Black Athletes in Britain: The Pioneers
Peter Lovesey, a member of the National Union of Track Statisticians (NUTS), has written a new book chronicling the history of black athletes in Britain. Peter has written on the subject of athletics for more than 50 years, including many articles for Athletics Weekly.
To mark this year’s Black History Month, he has compiled a history of black athletes in Britain, which shows how athletics has evolved into one of the most diverse and inclusive sports.
In the earliest days of the sport, newspapers often wrote of a black man or woman taking on an athletic challenge as if it was news enough in itself, without reporting who they were or where they came from. The black population in Britain in the 18th and 19th centuries cannot be calculated with accuracy, but it is safe to say that black sportspeople were extremely rare, even allowing that most would have made it into the newspapers.
This book is an attempt to identify some who did make the news in the hope that it might encourage others to discover more.
The stories of 36 pioneers, from Levi Baldwin in 1805 to the international sprinter Ethel Scott in the 1920s, are as entertaining and surprising as a glance through the index promises. Who could resist the Female Deerfoot, the Go-As-You-Please Man: the Black Trumpeter, the Ebony Phenomenon, the Retrograding Pedestrian, or the Man Who Grappled with Ivan the Terrible?
The account of Jack London, double Olympic Medallist from 1928, "the outstanding example of a talent unfulfilled," reveals elements of his personality that explain why he was the despair of everyone who tried to coach him.
You can buy the book here - nuts.org.uk and read more about the Peter here - peterlovesey.com
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