Plymouth square set to be renamed after pioneering black Argyle player
A square in Plymouth named after a slave trader is set to be renamed after a pioneering black footballer who played for Plymouth Argyle.
The City council has proposed to rename Sir John Hawkins Square after Jack Leslie.
He was the only professional black player in England when he played for the club between 1921 and 1934.
It is believed that Jack was set to become the first black player to represent England but was denied the opportunity when selectors were made aware that he was "a man of colour".
It was not until the late 1970s that the first black player appeared in an England shirt.
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Jack was the only professional black player in England when he played for the club between 1921 and 1934, having scored more than 137 goals for Argyle in 401 appearances.
He remains the Pilgrims' fourth highest goal-scorer of all time.
The council agreed to change the name from the Elizabethan slave trader Sir John Hawkins after a petition was set up to “help Plymouth become a city that stands for equality and compassion”.
Plymouth City Council leader Tudor Evans says the authority has "listened to those who found the relatively recent naming of the square after Hawkins offensive and are changing it."
According to Councillor Evans the authority is "not seeking to rewrite history and we are not saying that we should forget Hawkins".
"He was without question an important figure in our national history. We canremember and acknowledge this in a way that tells a fuller story about his life and doesn’t commemorate him in way that gives offence."
He says an account of Hawkins' life and deeds will be given in the City's new Arts Centre.
Councillor Chris Penberthy, Cabinet member for Housing and Co-operative Development and councillor for St Peter and the Waterfront ward, says naming the square after Jack Leslie "would be a wonderful way of recognising the big role he has not only in Plymouth’s Argyle’s heritage, but also in national football".