THE shirt worn by Viv Anderson, the man recognised as the first black footballer to win a full cap for the England men’s national team, is being sold today for at least £28,000 by auctioneers Graham Budd at the Old Trafford cricket ground.

Lot 39 of “The Viv Anderson Collection,” who won a league title and back-to-back European Cups at Nottingham Forest before playing for Arsenal, Manchester United and Sheffield Wednesday, is part of a vast array of shirts and memorabilia being sold by the 68-year-old as he seeks to raise funds for his children.

The long-sleeved Admiral shirt was not one of the most revered designs in the history of the England football team having never been worn in a major tournament. However, on November 29, 1978, the then 22-year-old Anderson went down in history as the figurehead for a group of black footballers blazing a trail in the English game in the late 1970s.

Although Plymouth Argyle’s Jack Leslie was picked by the England selectors as far back as 1925, he was swiftly dropped when the Football Association — who had never watched him play — were alerted to the colour of his skin. In 1968, the mixed-race Leeds United full back Paul Reaney first played for the senior side but never publicly admitted to his ethnic origin.

Another decade passed without international recognition for the black footballers who were beginning to take the English First Division by storm. West Bromwich Albion’s Laurie Cunningham was first to play for the England u21s in 1977, closely followed by Anderson the following year.

The two joked about who would be first to win a senior cap. Having scored twice for the England B team on a summer tour, the attacking full back would be selected by new England manager Ron Greenwood to be the 936th footballer — and the first black man — to play for the men’s international team against what was then  Czechoslovakia.

Anderson was notified of his selection by his club manager who received a letter from the FA. During the subsequent media frenzy, he received telegrams from Queen Elizabeth II, Elton John and even Laurie Cunningham’s mum to celebrate his achievement which marked a watershed for people of colour in the country.  

At the time Anderson realised how his appearance for England would have an effect on Nottingham’s black community. He told the Daily Mirror in November 1978: “I was walking through the city with team-mate Ian Bowyer and a couple of youngsters were following us. Ian suddenly said ‘these kids absolutely idolise you’.”

“It hit me then just how much my achievements mean to these people. They now have a target to aim at — they think that if I can do it, so can they.” Anderson played the full 90 minutes, helping England achieve a clean sheet and starting the move which led to the winning goal.

Unusually, the game was not shown live on television with only brief highlights existing of what was an historic occasion for black people throughout the country. After the game, Greenwood said: “It’s just a pity that the game was not able to be televised because a lot of people were interested in seeing Viv making his debut,” before hailing Anderson as “the first of many.”

Since then, a further 113 non-white men have represented the senior men’s international side. In a friendly against Japan in 2010, eight black and mixed-race players started the game. The fact that this passed without comment at the time is due to the barriers men like Anderson overcame in the 1970s.

The unassuming Anderson would go on to become the first black footballer to play for England at a major tournament at Euro 1980 and represent his country for a decade. Looking back now he says: “All I’ve ever wanted to do is play football. I’ve worked hard, had a great career and I’m glad to have inspired people along the way.”

The son of Jamaican immigrants who arrived in Britain in the 1950s, Anderson had given up on a career in football after being released by Manchester United, beginning work at a silkscreen printers in Nottingham. A trial for the Nottingham Forest youth team brought an apprenticeship and an eventual breakthrough under their new manager Brian Clough.

The number 2 shirt which Anderson wore that night was framed and owned by the player for over 20 years before being put on display at the National Football Museum and People’s History Museum in Manchester. “The time has come to sell some of the wonderful memories of my time as a professional footballer — I’d like to see my family benefit, and I hope some of the items will be shared around the world for people to enjoy.”

Also for auction on Tuesday is the symbolic first blue England cap awarded to Anderson and the tracksuit we wore ahead of the game (currently valued at £1,500) to keep him warm on a bitterly cold north London night. His dad Audley was among the 92,000 crowd at Wembley. Anderson recalled years later that “he was a very quiet man, but I know he was very proud. I could tell from his expression.”

Anderson would continue to blaze a trail after his playing career ended. In 1993 he was appointed player-manager of Barnsley before becoming assistant-manager to Bryan Robson at Middlesbrough for seven years. A quarter of a century on, there remains more to be done to ensure the critical mass of black footballers in the professional game translate into active coaches. The representation of black players in the men’s national team is also still not replicated among England’s Lionesses.

Anderson adds that “ahead of Black History Month, it’s important to remember that black players so often had to fight to get to, and stay in, their position, and this memorabilia is a part of that history.”