VIV THE WHIZZ

November 29th 1978 saw the first "start" by an English black player when Viv Anderson was picked to play against Czechoslovakia at Wembley in a 1-0 win. An attacking full back, he created the opening for Tony Currie, who passed to Steve Coppell who score the only goal.

Playing for Nottingham Forest in the last 1970s, he was part of a very successful club side that took Europe by storm. Born in Nottingham in 1956, he won 20 caps between the late 70s and 1980. In 1995 he was put in the English Footballers' Hall of Fame.

Arthur Wharton (see previous blogs) in 1886, a goalkeeper, was the earliest recorded black professional player to play football, beginning his career in 1885 at Darlington, joined the great Preston North End team and ending at Stockport County in 1902. He arrived in England in 1882 to train as a Methodist missionary but turns to athletics instead. He also cycled and played cricket for local teams. 

He became a landlord of the Albert Tavern in Rotherham, another club he turned out for, went to Sheffield United briefly but did play in the First division against Leicester Fosse, thus being the first mixed race player to play at that level. At this stage he was understudy to William Fatty Faulke, who was the main choice. His statue stands at St George's Park, the HQ of the FA.

Whilst Walter Tull, who played for Clapton FC, was the first English black footballer to win a football medal when his team won the FA Amateur Cup in1908-9. He then signed for Sours and Northampton Town (1909-11) for whom he played 111 times. As an outfield player he was regarded as the "catch of the season" at Clapton. He was killed in action in France in 1918.

Andrew Watson, a Guyanan, in 1881 represented the Scottish amateur team Parkgrove to start with, then Queen's Park and also played for Scotland three times. His other teams included the Swifts ( London side), the Corinthians and Bootle. Inheriting a substantial legacy from his father's plantation and slave business, Andrew was educated at boarding schools, studied briefly at Glasgow University and married early. He won cups with Queen's Park and captained Scotland until 1882 when he moved to London. Watson was rich enough to travel back and forth to Scotland where he played in the game to be staged at the "second" Hampden Park ( see previous blog). His last home was in Liverpool where he worked as a maritime engineer and turned out for the local Bootle FC.