Remembering former Tottenham player Walter Tull
Wearing the colours of Tottenham, Walter Tull was only the second black player to feature in England’s top division. 100 years on let’s take a look back at his inspirational story.
Early life
In 1888, Walter Tull was born in Folkstone to a local woman and a Barbadian father. When both his parents passed away, Tull and his brother were moved to Bethnal Green Orphanage in East London.
It was here Walter cultivated an interest in sports, taking up cricket and football.
Tull particularly excelled at the latter and joined amateur side Clapton. It has been said that Clapton did not lose a single game with Tull in their ranks and he was soon snapped up by Spurs for a fee of £10.
Football Career
Walter’s first game for Spurs was in a pre-season tour of Uruguay and Argentina, making him the first mixed-heritage player to play football in South America.
Upon returning to England Tull made his Spurs debut against Sunderland, becoming only the second black player to feature in England’s top division. Unfortunately, it was an age of pervasive racism, and Tull suffered the ill-effects.
Early in Tull’s Spurs career, he was subjected to merciless racial abuse during a trip to Bristol City. An exasperated reporter present that night wrote:
"“Let me tell those Bristol hooligans that Tull is so clean in mind and method as to be a model for all white men who play football. In point of ability, if not actual achievement, Tull was the best forward on the field.”"
Tull’s career at the Lane struggled to regain momentum following the incident and after ten appearances and two goals for the club he was transferred to Northampton Town.
At Northampton, Tull established himself as a first-team regular, featuring 111 times before the outbreak of the First World War in 1914.
First World War
Tull did not hesitate to enlist for the war, the first of the Northampton team to do so, joining the Football Battalion.
Tull proved an esteemed soldier and showed such leadership qualities that he was recommended for promotion to lieutenant. Despite a law forbidding anyone, not of pure European descent to hold such a position, Tull’s stellar reputation meant the Army defied its regulations, and he became Britain’s first black officer in 1917.
While leading his troops at the Battle of the Somme, Tull was shot and killed at the age of 29. Despite the valiant efforts of his comrades, the body of their much-loved officer was never recovered.
Tottenham remembering Tull
In 2004 Tottenham and Rangers, the club Tull had been due play for after the war, contested the Walter Tull Memorial Cup.
More recently Tottenham based MP David Lammy called for the government to award Tull a military cross posthumously. The letter has received the backing of 120 fellow MPs, as well as three current Spurs players.
Dele Alli, Danny Rose, and Kieran Trippier have all shown their support for the cause. The trio spoke at a Tull100 event; an initiative set up to counter discrimination through promoting equality in areas of race, gender, sexuality, and age.
"“When you’re a school, you learn about Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King. It’s a shame that, growing up in England, I’d never heard of Walter and what he’d been through.”"
While Dele added:
"“It was strange I hadn’t heard about him before. Such an amazing story and all the things he had to overcome. It’s an amazing achievement.”"
Tull and the new stadium
The club’s website released a statement this week saying Walter’s story will be part of the museum at the new stadium.
While Walter’s biographer, Phil Vasili, urged Tottenham to go one step further and name a stand in his honour.
Speaking to Sky Sports Vasili stated:
"“…he [would] be looking down on the field that he should have played at for the majority of his career. Tottenham should be really proud of Walter and to their credit; they took him on at a time when a lot of clubs wouldn’t sign black players. They should be really proud of that history and I would say to Tottenham they should stand proud and get behind Walter’s story.”"
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Walter’s name may not be roused in the same breath as the greats of the game, but his story certainly resonates as much as any. He is finally gaining some deserved recognition, and hopefully, future generations will be much more familiar with the bygone Spurs man who spent his life defying the odds.