By Callum Gould
Seeing a black footballer playing for your team nowadays would not raise an eyebrow, but back in the 1970s it was a rare sight. Players such a Viv Anderson, Cyrille Regis and Laurie Cunningham are seen as the pioneers at international level. At club level though every team has their own trailblazer.
For the two major clubs on Merseyside, Liverpool FC and Everton FC, it was not until the mid 70’s that either club fielded a footballer of black heritage. For the Reds it was Howard Gayle in 1977. In the case of the Goodison Park team, Cliff Marshall is widely considered to be their first BAME player, with his debut game in 1973. However, some historians debate that Mike Trebilcock may hold this record, but during this time there was some arguments over his mixed heritage.
Born on Stanhope Street, Toxteth, on the 4th of November 1955, Marshall grew up in a multicultural part of the city. The 65-year-old was proud of his skin colour growing up in the diverse borough of Toxteth, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t subject to abuse, with the ex-winger stating: “People were calling us all sorts, the N-word and Slave. Fighting was just a part of growing up as a black kid back then. I remember one incident where a bully approached me at school, I asked him why he hated me so much, and he told me it was because I was different. I said, ‘I know I’m different; you’re white, I’m black, but if you cut us both open, we bleed the same colour.”
The Liverpudlian explained how he played for England schoolboys, two years younger than everyone else in the team. During his time with England, the top English teams started taking notice of Marshall, the former Miami star said: “It’s where all the big clubs scouted youngsters back then. Manchester United and Liverpool wanted me, but once I knew Everton wanted me, I picked them, as I supported them.” Marshall signed for Everton as an apprentice at 14-years-old.
Throughout his time with the Blues, the former England schoolboy didn’t encounter any racism from within the side. His teammates and coaches all accepted Marshall for who he was and saw his exceptional skill as a footballer. However, he was subject to fans throwing banana skins and making monkey chants toward him. The ex-blue recalls one vivid memory that happened during an appearance, he said: “I had started for Everton, and my family came along my auntie and cousins, and these two blokes behind them said: ‘Aww bless him, they don’t know how to wear football boots. My auntie turned to them and told them I was her nephew. Then a fight broke out between my family and the men.”
The Toxteth-born winger left Billy Bingham’s side after making seven appearances for his boyhood club. Footballing differences were his reasoning after a coach had told him that he “needed to defend more”, even as a winger. America called for the young Scouser after a call from the Miami Toros, the now businessman, arrived in the USA only a few weeks after leaving the Merseyside outfit.
Marshall experienced very little in the way of racist abuse in America, the 66-year-old said: “I didn’t encounter the stuff you see happening in America today because the teams were very diverse. Even in day-to-day life, we were living in Miami, not far from Little Havana, so again, it was very multicultural.”
During his only season playing for the Toros, Marshall got to play against his heroes, the likes of George Best, Franz Beckenbauer, and the great Pele; on sharing the pitch with these greats, the winger said: “It was fantastic, I never dreamed it could happen.”
Unfortunately for the pioneering footballer, his time in America was cut short as the Toros folded. Marshall ended his playing career soon after, at the young age of 22, he said: “I fell out of love with the game, I had played it so much from a young age, I just fell out of love with it.” Once back in his hometown, he became a very successful businessman owning pubs and clubs around Merseyside.
The man from South Liverpool, is all too familiar with what black players are suffering in today’s game. But for Marshall he feels the authorities are not doing enough to stop it from happening, he added: “FIFA and UEFA take forever and a day to deal with the situation and then when the penalty comes it’s trivial. It is not taken seriously.”
The former England schoolboy doesn’t see it as just a football problem though, he said: “As John Barnes has been saying, it’s not football related. It’s a society thing. It’s changing the mindset of people.” Marshall feels that nothing will change unless people come together, he added: “The only way you’re going to change it is with a lot of interaction. So, people understand different cultures.”
As the first black Everton player, Cliff Marshall was an inspiration to many kids around the city. He may have only been young and played a handful of appearances for Goodison side, but it’s clear to see how much it means to the former wide man. Marshall is humble and would never admit it himself, but he was a seen as a trailblazer in England and Liverpool at the time.
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