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‘Bittersweet’: plaque unveiled for black footballer whose England call-up was rescinded

It will be a day of mixed emotions for the family of the late, great Jack Leslie.

There is pride at the unveiling of a plaque on the Devon house in which he lived while becoming the first black player to captain an English football league team. But sadness too, because it takes place 100 years after his call-up for England was rescinded because of his colour.

Leslie’s granddaughter Lesley Hiscott told the Guardian the family was delighted at the honour. “We have to keep pinching ourselves to make sure we’re not dreaming. Grandad was a trail-blazer. We’re elated for the recognition Grandad is at long last getting, but we wish it had been in his lifetime. There’s a kind of bittersweetness to it,” she said.

The national blue plaque will be unveiled at Glendower Road, Plymouth, where Leslie (1901-1988) lived at the peak of his footballing career, scoring 137 goals in 401 appearances for Plymouth Argyle.

In 1925 the striker was called up as a reserve for the England team and would have been the first black player to represent the national side, but three days before the game, he was replaced.

The Football Association presented Leslie with a posthumous cap in 2022, partly to right a “historical wrong” and recognise that “he faced adversity because of the colour of his skin”.

Hiscott said: “Grandad never came across as being bitter. I think his attitude to it was: ‘If I can’t go out and play for England, I’m going to go out and I’m going to score for Plymouth.’

“And that’s exactly what he did on the day that he should have played for England against Ireland. He went out and scored two goals. That’s how he dealt with it but obviously, he was upset. It would have been the accolade of any footballer’s career.”

Asked what he would have made of the plaque, Hiscott said: “I can recall an occasion in the 1960s, I think it was, when Plymouth invited him back for some celebration. When he came home and was telling us about it, his eyes filled up with tears and he said: ‘I couldn’t believe it. I’ve got a standing ovation. I didn’t think anybody would remember me’.”

Hiscott said her mother, Evelyn, was bitter that her father did not represent England. “Oh, my goodness, yes. She would go off on a rant about how unfair it was,” she added.

After Leslie’s call-up was rescinded, it was to be another 53 years before Viv Anderson became the first black player to play for England in 1978. Hiscott said: “Grandad paved the way, made it that bit easier for anyone coming along after him.”

He was also a delightful man. “He was a smashing grandad, and he used to tell us wonderful stories. He had this lovely tone to his voice, and we would sit there just mesmerised by him,” she added.

After his retirement from football, Leslie became a pub landlord in Truro, Cornwall, before moving to east London, where he worked as a boilermaker, riveter and plater.

After his retirement, he found a part-time job cleaning boots and sweeping terraces at West Ham United’s ground, near his home in East Ham.

Paul Elliott, a former professional footballer and the co-founder of the football anti-discrimination organisation Kick It Out, said the plaque honoured Leslie’s achievements on the pitch and his wider contribution to society and tackling discrimination. “It stands as a powerful symbol of progress and ensures that Jack Leslie’s remarkable story will continue to inspire future generations,” he said.

Plymouth city council’s deputy leader, Jemima Laing, said: “His legacy goes far beyond the football pitch and it’s wonderful to see him getting the recognition he was once denied but certainly deserves. Today’s plaque unveiling will help ensure his story and the important conversations we need to have about inclusion and equality in sport are remembered, not just now but for many years to come.”

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