WE'VE BUILT THE STATUE, NOW WE'RE TELLING THE STORY
Jack Leslie Campaign: presentations!
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The Campaign continues our programme of presentations this year with talks at football clubs. The Jack Leslie Campaign achieved our primary objective -unveiling a statue of Jack Leslie at Home Park Stadium, Plymouth in October 2022- read about that momentous day here.
Since then we have focussed on our other aims and objectives – continuing to tell Jack’s story, and using that to celebrate diversity and challenge racism, prejudice and discrimination.
We continue to do this in schools, for companies or organisations, and at football clubs across the Country.
We have had great feedback from sharing Jack’s story with fans from fellow football clubs- from non-league to Premier League. Jack’s story goes down well “on the road” as football fans recognise this is a story that transcends rivalries, celebrating our shared football history and heritage.
We can speak in board-rooms at director level, in fan-zones or to other fan groups, and perhaps most effectively to fans in hospitality areas as part of the pre-match build up, and often alongside fellow guests.
Our presentation features the main highlights of Jack’s incredible story, and resonates with fans from other clubs because presentations are bespoke and customised to acknowledge the history and pioneers of that club. The presentation is upbeat and fun, never preachy.
Although a full presentation to an organisation can be 45 mins, those to fans groups can be concluded as quickly as 5 mins, mindful of time constraints and other speaker slots.
Please contact Campaign co-founder Greg Foxsmith for more details or to book a presentation.
The Football Association welcomed the family of Jack Leslie to Wembley Stadium for a special presentation of a posthumous honorary England cap, shortly before kick off in the crucial qualifying game against Ukraine.
Jack was a true trailblazer in our game, and an Argyle legend scoring 137 times for Plymouth Argyle, before retiring in 1935- read about his story here.
In 1925, Jack earned a deserved call up to represent England. However, he faced adversity because of the colour of his skin, and was deselected and never played for our country.
Following this, the FA confirmed their intention to award Jack with a posthumous honorary cap to recognise his career, his contribution to the game and wider society, and to right this historical wrong.
The FA are also donating to the Jack Leslie Campaign’s ongoing legacy work which will support the roll out of educational materials to schools and organisations so more people can learn about his story.
Ahead of kick-off at the match at Wembley, FA Chair Debbie Hewitt MBE and former England international Viv Anderson welcomed members of Jack’s family onto the pitch, where they were presented with the honorary cap and certificate!
L-R the Campaign’s Greg Foxsmith, grand-daughters Gill and Lyn, FA Chief Debbie Hewitt and Viv Anderson
At the game Plymouth Argyle were represented by Club Ambassador Ronnie Mauge, and West Ham (where Jack worked in the boot room after retirement) by Carlton Cole.
Family members including grand-daughters Gill and Lyn, great-nephew George Connett, and guests including Sir Trevor Brooking
Quotes
Jack’s granddaughters Lesley, Lyn and Gill said:
‘When the FA told us they were giving our grandad this posthumous honour it took our breath away. What happened to him nearly a century ago is a burden he carried through his life with the dignity and grace he had as a human being and a footballer. This is our family’s history and now it is part of the nation’s history, a recognition that things can and must change. This means so much to the whole family. Granddad never shouted or complained but he knew he should have been capped and now, at last, he is.’
Jack Leslie Campaign co-founders Greg Foxsmith and Matt Tiller said,
’The FA acknowledged and supported the campaign from the start but we always hoped they would take that step further and recognise what happened to Jack. Plymouth Argyle fans saw their hero treated unjustly when he was denied his chance in 1925. We are delighted he has now been given this honour.’
BT Sport covered the West Ham v Chelsea game on Saturday and included the news of Jack’s National Football Museum Hall of Fame Trophy, telling the story and interviewing Sir Trevor Brooking who knew Jack from his time managing the Hammers’ boot room from 1967-82.
Thanks to BT Sport for sharing the footage and covering the story.
Jack Leslie Inducted into National Football Museum Hall of Fame!
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● Jack Leslie was inducted into National Football Museum Hall of Fame pitch side at West Ham United’s London Stadium ahead of their No Room for Racism fixture against Chelsea FC on 11 February 2023.
● This induction continues the great work of the Jack Leslie Campaign, which has shone light on a true pioneer for ethnic minorities in football, with Jack now cast in bronze outside Home Park, and with confirmation of an Honorary England cap from the FA.
The Jack Leslie story
Born in Canning Town in 1901 to a Jamaican father and English mother, Leslie started his career playing for non-league Barking Town winning the London League title, before going on to become a goalscoring great and captain during 14 seasons at Plymouth Argyle between 1921-35.
Thanks to the Campaign, his story is now better known – and you can read more here.
