Free Pitch Black by Emy Onuora

models, not just to young black men who had dreams of playing professional football, but to ordinary black people who were factory workers, health service workers, transport workers, school kids and the unemployed. They were admired because they were experiencing something that most people in the many beleaguered black communities would have struggled to survive with their dignity and sanity intact. They were respected because, at a time when the media andpopular culture portrayed black people in an almost exclusively negative light, here were black men playing the national sport and winning in the face of unimaginable and constant hostility. Although it wasn’t their intention, theirs was an act of defiance and therefore deeply political.
    Together, the three wreaked revenge on the racists in the one area they could control: on the pitch. Cunningham had progressed to the England under-21 squad within a year of joining Albion in April 1977, and in so doing became the first black footballer to represent England at this level. His brilliant debut saw him terrorise the Scottish defence, pick up the Man of the Match award and bag the winning goal into the bargain. The press speculated as to how long it might be for him to win a full England cap and become the first black player to achieve this honour.
    Their first full season together proved to be a stellar one for both Albion and the Three Degrees. Regis made his England under-21 debut in September 1978 and two months later appeared for the England B side in a 1–0 victory against Czechoslovakia, ending the season as PFA Young Player of the Year, the first black player to win this accolade. Cunningham ended the season by becoming only the second black player after Viv Anderson to win a full England cap, in a Home International fixture against Wales. As for Albion, they finished a successful season in third place in the league and got to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup.
    Cunningham, now an England international, had attracted the attention of some rich suitors. His performances in Albion’s UEFA Cup campaign had given him a European-wide platform and the legendary Real Madrid signed him at the end of the 1978/79 season for a then massive fee of £950,000.
    So ended one of the most important periods in the history of British football, and in the history of West Bromwich Albion. The Three Degrees had been in existence for only a season and a half, which constituted some eighteen months, but they had made an indelible impression in the West Midlands and beyond. They elevated themselves to hero status amongst black communities in all parts of the country and became role models for their response to racism. Their historic role as the first trio of black footballers to become regular members of a professional football team, let alone one in the top flight, paved the way for future generations of black athletes to earn a living by playing professional football. Their response to racism, both defiant and dignified, set the blueprint for how black players were required to deal with the issue for the next twenty years.

CHAPTER 5
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UPRISING
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    ‘I had no problems in being able to look after myself, but it was important to know that Bob had my back.’ – George Berry
    THEY HAD VISITED the seething cauldron of hate that was Elland Road and had come away with the points. At the heart of the Wolves’ defence were Bob Hazell and George Berry. Getting a hostile reception at grounds was a normal occurrence for black footballers but Elland Road was of an altogether different magnitude. Even though they had been warned to expect hostility, black players were regularly taken aback on their first visit to the ground. As Berry himself says, ‘They were the most racist set of fans I’ve ever come across in my life. They had it to a fine art. The chanting and everything and the intimidation was like nothing you’ll ever hear anywhere on earth.’
    This game had been no exception.