7th October 2022 was a special day, Plymouth Argyle defeated Accrington 3-0 at home to consolidate their place at the top of League One. But it was a special weekend even before the match kicked off. Most Argyle fans would surely agree that the unveiling of a statue to Plymouth hero, Jack Leslie, was of longer lasting significance than the result of a single game. Which was the icing and which was the cake – a 3-0 win or a statue that will stand as a lasting and fitting tribute to someone who was scarcely heard of outside Plymouth until a couple of years ago? We know what we think!
Jack’s story is well known, now – called up to the England squad in 1925 but mysteriously uncalled up just days later when the selectors discovered he was black or, more likely, were heavily leant on by the powers that be who felt a black man could not represent England.
Bill Hern, co-author of Football’s Black Pioneers, attended the unveiling ceremony and it was an emotional day for all those who worked to secure justice for Jack.
It is such a privilege that our names, as authors of Football’s Black Pioneers and supporters of the campaign for the statue, appear on the plinth.
The Jack Leslie Campaign, who worked tirelessly to bring the statue about, have produced a video to celebrate the event:
Copies of the souvenir match day programme are still available but, in that time-honoured phrase, ‘hurry while stocks last’.
The unveiling secured considerable national publicity and the Football Association finally righted a long-standing wrong when they awarded Jack a posthumous cap:
“[Leslie] faced adversity because of the colour of his skin; he was deselected and never played for our country, so we’re delighted to award him with a posthumous honorary cap to recognise his career, his contribution to our game and wider society, and to right this historical wrong.” (FA statement)