The Jack Leslie Campaign was founded in 2020 by Plymouth fans Matt Tiller and Greg Foxsmith to celebrate, shine a light, and serve justice to his career and legacy. The pair contacted Leslie’s three granddaughters, Plymouth Argyle, Barking FC and West Ham United and, with the club’s support, Leslie has been eternalised in a bronze statue at Argyle’s Home Park stadium (unveiling story here)
Induction into the Football Museum Hall of Fame
Jack Leslie was inducted into the National Football Museum’s Hall of Fame in a pitch side ceremony at London Stadium on 11/02/23, where CEO Tim Desmond (pictured below) presented the award to Jack’s three granddaughters, alongside West Ham legends and the Campaign team.
Celebrating the news, Greg Foxsmith said on behalf of the Campaign: “We are delighted that fans from across the football community have responded positively to Jack’s story, and his induction into the NFM Hall of Fame is a great honour, welcomed by the Campaign and Jack’s family.”
Presentation of maquette to West Ham
West Ham United, who are proud to recognise Leslie as an important part of their Club’s history, commissioned a bronze maquette of the statue created by sculptor Andy Edwards, which was presented by Argyle legend and club ambassador Ronnie Mauge to Sir Trevor Brooking (representing West Ham)
L-R Greg Foxsmith, Ronnie Mauge, Sir Trevor, Carlton Cole
National Football Museum
The National Football Museum Hall of Fame aims to celebrate and highlight the achievements of those who have made an outstanding contribution to football. Judges voted unanimously to induct Leslie in recognition of his stellar career and important story, laying foundations for the ethnically diverse sporting community of the future.
The Hall of Fame, supported by the Professional Footballers’ Association, celebrates the achievements of those who have made an outstanding contribution to the game, either on or off the pitch.
We are delighted that the statue unveiling was a success, and thank everyone for the positive comments! One of our aims and objectives remains telling Jack Leslie’s story – which we do through our Black History Month Programme and beyond.
We had many requests to use the statue as a focal point to share highlight’s of Jack’s incredible story as an Argyle legend and a Pioneer, and so are delighted to confirm that the Campaign will do presentations (5- 10 mins) before some home games.
We will update this post as well as social media, with details and dates.
Talks previously have been delivered by either or both of the Campaign Co-founders Matt and Greg, and were well received with good questions and comments from those attending, with positive feedback. Away fans are of course equally welcome.
The next statue talk will be on Saturday 04 November (12-1)
So, whether attending the match or not, do swing by and learn more about Jack Leslie, the campaign and the statue- as well as an opportunity to see the England cap, and buy a signed copy of Jack’s biography from the author Matt Tiller!
As Matt says (follow on X @Tillerpop) “ Come along to the retail unit by @JackLeslieCamp statue @Argyle’s @homeparkstadium today from 12-1pm and I’ll be signing copies of The Lion Who Never Roared. Jack’s cap will be with me. Stop by for a chat. @Boro fans welcome too!”
NEXTJACK LESLIE TALK
Date: 04/11/23 (from 12)
Venue: Jack Leslie Statue, Jack Leslie Way, Home Park, Plymouth
Speaker” Matt Tiller
STATUE SPEAKERS
Hayley Kemp, Greg Foxsmith, Patrick Strode, Matt Tiller
Jack Leslie Campaign: A review of Black History Month 2022
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We believe that it is important to acknowledge black history every month, but nonetheless we are always happy to present a range of activities for Black History Month in October each year, and 2022 was no different!
With October out the way, you can still book us for in-person or or ”virtual” presentations -for schools, companies, football clubs, associations, businesses or other organisations. Contact us for bookings -contact details here.
We love telling the Jack Leslie story, and ensure that it is relevant to contemporary issues. The reason we do this is to fulfil our objectives to share jack’s story, celebrate diversity and combat racism:
Our aims include using Jack’s story to challenge stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination
You can read about our previous BHM presentations in 2020 here and in 2021 here !
REVIEW OF Black History Month 2022
1 Jack Leslie Campaign at Wembley
In the build-up to Black History Month we attendied Wembley stadium on 26th September for the England International, where Jack’s granddaughters were special guests of the FA. We were talking about Jack’s story and his England call-up, at a game where there was a special tribute to black football pioneers Benjamin Odeje and John Charles, both of whom played for England at school-boy or under 18 level. (1)
Jack was selected to play for England in 1925 (2) CARTOON BY ROB BULLEN
2 Sport In Words
#SportInWords
We kicked off the month with our role in a spectacular feature with BT Sports called Sport In Words, compered by Benjamin Zephaniah (pictured below with Jack Leslie’s granddaughters) and Jacqueline Shepherd.
Jack’s granddaughters with Benjamin
Different spoken word artists performed pieces about black sporting legends and pioneers, and Big Scoop performed a piece about Jack Leslie…..
