Jaw-dropping European win
The ballad of Jack Leslie
Musician Matt Tiller speaks to Asif Burhan about his campaign and fundraising efforts to erect a statue outside of Home Park of Jack Leslie, the Plymouth striker who should have been England’s first black player
Plymouth Argyle Home Park sign
Johnny Sexton appointed as an assistant coach
A FAN-DRIVEN campaign raised more than £100,000 in just six weeks, to fund the commission of a statue outside Home Park in Plymouth to honour the first black male footballer picked to play for England.
Last December, the Morning Star ran a piece celebrating the life of forgotten Plymouth Argyle striker Jack Leslie who was chosen to start for the England national team against Ireland in October 1925, only to have his place revoked once The FA’s international selection committee realised that Leslie, the son of a Jamaican gas fitter labourer, was black.
Matt Tiller, a musician, comedian, writer and television comedy producer, started the campaign to honour Leslie alongside fellow Plymouth fan Greg Foxsmith.
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