William Clarke

William Gibb 'Willie' Clarke was one of the first black professional footballers, and the first black player to score a goal in the English Football League. He was the second black player to represent Scotland, by playing for the Scotland juniors side in 1897.

He was born in Mauchline, Ayrshire on 3 March 1878 to Alexander and Jemima Clark. Born William Clark, he would be referred to as Willie Clarke after he moved to England later in his life. His father was born in Georgetown, Demerara, British Guiana, now Guyana. Clarke’s family moved to Glasgow in the 1890s when his father found work as an engine fitter. In 1900 William was listed as an upholsterer in Glasgow’s Cathcart Street.

Playing as a winger, Clarke started his career with junior clubs in Scotland, and was a member of Scotland's junior international side in 1897 that beat Ireland 3 -1 in Belfast, becoming only the second black player to represent Scotland. Clarke’s skills attracted the attention of several professional clubs, and in 1899 he signed for East Stirlingshire. The following year he moved to Bristol Rovers, and he later played for Aston Villa, Bradford City and Lincoln City. On Christmas Day 1901, while playing for Aston Villa, he scored a goal in a 3 – 2 victory over Everton, making him the first non-white player to score a goal in the English football league. He later played for Croydon Common, before retiring in 1912.

At the outbreak of the First World War, William Clarke volunteered immediately, enlisting with the Middlesex Regiment and serving on the Western Front. Later in the war he transferred to the Royal Engineers.

Clarke married Annie Emmeline Brown of Beddington, Surrey on 25 October 1914 at the church of St. Michael and All Angels, Beddington. The marriage register records him as a widower, but we have no further information about his first wife. William and Annie settled in Tunbridge Wells after the war. They and their children lived in Albion Road, and later moved to Whitefield Road. The 1939 Register records him as a house fitter, laying carpets and lino and fitting blinds. He died in Tunbridge Wells on 21 January 1949 at the age of 70.