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Walter Tull (1888-1918) was the second black
football (soccer)|football player to play for a
professional club in the United Kingdom and the
first ever black officer in the British Army.

Walter Tull was born in Folkestone, the son of a
local woman and a carpenter who had emigrated from
Barbados.  He signed for Tottenham Hotspur in 1908
but only made seven first team appearances before
he was dropped to the reserves. This may have been
due to the racial abuse he received from opposing
fans. He was sold to Northampton Town
F.C.|Northampton Town in 1910 and made 110 first
team appearances for the club. Rangers
F.C.|Rangers negotiated to buy Tull's contract in
1914, but when war broke out Tull enlisted in the
army.

During the World War I|First World War Tull served
in the famous footballer's pals battalion of the
Middlesex Regiment, rising to the rank of sergeant
and fighting in the Battle of the Somme
(1916)|Battle of the Somme in 1916. When Tull was
promoted to Second Lieutenant in May 1917 he
became the first black officer in the British
Army.  Tull fought in Italy in 1917, and was
mentioned in dispatches.  He returned to northern
France in 1918, and was killed in action leading
an assault on Germany|German lines near the
village of Favreuil in the Pas De Calais.

The first black football player to play
professionally was Arthur Wharton, a goalkeeper
for Rotherham F.C. in 1889 whilst Andrew Watson is
credited as the first black international football
player in 1881.

==External Links==

http://web.ukonline.co.uk/ntfc/tull.htm