Lindy Delapenha
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Lloyd Lindbergh Delapenha | ||
| Date of birth | 5 May 1927 | ||
| Place of birth | Jamaica | ||
| Date of death | 26 January 2017 (aged 89) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1948–50 | Portsmouth | 7 | (0) |
| 1950–58 | Middlesbrough | 260 | (90) |
| 1958–60 | Mansfield Town | 115 | (27) |
| 1960 | Hereford United | ||
| 1964 | Burton Albion | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
|||
Lloyd Lindbergh "Lindy" Delapenha (5 May 1927 – 26 January 2017) was a Jamaican footballer and sports journalist. He was the first Jamaican to play professional football in England. Between 1948 and 1960, he played league football for Portsmouth, Middlesbrough and Mansfield Town.
Delapenha was an old boy of Munro College in Jamaica where he was a multi-sport athlete. As a schoolboy, Delapenha took part in 16 events over a one-and-a-half-day period in England. He then served with the British Armed Forces in the Middle East following World War II. During his service, an English football scout saw him playing football for the British Army.
This gained him a trial with Arsenal, but he did not sign for the club, and in April 1948 he joined Portsmouth. There, he became the first Jamaican to play professional football in England. Although it is claimed he was the first non-white player to appear in the English Football League First Division, he was actually predated by several other non-white players, including Arthur Wharton, who played a First Division match for Sheffield United as far back as 1894–95. He went on to win a league championship medal with Portsmouth in 1949.
In April 1950, after a successful few years with Portsmouth, he transferred to Middlesbrough where his career took off. He played on the wing or inside-forward, and became Boro's leading scorer in the 1951–52, 1953–54 and 1955–56 seasons. In total he scored 93 league and FA Cup goals in 270 appearances.
He moved to Mansfield Town in June 1958, contributing 27 goals in 115 appearances over two years, before retiring from League football in 1960. Delapenha played non-league football, Hereford United and Burton Albion. He won the Southern League Cup in 1964 with Burton.
...
Wikipedia