Darlington is fortunate to boast having been the place where Arthur “Kwame” Wharton, the first Black professional footballer in the world, began his sporting career, having started as an amateur in the role of goalkeeper for Darlington in the 1800’s. This has been celebrated with a mural of him featured in Darlington and the Arthur Wharton Foundation being established in Darlington 2010 (https://arthurwhartonfoundation.org/background-and-aims/)

 

Arthur was born in Ghana, 28th October 1865, and died in England, 13th December 1930. His father was Henry Wharton, a Grenadian-Scottish minister and missionary, and mother was Annie Florence Egyriba, a Ghanaian and member of Fante royalty. In 1883, Arthur moved to England to train as a missionary at Cleveland College Darlington. A year later, at age 19, he was signed to play the goalkeeper position for Darlington Football club. (Adi, 2022) 

 

Darlington had only been formed in 1883 and were becoming a major northeastern team. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Darlington_F.C._seasons) He later played for the prestigious Newcastle and District team. A skilled athlete, he also became the first official fastest man when he ran a record time of 10 seconds in 100 yards on 3rd July 1886 at Stamford Bridge London, a World record that would stand for 30-years. He was known to distract opponents with eccentric moves; he would hang from the crossbar and catch the ball with his legs. He would crouch at the side of the goal and pounce on the ball. (https://teesvalleymuseums.org/blog/post/arthur-wharton/)

 

In 1889, Arthur joined Rotherham Town, signing as a professional, and in doing so, became the world’s first Black professional footballer. He continued to play football for another 13 years, during which time he also became a cycling champion, professional cricketer and rugby player.

 

In 1893 he married Emma Lister, a local girl he met whilst playing for Rotherham United, and together they had two daughters, Minnie and Nora (John Simkin,1997, 2020, john@spartacus-educational.com). As well as a successful footballer, Arthur was a coach and manager, and in addition, ran a series of public houses.

 

Towards the end of his 17-year footballing career, Arthur is reported to have developed a drink problem (Simkin, 2020), and left football in 1902, returning to Yorkshire where he continued to play cricket. He also found employment as a colliery haulage worker at the Yorkshire Main Colliery, Edlington, joining the Miners federation of GB and took part in the 1926 General Strike (Simkin, 2020). In 1914, he was offered a job coaching in County Durham, but refused this due to a lack of work to supplement his wages.

 

In 1930 this remarkable athlete died penniless in Springwell Sanatorium in Blaby and was buried in an unmarked grave in Edlington Cemetery. Two causes of death were recorded on his death certificate: epithelioma and syphilis (Simkin, 2020). In May 1997, his grave was given a headstone following a campaign by ‘Football Unites Racism Divides’ for recognition of his achievements. Arthur’s story is one example of how Black figures from local history influenced the local area (and in his case becoming a national figure of importance), making a hugely important contribution to cultural life and paving the way for future generations to follow.