Rotherham blue plaque for first black footballer

Arthur Wharton's privileged background saw him sent for an English education in the early 1880s

A blue plaque will be unveiled in Rotherham to honour the man believed to be the first black professional footballer.

Arthur Wharton signed full-time for Rotherham Town in 1889, six years after moving to England from Ghana.

A plaque commemorating him is being installed later at the Clifton Lane ground where his team played.

It will be unveiled by Ken Monkou, a former Chelsea and Southampton Premier League player.

The plaque will be unveiled by Ken Monkou, who is an ambassador for the organisation Give Racism The Red Card

Born in the Gold Coast, now known as Ghana, in 1865, to wealthy parents, Arthur Wharton moved to the north-east of England in 1883, aged 18, so he could receive an English education.

His footballing career started at Darlington FC, with spells at clubs including Preston North End, Sheffield United, Rotherham Town and Stockport County.

In 1886 he became the Amateur Athletics Association national 100 yards champion and a year later he set a record time for cycling between Preston and Blackburn.

Despite being a professional player, Arthur needed to supplement his income by running two Rotherham pubs, the Albert Tavern and the Plough Inn in Masbrough.

Arthur played football while running the Albert Tavern and when his playing days ended he became a miner at Edlington Pit

He retired from football in 1902 and died in 1930. He was buried in an unmarked grave in Edlington until the Arthur Wharton Foundation provided a headstone in 1997. 

Representatives from the Football Unites, Racism Divides, the Arthur Wharton Foundation, the Mayor of Rotherham, councillor Robert Taylor and members of the football community, are expected to attend the ceremony.