New exhibition celebrates our Black Country football internationals
STOURBRIDGE-BORN Jude Bellingham became something of a global star in the Qatar World Cup, bringing huge pride to the people of the Black Country.
But Jude is only the latest in a long line of local footballers who have played for their country, dating right back to the early 1880s.
White Shirt, Black Country: Memorabilia and Memories is the title of an exhibition that is currently running at Dudley Archives on Tipton Road, and will be there until the spring. The exhibition showcases the 53 footballers born in the Black Country who have played for England by using memorabilia, comprising photographs, cigarette cards, trade cards, cartoons, paintings, autographs, models, programmes, magazines and books. The exhibition is free to the public and is held in the foyer at the archive.
The memorabilia has been collected by Pat Talbot, author of the book White Shirt Black Country, which was published by the Black Country Society in 2004, with a second, updated edition in 2020.
Pat has assembled this treasure trove over the last twenty years, building on the collection of cards he had built up in the 1960s. Pat, originally from Dudley, told the Bugle, “When I started to research who all the local England internationals were for White Shirt Black Country, I began to buy old cigarette cards in order to illustrate the book.
“After the second edition of the book was published, I thought that the growing collection was big enough to form the basis of an exhibition. I was keen to share it with anyone interested in Black Country football history. It was at this stage that I approached Dudley Archive, who were very keen to host the collection.
“We have a great footballing tradition in the Black Country. 53 players born in the area have played for England. In fact, the West Midlands is only second to the North West for producing England internationals.
“I’d like to think that the memorabilia on show might bring back good memories for anyone who has seen any of the post-war players. People like Lee Sharpe, Steve Bull, Derek Statham, Allan Clarke, Trevor Smith, Don Howe and Bert Williams.
“We are going to include feedback sheets for any visitor to give us a memory of any of the featured players and subsequently transfer the thought into the exhibition itself.
“I’d also love to hear from relatives of any of these players and indeed from earlier ones, to hear their recollections or stories passed down through the family.
“The memorabilia is all of its time, of course. I’ve featured images of all 53 players and you can compare the rather formal, largely blackand-white images of the early days with the colourful and sophisticated modern collectables. There is a lot more material around these days on modern players but some of the early stars like Steve Bloomer and Jesse Pennington did manage to feature in a lot of cigarette card series by having such long careers!
“It is appropriate that the exhibition is in Dudley, birthplace of the footballer who could have gone on to be the greatest of them all, Duncan Edwards. His meteoric rise to fame was so tragically ended by the Munich Air Crash in 1958. Mind you, those who saw him play reckon that Duncan was already the greatest by then!”
The full list of players featured, listed retrospectively, is Jude Bellingham, Carlton Palmer, Lee Sharpe, Steve Bull, Derek Statham, Phil Parkes, Allan Clarke, Bobby Thomson, Alan Hinton, Trevor Smith, Norman Deeley, Don Howe, Duncan Edwards, Johnny Nicholls, Bert Williams, Jack Rowley, Eddie Lowe, Pat Beasley, Ray Westwood, Tom Grosvenor, Joe Tate, Tommy Smart, Bert Bliss, Billy Walker, Fred Morris, Joe Smith (Albion), Joe Smith (Bolton), Albert Hall, Fred Pentland, Jesse Pennington, Joe Bache, Albert Wilkes, Tom Perry, Fred Wheldon, Billy Williams, Steve Bloomer, Joe Reader, Charlie Athersmith, Anthony Hossack, Jem Bayliss, Charlie Perry, Harry Wood, Jack Brodie, Arthur Lowder, Albert Fletcher, Billy Bassett, Albert Aldridge, George Woodhall, Harry Allen, Bob Roberts, Charlie Mason, Alf Jones, and George Holden.