Today we take the opportunity to welcome Barrow AFC back to the Football League after an absence of 48 years.
Why today in particular?
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/