Profile
Andrew Watson
The Historian
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The historian championing this figure
I'm Tony. I am senior lecturer and course lead for the Black Studies degree at Birmingham City University and I have also published six books about different aspects of Africa, Caribbean and Black British history and politics
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About:
Andrew Watson was born in Guyana and came to Britain as a child.
He was the world’s first player to captain a national football team when he captained the Scottish national football team in 1881
England lost that game 6-1, which is still England’s heaviest defeat on home soil
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What was the time period like?:
The Victorian period in British history was one where many people considered the country and its peoples, a great nation. Great Britain was the world’s leading industrial power. Britain had colonies in Africa, the Caribbean and India. In fact, many people regarded British people as being superior to others from far away countries.
Black people were generally considered as an ‘inferior race.’ Black people in Britain often faced a great deal of racial discrimination. Arthur Wharton, another Black footballer who played in the 1880s to the early 1900s, experience racial abuse while playing.
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What influence have they had on Modern Day UK?:
He was also the world’s first Black football administrator, as he was club secretary at Parkgrove and the Queen’s Park football clubs in Glasgow in the 1870s and 1880s respectively
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Born: 1856
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Died: 1921
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Time period:
The footballer, Andrew Watson, played his football during the Victorian period in the 1870s and 1880s. He lived from 1856-1921. He played most of his football in Scotland, although he was also a member of a few clubs in England.
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Short Bio: Andrew Watson was born in Guyana and came to Britain as a child. He was the world's first player to captain a national football team when he captained the Scottish national football team in 1881 England lost that game 6-1, which is still England's heaviest defeat on home soil He was also the world's first Black football administrator, as he was club secretary at Parkgrove and the Queen's Park football clubs in Glasgow in the 1870s and 1880s respectively