Football's first professional black player is to be commemorated with a statue in South Yorkshire.
Arthur Wharton is to be honoured outside Rotherham United's New York Stadium.
Born in 1865 in Jamestown, in the British Gold Coast, in what is now Ghana, Wharton played for Rotherham Town - the forerunner of Rotherham United - and nearby Sheffield United among other teams during a career between 1886 and 1902.
The statue is by Graham Ibbeson, a sculptor from neighbouring Barnsley.
Jim Cadman, the businessman behind the privately-financed project, said it was the 125th anniversary of Wharton signing for Rotherham Town in 1889.
Rotherham Town, nicknamed the Millers, currently lie fifth out of the 24 teams in League One, the third tier of English football.
Arthur Wharton honoured at Rotherham stadium
19 February 2014
BBC News
Arthur Wharton played for Rotherham Town and Sheffield United
Football's first professional black player is to be commemorated with a statue in South Yorkshire.
Arthur Wharton is to be honoured outside Rotherham United's New York Stadium.
Born in 1865 in Jamestown, British Gold Coast, in what is now Ghana, Wharton played for Rotherham Town and Sheffield United among other teams during a career between 1886 and 1902.
The statue is by Graham Ibbeson, a sculptor from neighbouring Barnsley.
Jim Cadman, the businessman behind the privately-financed project, said it was the 125th anniversary of Wharton signing for Rotherham Town in 1889.
Mr Cadman said he had established the Rotherham Sporting Guild to help raise money for the statue and fundraising is to continue.
Mr Ibbeson is known for work including his statues of Barnsley's former cricket umpire D ickie Bird (a Barnsley FC fan) and the late comedian Eric Morecambe.
The planned statue has been designed by Barnsley sculptor Graham Ibbeson
Rotherham United 2013/14 in their new New York Stadium, built on the site of a steelworks which built New York City's iconic fire hydrants
Tony Stewart, chairman of Rotherham United, said: "We are delighted to be able to honour a remarkable individual who is still being talked about as a pioneer."
Wharton moved to County Durham in 1884 with the intention of training as a Methodist missionary. But he opted instead to become a full-time athlete.
In 1886 he became the Amateur Athletics Association's national 100-yard running champion.
His pioneering footballing career started as a goalkeeper at Darlington FC and he played for numerous teams.
Wharton played for the original Rotherham Town, a team of the same name was the forerunner of Rotherham United.
He died in a workhouse sanatorium in 1930.
Rotherham United moved to the New York Stadium in 2012 after playing several seasons at Sheffield's Don Valley athletics stadium while the new ground was built.
The New York Stadium
Rotherham United announced their intention to construct a new community stadium when they moved away from Millmoor to the Don Valley athletics stadium in Sheffield in May 2008 after a dispute with the ground owner Ken Booth. In January 2010 the club purchased the former site of the Guest and Chrimes Foundry to be used for the new stadium. Guest and Chrimes was a steelworks company, who made the iconic fire hydrants seen in New York City. Outline planning permission for the stadium was granted in November 2010, and the first images were sketched shortly after.
The name of the stadium was announced as the 'New York Stadium' on 19 December 2011, chosen ahead of 'The Foundry' and 'The Waterfront Stadium'. The reason for the name is that the area of land that the stadium lies upon is called New York, and it was thought that it would be better to name the stadium after history and/or where the stadium is situated, like nearby stadiums Bramall Lane and Hillsborough. Chairman Tony Stewart also hopes that the name could bring investment from New York City or further afield, as the New York Yankees chairman had recently said that he wanted to invest in an English football team.
Construction started in June 2011 and the stadium was officially opened by Prince Edward, Duke of Kent on 12 March 2012. The first game played at the stadium was a pre-season match between Rotherham and Barnsley, held on 21 July 2012. The Millers won 2–1; the first goal in the stadium was scored by Jacob Mellis of Barnsley, and David Noble scored Rotherham's first goal in their new home. The New York Stadium made its league debut on 18 August 2012, in which Rotherham beat Burton Albion 3-0, Daniel Nardiello scoring the first competitive goal in the ground.
