousin, George Payne, made a total of 467 between the sticks for Rovers in a career that started in 1947 and ended in 1961. We don’t have a photo of Albert in his playing days but his cousin George is seen here (back row, third from the left).

You may think that George ‘doesn’t look black’but he and Albert were directly descended from the man pictured at the top of the page, he was their grandfather. This illustrates the point that the black contribution to British history is not always readily apparent, all the more reason to explore this hidden history.

There is a longer article on our sister site that considers this issue: http://historycalroots.com/archives/2849

Encore on BBC Radio Leeds

Neville Chamberlain, first black player at Newport and Port Vale, who can trace his ancestry back to the plantations of Jamaica and the days of slavery

Bill Hern made such an impression on BBC Radio Leeds that he was invited back for a discussion on their Sunday evening show. The presenter made some perceptive points: ‘your book comes in a timely fashion given everything that’s being discussed … Empire has played a huge role in shaping quite literally the world that we live in but also the country that we live in. I for one think it’s a travesty that it isn’t taught, warts and all, in the school curriculum to help young children understand why the world looks the way that it does and why England and the UK looks the way that it does.’ Amen to that. As someone else has commented elsewhere ‘Football’s Black Pioneers’ is a book that every school should have!

Bill spoke about his chat with Neville Chamberlain, part of the Chamberlain footballing dynasty that includes England internationals Mark Chamberlain and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Neville told Bill that managers would often ask him to switch wings towards the end of games so that he would be near the players’ tunnel at the final whistle, enabling a quick exit before opposing fans could invade the pitch to spit at him. Just one of the shocking stories in the book.

Football’s Black Pioneers on Radio Leeds

William Gibb Clarke, first black player to score in the English Football League

Bill Hern continued his virtual journey around the radio stations of Yorkshire when he spoke about ‘Football’s Black Pioneers’ on Radio Leeds.

Understandably the interview focused on the clubs likely to be of particular interest to the audience: Leeds; Huddersfield and the two Bradford clubs. Although the catchment area may sound relatively small, Bill was able to draw South Africa, Jamaica and Sierra Leone into the discussion. Football in England really does owe an enormous amount to players who were born overseas. Scotland, Wales and Ireland all got a mention too.

You can listen to the interview here:

‘Football’s Black Pioneers’ will be published in less than two weeks, on 31st August.

Welcome back, Barrow AFC!

Today we take the opportunity to welcome Barrow AFC back to the Football League after an absence of 48 years.

Why today in particular?

Dave Busby, Barrow AFC’s first black player

Because on 18th August 1979, Dave Busby, the club’s first black player, made his debut. The game was a 2-0 win at home to Yeovil. This was Barrow’s first game in the newly formed Alliance Premier League, a game described by one fan as ‘a massive standout moment after ten years of decline and general uselessness.’

Dave features twice in the forthcoming book ‘Football’s Black Pioneers’ as he was also the first black player for Brighton. The book will be on sale from 31st August and can be pre-ordered from the publishers: https://www.conkereditions.co.uk/product/footballs-black-pioneers-subscriber-copies-for-pre-order/

Unsung pioneer makes Exeter City debut!

Steve Stacey is just the sort of character we wanted to celebrate when we first had the idea for our book ‘Football’s Black Pioneers’. Steve is hardly a household name and yet he was an important pioneer in the 1960s and early 1970s. He was the first black player at three clubs who are still in the English Football League (Charlton, Ipswich and Exeter City), he also played for Bristol City, Wrexham and Chester (the latter two were in the League at the time) but wasn’t the first black player at any of them.

Exeter City were Steve’s last League club and he made 64 appearances in all competitions over the course of the 1971/72 and 1972/73 seasons, scoring one goal (in a 1st round FA Cup game away at Walton & Hersham).

In a career that was hampered by injuries he nevertheless made a total of 192 appearances for the six clubs he represented from when he first signed as a professional with Bristol City in 1961 until his final appearance for Exeter City on 24th March 1973.

Now is an opportune time to celebrate Steve’s contribution because he made his Exeter debut 49 years ago today on 14th August 1971.

Royal recognition for two pioneers!

Calvin Symonds (being tackled), Rochdale’s first black player, back home in Bermuda

Two of the pioneers who appear in ‘Football’s Black Pioneers’ have featured in an article about the book in The Royal Gazette. The Gazette was founded in 1828 and is Bermuda’s only daily newspaper, the paper claims to reach 97 per cent of the adult population of the island.

Calvin Symonds, the first black player at Rochdale and Clyde Best, not the first black player at West Ham but an important pioneer nonetheless, both live on the island of Bermuda where they were born. You can read the article here: http://www.royalgazette.com/soccer/article/20200806/bermuda-pair-among-footballs-black-pioneers.

Meanwhile, another important pioneer, Lindy Delapehna, has featured in an article about the book in The Jamaica Gleaner: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/sports/20200806/english-footballers-jcan-heritage-chronicled-new-book. The Gleaner is a relative upstart as it was ‘only’ established in 1834!

‘Football’s Black Pioneers’ will be published on 31st August. There is still time (just) to become a subscriber (your name will appear in the book and you will receive a signed copy and a free gift), details here: https://www.conkereditions.co.uk/product/footballs-black-pioneers-subscriber-copies-for-pre-order/

Celebrate Jamaican independence day – Jamaica’s black pioneers

‘Football’s Black Pioneers’ will feature three footballers who were born in Jamaica and at least another ten with Jamaican heritage.

Pictured below are six of our Jamaican footballing pioneers. Only one of them was born in Jamaica, but do you know which one? Two of them would help their teams reach the final of the European Cup (forerunner of the Champions League) during their illustrious careers, but do you know which two?

The answers to these questions and many, many more will be in ‘Football’s Black Pioneers’ which will be published on 31sr August. Oh, and one of the players pictured has contributed a foreword to ‘Football’s Black Pioneers’!

Keeping alive the memory of Albert Johanneson

During the four years it took to research ‘Football’s Black Pioneers’ we have met and spoken to many wonderful people, players themselves and family members. Few have been more supportive than Alicia and Yvonne, the daughters of Albert Johanneson. Although Albert wasn’t the first black player at Leeds United it would have been impossible to write the book without referring to him. He was one of those pioneers who played during the most difficult years and was on the receiving end of the most vile racist abuse. His experiences undoubtedly contributed to his sad early death.

There is Facebook page aimed at keeping his memory alive and they have been kind enough to mention our book: https://www.facebook.com/groups/albertjohanneson/?post_id=10158021440406284