大象传媒

Arthur Wharton was one of the greatest ever British athletes, but many sports fans have never heard of him.

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He was the first professional black footballer but his illustrious career has been airbrushed over by history.

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Shaun Campbell from the Arthur Wharton Foundation is campaigning for greater recognition for the black footballer.

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大象传媒 Inside Out followed him to Ghana on his crusade to spread the word about the pioneering footballer.

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on the 大象传媒 News website.

Wonga is to become Newcastle United's听latest sponsor, putting up a reported 拢32 million to back the black and white army.

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Depending on your point of view, Wonga is either an innovative player in the world of personal finance - or should be shown a red card for wooing people who have little chance of meeting repayments into loans with high interest rates.

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about this story on Chris Jackson's correspondent blog post.听

Born on 28 October 1865 in Accra, Gold Coast (now Ghana), Africa.

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His father, Henry Wharton was a Methodist Minister and missionary from Grenada in the West Indies.

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In 1884, Arthur moved to the North East to train as a Methodist preacher at Cleveland College, Darlington.

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Whilst at the college Arthur began his sporting careers, competing at this stage as a 'gentleman amateur'. He excelled in several sports including setting a record time for cycling between Preston and Blackburn in 1887.

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In 1886 Arthur became the fastest man in Britain winning the Amateur Athletics Association national 100 yards champion at Stamford Bridge, London.

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Arthur鈥檚 football skills were spotted by Darlington Football Club, where he was selected to play as goalkeeper. Arthur became the first black professional footballer in Britain.

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In 1885/86 season, whilst still a Darlington player, Arthur was selected for the prestigious Newcastle and District team.

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His performances came to the attention of the successful Preston North End team, who signed him. He played in their FA Cup team of 1886/7, while continuing to turn out for Darlington.

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In 1888 he became a professional runner in Sheffield but after a year he returned to football, signing for Rotherham, where he remained for six year before moving to Sheffield Utd for a season.

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In 1914 Arthur was offered a cricket-coaching job in County Durham, which he turned down due to lack of work to supplement his wages.

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In 1915 he went to live in Doncaster - possibly looking for work. He became a haulage hand at Yorkshire Main Colliery. Arthur also joined the Home Guard sometime between 1915 and 1918.

In 1997, a special memorial stone was placed over the grave of Arthur Wharton in Ellington Cemetery, Doncaster.

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People across the North East and Cumbria have shared their stories about why 2012 has been memorable for them.

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Called 100 Faces, the 大象传媒 North East and Cumbria music project took 100 people aged from one to 100 and created a unique song telling their stories of the year.

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on the 大象传媒 News website.