Jack Leslie statue: who was Plymouth Argyle footballer - England call up controversy and campaign explained

Plymouth Argyle have unveiled a new statue as a tribute to their iconic footballer Jack Leslie.

Leslie spent 14 years with the Pilgrims between 1921 and 1935 and was the only black professional football player in England at the time. The former inside left is seen as a pioneer for black footballers. The statue stands at 12 foot tall and follows a fan-led campaign that began in 2019.

Here we take a look back at the career of Jack Leslie and the reason he is receiving a statue for his services to football.

Who was Jack Leslie?

Jack Leslie was an English football player who spent the majority of his professional career with Plymouth Argyle. He is viewed as a club legend and is one of the greatest players in the club’s history.

Leslie was born in Canning Town in August 1901 to a Jamaican father, John who worked as a boiler maker and an English mother, Annie who was a seamstress.

As a child Leslie was an extremely talented sportsman who excelled in sports such as cricket, boxing and football. As a teenager it was clear that Leslie had outstanding potential and he was signed by his local club Barking Town.

Leslie stood out as a huge talent for his local club and helped Barking Town to win the Essex Senior Cup in 1920 and the London League Premier division title in 1921. Such impressive form attracted the attention of a number of professional teams and it was Devon based club Plymouth Argyle who won the race to sign Leslie in 1921.

During his time at Plymouth, Leslie would play in the inside left position which is more commonly referred to as a left sided striker in today’s game.  Leslie spent a total of 14 years at Home Park and enjoyed incredible success scoring 137 goals in 401 appearances for the club and playing a key role in helping them win the third division title in 1930.

Did Jack Leslie play for England?

The inside forward had earned a number of plaudits for his performances at Plymouth, so much so that the manager of the club, Bob Jack, urged England to include him in their international squad.

Leslie was rewarded with an England call up in 1925 and was told he would be a reserve for their against the Irish national team for a Home Nations Championship game. However, the invitation to be a reserve player for his country was later withdrawn and Leslie was never given the chance to play for his country.

Many speculated that Leslie was withdrawn from the England squad due to the colour of his skin and that the FA were unaware of his ethnicity before handing him in an international call up.  Later in life during an interview with journalist Brian Woolnough, Leslie reflected on his England call up. He said: “They must have forgot that I was a coloured boy.”

The FA have never revealed the reason why Leslie was withdrawn from the squad at that time. And it would not be until 1978 that Viv Anderson of Nottingham Forest became England’s first ever senior black international.

The decision to call Anderson up at the time led to widespread media attention and the England manager at the time Ron Greenwood famously said in relation to Anderson’s call up: “Yellow, purple or black- if they’re good enough, I’ll pick them.”

What is the Jack Leslie campaign and why is he being given a statue?

According to the official website, the Jack Leslie campaign is a group run by football fans who feel passionately about the story of Jack Leslie. They feel the story of Leslie is one that more people should be aware of.

Matt Tiller, one of the Plymouth fans involved in the campaign, praised the idea to give him a statue. Tiller said: “Jack Leslie was a true Argyle legend but the story of what happened to him with the England call up and that being denied because of the colour of his skin, is an important story which needs to be told.”

“It is not just a lump of bronze. It is not just a representation of a footballer. It is there to tell the story of his career, and what he had to deal with.”