Big Scoop performing, Jack’s family watching, and England legend Andy Cole speaking about Jack’s legacy
Big Scoop later attended the statue unveiling (see below) and performed his piece again- you can see and hear more about that here: https://jackleslie.co.uk/news/big-scoop/
3 Black History Came to Life: the statue unveiling
Our biggest event for Black History Month happened on the 7th October- the unveiling of the Jack Leslie statue at Home Park stadium- history being made as well as commemorated- detailed here: https://jackleslie.co.uk/news/the-unveiling/
Jack’s statue being unveiled
4 Schools and education
We delivered presentations at a number of schools, both on-line and in person, including Holy Cross and St Andrews Primary schools in Plymouth, Ashmount school in London
We also did a presentation for the Student Union at the University of Plymouth (pictured below)
Matt and Greg at Plymouth UniGreg outside Ashmount school
Looking forward
We have a number of bespoke options to make an informative and enjoyable presentation to help those companies who are interested.
NOTES
(1) Benjamin Odeje attended the game at Wembley as part of a wider plan from the FA to host a table of trailblazers who have a special place in the history of black footballers. We met with the Chief Executive of the FA, and later had confirmation that the Association will be awarding a honorary posthumous cap to Jack’s family!
For Black History Month, BT Sports broadcast a programme in October 2022 featuring Spoken Word Artists performing pieces about black sporting icons.
One of the Artists -Big Scoop- did a piece (called ”Unsung Hero”) about Jack Leslie- and Jack’s grand-daughters were in the invited audience to hear the debut performance.
Big Scoop’s performance that night is available here.
The Jack Leslie Campaign and Jack’s family were so amazed and delighted, they invited Big Scoop to perform as special guest at the unveiling ceremony– and Big Scoop accepted, travelling from London on his first ever trip to Plymouth to wow the crowds from the stage outside Argyle’s stadium at Home Park. His performance was also live-streamed, and can still be seen on you-tube here. (at 31 mins 45 secs in)
You can follow Big Scoop on twitter @BigScoop_ and on Insta
Now Big Scoop has provided us with the words from his piece, reproduced below with his kind permission.
UNSUNG HERO. Words by Big Scoop
Now a lot of you may not know who this is so all I ask is please just try and hear,
Coz I may not be an speakers salesman but I’m putting you on to a pioneer.
This man excelled in the world of football which took his team to a higher tier
In a sense he held back but still showed when you stay grounded your gonna take of like Ryan Air,
In 1901 he was born in canning Town and his first team was barking,
He knew how to score had pace and was wizard at passing,
As a defender you couldnt day dream coz he was a night mare marking,
I mean this man was no joke but if he was on your team you was laughing.
And when he left barking he had silverware but he was just getting started,
You could say that he came from the mud coz right there where the seed was planted,
He wasn’t just known for his skill
But when he joined Plymouth argyle thats seed uprooted and we saw him grow on the field.
At Plymouth argyle a star was born
A black professional footballer in those days wasn’t the norm,
In truth he was the only one and that fact just can’t be ignored,
He played in the 1920,s and that fact still has me floored,
he took his window of oppurtunity and used it open doors.
In 1925 he got that England call and im sure he was loving the fact
But what should be a joyous occasion was about to be taken back,
His name would soon dissappear from records and the irony is he never heard Jack
But we’re talking the 1920s he got denied coz he was black,
And the truth is he could of called a wrap
But he chose to stay in his lane and keep his carrer on track,
This man is a unsung hero, who’s life had such a impact
And for that I take my hat off too him coz he really should of been capped.
but he still left his mark and showed his world class pedigree,
He retired a legend at Plymouth argyle it was there he created a legacy,
And the one thing testament to that fact is the board room is now named in his memory.
This is a man that needs to be recognised
But let his legacy be a reminder that race should never be weaponised,
He played in a time before broadcasting but since then the revolutions been televised.
On 7th October 2022 the Jack Leslie statue was revealed in front of a crowd of hundreds at Home Park stadium, Plymouth, and live-streamed* to the world. The event was a brilliant occasion covered by national and local media, including this BBC feature, and later on the One Show (21:45 mins in)
Jack’s granddaughters Lesley, Lyn, and Gill, who have been so warm, gracious, supportive, and stoic, unveiled the statue. It was an emotional day, topped by news from the FA that Jack is to be awarded a posthumous honorary cap. The campaign Co-founders Matt Tiller and Greg Foxsmith were joined on stage by sculptor Andy Edwards and Argyle legend Ronnie Mauge whose words and support meant a huge amount to us all. Spoken word artist Big Scoop performed his moving poem about Jack which went down a storm.