BBC News - Arthur Wharton honoured at Rotherham stadium
Arthur Wharton is to be honoured outside Rotherham United's New York Stadium.
Born in 1865 in Jamestown, in the British Gold Coast, in what is now Ghana, Wharton played for Rotherham Town - the forerunner of Rotherham United - and nearby Sheffield United among other teams during a career between 1886 and 1902.
The statue is by Graham Ibbeson, a sculptor from neighbouring Barnsley.
Jim Cadman, the businessman behind the privately-financed project, said it was the 125th anniversary of Wharton signing for Rotherham Town in 1889.
Rotherham Town, nicknamed the Millers, currently lie fifth out of the 24 teams in League One, the third tier of English football.
Arthur Wharton honoured at Rotherham stadium
19 February 2014
BBC News
Arthur Wharton played for Rotherham Town and Sheffield United
Football's first professional black player is to be commemorated with a statue in South Yorkshire.
Arthur Wharton is to be honoured outside Rotherham United's New York Stadium.
Born in 1865 in Jamestown, British Gold Coast, in what is now Ghana, Wharton played for Rotherham Town and Sheffield United among other teams during a career between 1886 and 1902.
The statue is by Graham Ibbeson, a sculptor from neighbouring Barnsley.
Jim Cadman, the businessman behind the privately-financed project, said it was the 125th anniversary of Wharton signing for Rotherham Town in 1889.
Mr Cadman said he had established the Rotherham Sporting Guild to help raise money for the statue and fundraising is to continue.
Mr Ibbeson is known for work including his statues of Barnsley's former cricket umpire D ickie Bird (a Barnsley FC fan) and the late comedian Eric Morecambe.
The planned statue has been designed by Barnsley sculptor Graham Ibbeson
Rotherham United 2013/14 in their new New York Stadium, built on the site of a steelworks which built New York City's iconic fire hydrants
Tony Stewart, chairman of Rotherham United, said: "We are delighted to be able to honour a remarkable individual who is still being talked about as a pioneer."
Wharton moved to County Durham in 1884 with the intention of training as a Methodist missionary. But he opted instead to become a full-time athlete.
In 1886 he became the Amateur Athletics Association's national 100-yard running champion.
His pioneering footballing career started as a goalkeeper at Darlington FC and he played for numerous teams.
Wharton played for the original Rotherham Town, a team of the same name was the forerunner of Rotherham United.
He died in a workhouse sanatorium in 1930.
Rotherham United moved to the New York Stadium in 2012 after playing several seasons at Sheffield's Don Valley athletics stadium while the new ground was built.
The New York Stadium
Rotherham United announced their intention to construct a new community stadium when they moved away from Millmoor to the Don Valley athletics stadium in Sheffield in May 2008 after a dispute with the ground owner Ken Booth. In January 2010 the club purchased the former site of the Guest and Chrimes Foundry to be used for the new stadium. Guest and Chrimes was a steelworks company, who made the iconic fire hydrants seen in New York City. Outline planning permission for the stadium was granted in November 2010, and the first images were sketched shortly after.
The name of the stadium was announced as the 'New York Stadium' on 19 December 2011, chosen ahead of 'The Foundry' and 'The Waterfront Stadium'. The reason for the name is that the area of land that the stadium lies upon is called New York, and it was thought that it would be better to name the stadium after history and/or where the stadium is situated, like nearby stadiums Bramall Lane and Hillsborough. Chairman Tony Stewart also hopes that the name could bring investment from New York City or further afield, as the New York Yankees chairman had recently said that he wanted to invest in an English football team.
Construction started in June 2011 and the stadium was officially opened by Prince Edward, Duke of Kent on 12 March 2012. The first game played at the stadium was a pre-season match between Rotherham and Barnsley, held on 21 July 2012. The Millers won 2–1; the first goal in the stadium was scored by Jacob Mellis of Barnsley, and David Noble scored Rotherham's first goal in their new home. The New York Stadium made its league debut on 18 August 2012, in which Rotherham beat Burton Albion 3-0, Daniel Nardiello scoring the first competitive goal in the ground.
BBC News - Arthur Wharton honoured at Rotherham stadium
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