PIONEER ARTHUR WHARTON HONOURED AT ST.GEORGES PARK
A 16-foot permanent memorial will recognise the pioneering achievements of Wharton, the world’s first black professional footballer.
Dave Cook of the One-Two Magazine with Shaun Campbell founder of the Arthur Wharton Foundation, in front of the Arthur Wharton statue
St. George’s Park chairman David
Sheepshanks conducted the
ceremony and said: “Today is a
historic day to mark the
achievements and the legacy of the
late great Arthur Wharton. But it’s
also a future day because it’s a day
that is going to inspire a whole new
generation of young players and in
particular young coaches to want to
reach for the top and be the best
they possibly can be. When you look
at what this man achieved it’s
simply extraordinary. Imagine the
courage he had to display to achieve
what he did in those days. We often
talk how hard it is for young people
from black and Asian minority
backgrounds to get into top jobs
today, so imagine what it was like
then. Certainly not enough people
know about his story and we’re
going to embrace it in the tour
programmes of all the young people
and schools that come here."
Sheepshanks added: “We’re going to
make sure his story is told to all the
coach education cohorts that come
through here – and that will manifest
and grow and I think it will become a
really important part of what St.
George’s Park is all about. We are
here to embrace talent from
wherever it comes. Hopefully today
will be a moment in time that
everyone will look back and say ‘you
know from that day onwards
opportunities grew – no matter what
background you came from’.
After suffering from a number of
illnesses in later life, Arthur Wharton
died penniless in 1930 and was
buried in an unmarked grave in
Edlington Cemetery in south
Yorkshire.
However, his grave was given a
headstone in 1997 after a campaign
by anti-racism body ‘Football Unites,
Racism Divides’, and six years later
he was inducted into the English
Football Hall of Fame in recognition
of the impact he made on the game.
Shaun Campbell, founder of the
Arthur Wharton Foundation, was also
in attendance and said that the
unveiling was not the end of a
journey to get him the recognition he
deserves, but the start of another
tackling a global issue.
“To move forward we have to tackle
racism on a global scale, but football
can kick-off that campaign. Today is
a very proud day,” he said.
“It’s been a long journey but it’s one
that’s been an absolute honour and a
privilege to be part of. But this statue
is not the end, it is the beginning."
"Football is part of the wider
problem, but it is also the biggest
army in the world. If you can unite
the fans, the support base, it has the
capacity to really make a difference –
and it’s very exciting."
“To move forward we have to tackle
it on a global scale, but football can
kick-off that campaign. You don’t
have time to feel the stresses and
strains of championing something
like this because your own adversity
can never match that which he
faced."
"This is the beginning of true
recognition for the black and ethnic
minority groups to this country.”
One-Two Magazine would like to thank
Sean for giving us the opportunity to be
present at the ceremony.