In the crowd were Argyle legends including Dwight Marshall, Mike Trebilcock, Rommy Bocu, Kevin Hodges and Chris Harrison, as well as the current Argyle men’s team (with manager Stephen Schumacher) and women’s team (including our sponsored player Tiana Campbell). In addition we were joined by representatives from Barking FC and West Ham United (including Carlton Cole)-see their film of the occasion here.
*Argyle TV live streamed the event and you can watch it back here (starts at 10:45)…
It’s nearly timeGranddaughter LesGreg and Matt on the stageArgyle team show supportBig ScoopJack unveiled, facing grand-daughters and crowdDwight Marshall and Ronnie Maugee
2 The Campaign are grateful to everyone who supported us or helped with the unveiling – too many to mention here, but special mention to PAFC, the Green Taverners, and for the staging of the event itself Mark Buckingham and PL1 events.
The Jack Leslie Campaign are delighted to confirm that we are sponsoring Argyle Women’s team player Tiana Campbell for this season. Tiana is a supporter of the campaign, and was inspired by Jack’s story which resonated for her. She broke into the team at the end of last season having come through Argyle women’s development team.
Jack Leslie joined Argyle in 1921, the same year that the FA banned women’s football. Although that ban has ended, and England’s Lionesses enjoyed spectacular support and success this season, discrimination within football remains an issue and one of the Aims of this Campaign is to celebrate diversity and combat prejudice.
Tiana said ”I am delighted the Jack Leslie Campaign have chosen to sponsor me. The Campaign is great, with very good ideals, and is helping to push football in the right direction by celebrating the diversity within the game”
We are proud to support Tiana, and wish her and the team every success this season!
JACK LESLIE CAMPAIGN SEARCHES FOR FAMILY OF MAJOR SUPPORTER 
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As the unveiling of the Jack Leslie statue approaches, the campaign is on a mission to track down relatives of Michael Victor Dawson. Michael made a significant donation which helped the campaign pass its £100,000 target in August 2020.
When campaign organisers tried to contact its many supporters they discovered that Michael had sadly passed away that month.
Co-founder, Matt Tiller said, “We are in touch with all our supporters, particularly those who pledged a large sum and will be recognised on the monument. When we didn’t hear from Michael we took to the internet and were saddened to discover that it seems he died soon after making his donation.
We have tried to contact family members without success, but we would dearly love to invite them to the unveiling to see Michael’s name etched in granite on the statue surrounds. If his relatives or anyone who knew Michael can get in touch then we would love to send them a VIP invite to the event.”
The statue of Jack Leslie will be unveiled at midday on Friday 7th October. It will commemorate the pioneering footballer, Jack Leslie, who scored 137 goals for Plymouth Argyle in the 1920s and 30s. He was called up for England in 1925 but later denied his place due to the colour of his skin.
The statue has now been cast in bronze and work continues on the granite plinth and surrounds to create an impressive 12foot monument. It will stand outside Home Park at the ‘popular corner’ outside the Lyndhurst and Devonport stands.
The Jack Leslie Campaign raised more than £100,000 in the summer of 2020 to create a fitting tribute to this local and national legend. Since then, together with a committee of volunteers, the football club and Jack Leslie’s three granddaughters, they have worked to bring the statue project to fruition.
Co-founder Greg Foxsmith said, “The information we have been able to find online suggests Michael was a key part of a boilermaker business, Harris Pye. Jack Leslie’s original trade before and after his glittering football career was as a boilermaker. We can’t help but wonder if there was a connection there or if there is another reason for Michael’s support. Whatever the motivation behind his donation, we hugely appreciate it. It was made very early on in our fundraising campaign and helped us get this important project off the ground. It would mean a lot to us to be able to thank his family and hope it would mean a lot to them too.”
Born in East London, Jack Leslie signed for Plymouth Argyle in 1921 and scored 137 goals in 400 appearances before injury forced his retirement in 1934. Lauded as a true Argyle legend, he is now more widely known as the first black footballer to have been selected for England in 1925. Within days his name disappeared from the team to play Ireland in October that year. Back in the 1920s and 30s Jack Leslie was a huge hit with Plymouth fans as the team won promotion to Division Two in 1930 and then becoming club captain. But his talent also won him fame across the nation. The Daily Mail wrote of Jack in 1933, ‘Had he been white he would have been a certain English international.’
The unveiling ceremony itself will take place at midday on Friday 7th October and a crowd of footballing dignitaries, campaign sponsors and supporters, as well as many members of Jack’s family, will gather for the big reveal.
The following day, as the Pilgrims welcome Accrington Stanley to Home Park, will be a chance for thousands of fans to see the statue for the first time. The game will be a tribute to Jack Leslie and send out a message to celebrate and welcome diversity in sport and the community. More details of the event will be announced as the date approaches.
