Arthur Wharton
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Date of birth | 28 October 1865 | ||
Place of birth | Jamestown, Gold Coast | ||
Date of death | 13 December 1930 | (aged 65)||
Place of death | Edlington, Yorkshire, England | ||
Position(s) | Goalkeeper/Winger | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1885–1886 | Darlington | ||
1886–1888 | Preston North End | ||
1889–1894 | Rotherham Town | 19 | (0) |
1894–1895 | Sheffield United | 1 | (0) |
1895–1896 | Rotherham Town | 15 | (0) |
1896–1897 | Stalybridge Rovers | ||
1897–1899 | Ashton North End | ||
1899–1901 | Stalybridge Rovers | ||
1901–1902 | Stockport County | 6 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Arthur Wharton (28 October 1865 – 12 December 1930) was a
Early life, ancestry and early career
Wharton was born in
He was an all-round sportsman – in 1886, he equalled the amateur world record of 10 seconds for the 100-yard sprint in the
Football career
Wharton started as an amateur playing as a
In 1888 the Sheffield Football Association agreed to give a testimonial to Sheffield Wednesday's Billy Mosforth, versus Preston North End. The meeting of both clubs in the FA Cup meant that the match was postponed until February, by which point the Olive Grove was snow covered and the match was switched to Bramall Lane. Arthur volunteered for the 'Sheffield Wednesday and District' team but despite both clubs being locked into a draw in the first half Preston ran away with the match, winning 8–1. It was reported that Wednesday's heavy loss was "in great measure owing to the wretched performance of Wharton, who utterly failed to uphold his high reputation as a goalkeeper" and that he "could not have stopped the ball had it been half as big as a balloon".[11] It was reported that at times the Wednesday fans applauded every kick Arthur took and one fan angrily asked the Preston team where they had "brought him from" as it was well known that Arthur was a former Preston player. There were even fears that Arthur would be the victim of violence as he left the field.[12] Arthur did have a connection to Sheffield Wednesday, through his trainer in Sheffield 'Billy' South, who amongst other noted Sheffield sporting icons of the day also trained Wednesday's Tommy Crawshaw.[13]
Having failed to impress at Sheffield Wednesday he returned to football in 1889, joining Rotherham Town, signing as a professional. In 1890 he married Emma Lister (1866–1944) at Rotherham in Yorkshire.[14] By 1891 he was the landlord of the Albert Tavern in Rotherham.[15] In 1894 he moved to Sheffield United, though he was understudy to regular first-team goalkeeper William "Fatty" Foulke.[3] During the 1894–95 season, Wharton played three games for Sheffield United, against Leicester Fosse, Linfield and Sunderland — the latter being a First Division game, making Wharton the first mixed-heritage player to play in the top flight.[3] In 1895 he left for Stalybridge Rovers but after falling out with the management moved to Ashton North End in 1897, where he opened a tobacconist shop in Ashton-under-Lyne.[16] Ashton North End went bankrupt in 1899, and he returned to Stalybridge Rovers, playing with a young Herbert Chapman, before seeing out his career playing for Stockport County of the Second Division in 1901–02.[8] As well as playing in goal, he would also occasionally feature outfield as a winger.
Legacy
Having developed a drink problem,
In 2020, a mural was unveiled in Darlington on Arthur Wharton's 155th anniversary.[23][24]
Career statistics
Club | Season | League | FA Cup | Other | Total | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Preston North End | 1886–87[25] | — | 6 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | |||
1887–88[26] | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||||
Total | — | 6 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | ||||
Darlington | 1887–88[27] | — | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |||
Rotherham Town | 1893–94[28] | Division Two | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 20 | 0 | |
Sheffield United | 1894–95[28][29] | Division One | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Rotherham Town | 1895–96[28] | Division Two | 15 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 20 | 0 | |
Stockport County | 1901–02[28][30] | Division Two | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 7 | 0 |
Career total | 41 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 56 | 0 |
- ^ Appearance in United Counties League
- ^ Appearance in Manchester Senior Cup
References
- ^ a b c d "Arthur Wharton". 100 Great Black Britons.
- ISBN 0-7146-4903-1.
- ^ a b c d e "Arthur Wharton". Football Unites, Racism Divides. Archived from the original on 10 June 2011. Retrieved 12 August 2008.
- ^ "Fate of Scotland's first black footballer revealed". www.scotsman.com.
- ^ Moffitt, Dominic (14 October 2021). "Andrew Watson: The pioneering black footballer who turned pro at Bootle". Liverpool Echo.
- ^ "Wharton, Henry". A Dictionary of Methodism in Britain and Ireland.
- ^ "Arthur Wharton: The Early Years". Arthur Wharton Foundation. Archived from the original on 5 January 2015.
- ^ a b c d "Arthur Wharton: The first Black Footballer". BBC.
- ^ Vasili 1998, p. 63.
- ISBN 1-905328-09-5.
- ^ "Preston North End v. Sheffield Wednesday and District". Sporting Life. 29 February 1888. p. 3.
- ^ "Mosforth's Benefit". Sheffield Daily Telegraph. 28 February 1888. p. 8.
- ^ "Old Sheffield Handicaps". Star Green 'Un. 30 November 1912. p. 4.
- ^ England & Wales, Free BMD Marriage Index, 1837–1915 for Emma Lister – Ancestry.com pay to view
- ^ 1891 England Census for Arthur Wharton – Ancestry.com pay to view
- ^ 1901 England Census for Arthur Wharton – Ancestry.com pay to view
- ^ Chris Webber, "Black football pioneers from Arthur Wharton to Viv Anderson and beyond", The Observer, 30 August 2009.
- ^ White, Mark (27 October 2020). "The extraordinary story of Arthur Wharton, the first black professional footballer". fourfourtwo.com. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
- ^ Arthur Wharton Foundation. Archived 8 September 2014 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Arthur Wharton: Campaign to honour football pioneer", BBC News, 7 January 2013.
- ^ Walker, Andy (6 June 2012). "FIFA boss touched by Wharton statue presentation". Northern Echo. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
- ^ "Pioneer Arthur Wharton honoured at St. George's Park". The FA.
- ^ Nolan, Laura (28 October 2020). "Arthur Wharton mural launched in Darlington after 12 year labour of love". The Northern Echo.
- ^ "Art house: a celebration of football murals – in pictures". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
- ISBN 978-0-7146-4459-2.
- ^ Vasili 1998, p. 70.
- ^ Richards, Keith. "1887-1888 F.A. Cup matches" (PDF). SoccerData. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 January 2022.
- ^ a b c d "The English National Football Archive". enfa.co.uk. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ISBN 978-1-78091-019-2.
- ^ Vasili 1998, p. 146.
Further reading
- Phil Vasili, The First Black Footballer, Arthur Wharton, 1865–1930: an absence of memory, Frank Cass, 1998 (ISBN 0-7146-4903-1)
- Phil Vasili Colouring Over the White Line. The History of Black Footballers in Britain (ISBN 1-84018-296-2)