Barrow made it back into the Football League just in time to be included in Football’s Black Pioneers and their promotion prompted a scramble to identify their first black player before the book went to print.
It was a real pleasure when we identified Dave Busby as the man. Dave already featured in the book as Brighton’s first black player and author, Bill Hern, had interviewed him while writing that chapter. Bill met many first black players during the time spent researching the book and found Dave to be a real character and one of the most enjoyable to talk to.
Dave had only a short spell at Barrow, he played in just ten games for them in the Alliance Premier League plus an FA Cup appearance and two games in the Northern Premier League Cup. He made his debut in a home game against Yeovil on 18th August 1979, a game Barrow won 2-0. Over 2,000 spectators watched the game and we can be pretty sure Dave’s was the only black face in the ground that day (he recalls seeing very few black people in the town). This wasn’t just any game, one Barrow fan recalls it as a ‘turning point after ten years of decline and uselessness.’ For this fan it was ‘a massive standout moment’ but not because Dave became Barrow’s first black player that day, an event that seems to have faded from the collective memory. Dave’s time at Barrow is not entirely forgotten however, one fan fondly recalled a reserves game where Dave ‘managed to get the goalie and his stand in carried off, before getting sent off – some going that!’
We didn’t really expect to track down a programme from that game in August 1979 but it is amazing what you can find if you have patience and know where to look:
Quite often the name of the player you are interested in does not actually feature in the programme – a late choice, a youngster just making their way into first team consideration – but Dave’s name is there at No.11. Even more unexpected is that he is featured in the programme:
Dave never did fulfil his stated ambition to play ‘First Division Football’ but he was a black pioneer at not one, but two Football League clubs and we salute him.
Read his story and the stories of the other pioneers in Football’s Black Pioneers: The Stories of the First Black Players to Represent the 92 League Clubs.