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Aims & Objectives

1. To raise funds for and build a statue of Jack Leslie at Home Park where he played professionally for Plymouth Argyle.

2. To promote and share Jack’s story.

3. To celebrate diversity and combat racism.

WHO WAS JACK LESLIE?

Jack Leslie should have been England’s first black player but when the selectors discovered his heritage, his name would never appear on the team sheet.

Below is the story in brief but if you want to find out more please read the JACK’S STORY page where there are several useful articles.

Jack was an outstanding player who joined Plymouth Argyle from Barking in 1921 and scored 137 goals in a long and illustrious career which ended in 1934.

Leslie was picked for the England national team to face Ireland in 1925 and was told by his manager that he’d been called up. But after this selection, his name mysteriously disappeared from the team sheet, seemingly because of the colour of his skin.

So, not only was Jack an incredible player for his club, but his is also a story of great national and historical significance. It’s also one that sadly still resonates as racist incidents in football and in wider society continue to this day.

THE BALLAD OF JACK LESLIE

The campaign was, in part, inspired by this storytelling song written by one of the founders. You can read about the campaign origins here and listen to and buy the song to support the fundraising effort…..

LATEST NEWS…

We are now fully engaged in the commissioning process and have recently announced a shortlist of four artists. Do look at our NEWS page for information on this and we hope to announce the chosen artist soon. It’s a really exciting, but difficult process as we received many brilliant proposals from high quality artists.

With such a successful fundraiser we are in a great position to deliver a fine memorial to Jack Leslie. But, while our total has passed £137,000 we do still welcome donations. Our initial target of £100,000 was the minimum needed to make a statue happen, now we want to ensure the best memorial possible, plus an educational and maintenance legacy. You can read more information on plans moving forward. We are so grateful to everyone who has donated and supported the campaign.

You can continue to donate if you can and share our CROWDFUNDER PAGE.

We are particularly keen to hear from companies wanting to donate a significant amount. Now we know the statue will happen, your name can appear on the plinth. Do get in touch as we have offers for sponsorship and recognition which we can discuss. Drop us an email at jacklesliecampaign@gmail.com

Join Us

Who are we?

We are a group of like-minded football fans who feel passionately that the story of Jack Leslie should be more widely known. More about us here.

His former team, Plymouth Argyle, has now taken steps to honour Leslie, naming the new boardroom in the Mayflower Grandstand at Home Park after Jack. This has inspired us to keep his story alive, having been so sadly overlooked for many years.