'A Perfect Day' as plaque to first black international footballer is unveiled in Halifax by Viv Anderson

 'A Perfect Day' 

 With thanks to John Harvey for this photograph of Viv Anderson unveiling a plaque to Andrew Watson 

The unveiling of a blue plaque to one its former pupils, Andrew Watson, the first black international footballer, by Viv Anderson, MBE, England’s first such player, proved a historic occasion for Crossley Heath School on Wednesday 19 March. On a beautiful sunny day, the drawing back of the plaque’s curtain, which brought to an end two days of events, was cheered by a large crowd that included another former pupil and, although a different ball shape, sports star in Brian Moore.

                                                            Brian Moore 

The plaque can be viewed by visitors to Skircoat Moor, the heart of Halifax for centuries on which Watson would have had opportunities to engage in games and make friends. Born in Guiana in 1856, his arrival in West Yorkshire and subsequent appearances for Scotland in the 1880s is one of football’s most unique tales as his mother, Anna Rose, was a black woman born into slavery who was freed, along with her mother Minkle, as a young girl.

Watson’s father, Peter Miller Watson, a wealthy white Scottish solicitor was highly influential in Demerara where the economy was based on sugar grown on cane plantations worked by enslaved labour.

Watson, a cousin to Prime Minister William Gladstone, was extremely fortunate in that, thanks to his father, he was one of the very few illegitimate, mixed-race children to enjoy an excellent education that saw him become a Queen Elizabeth Free Grammar School pupil in Heath, Halifax in 1866. A time when football was emerging to challenge the dominance of rugby.

He became a King’s College pupil in London in 1871 and enrolled four years later at the University of Glasgow, home to Queen’s Park, the first side to prioritise the passing game and the best in the world. Meanwhile, English football with its more individual approach was still struggling to catch up On his debut in 1881 Watson captained Scotland as they thrashed England 6-1. Watson followed this up with two more victories against England. At club level he won the Scottish FA Cup on three occasions.

He later moved south, playing for the famous amateur side Corinthians where he encouraged players to combine together. He then represented Bootle, then Merseyside’s number 1, where he became the first black man to become a football administrator, investor and match official.

Little wonder that alongside Pele he is rightly regarded as the most influential black footballer of all time.

All these exploits and the background to them were outlined to a range of pupils within the school on the 18^th and 19^th March by football historians Llew Walker, author of A Straggling Life – Andrew Watson, Bill Hern, author of Football’s Black Pioneers, Richard McBrearty, curator of the Scottish Football Museum and whose work has probably done more than anyone to bring Watson ‘back to life.’ Last, but not least, Mark Metcalf, who lives less than a mile from the school and came up with the idea of a plaque and who with the backing of headteacher Dean Jones and the school as whole put it into practice. All four also spoke at a well-attended pie and pie fund raising supper on the Tuesday night in the school main hall.

On the Wednesday lunch time, Viv Anderson, twice a European Cup winner with Nottingham Forest who became England’s first black player when he represented England against Czechoslovakia in 1978 and went on to play 29 times more, was warmly received when he spoke to 500+ pupils within the sports hall. Since when a further 116 black and ethnic minority players have followed him including just last week Myles Lewis-Skelly, a full back like Anderson.

Then after signing autographs, he was joined outside at the pupils’ entrance gate on Skircoat Moor by Mr. Jones, Brian Moore and the four historians along with the following additional speakers: - Halifax Town manager Sam Millington, local councillor Colin Hutchinson and Virginia Lloyd, Deputy Lieutenant of West Yorkshire

After revealing the plaque to the world Anderson, who admitted he had never heard of Watson until six months earlier, commented that “Watson must have been very strong willed as back in the 1800s then it must have been difficult for him but he got through it and I am full of admiration for him.” Anderson also praised his international colleagues Cyril Regis and Lawrie Cunningham who he just beat to become England’s first black player.

                                      Viv Anderson, Dean Jones and Mark Metcalf 

Dean Jones commented that: “pupils have been able to connect with him as we are a really diverse school, so to be able to champion your own heritage then we can relate to that. Pupils also love sport and to have a sporting icon associated with their school also makes us all really proud. “

A theme that was continued by a school student Ibrahim “we learnt today about Andrew Watson and Viv Anderson and it is a big inspiration about how they dealt with racism during their matches.”

Whilst Grace told the press that “I am a big advocate for women’s football and it has always been a dream to make a change in football and Viv and Andrew both did that and will inspire me each day to work on women’s football.”

The event drew considerable media coverage including a 3-minute evening feature on BBC Look North and articles in The Daily Mail and Sunday Mirror.

Mark Metcalf, who became a big admirer of Anderson when he witnessed him face down racists at the Newcastle v Forest game in 1977, said “it had been a perfect day.”