Sad news has reached Club Historian Ron Parrott of the passing of Tommy Best, the first ever black player to turn out for Hereford United, who died yesterday at the age of 97. Tommy had lived his life in Hereford after his retirement from the game in the mid-1950s and remained a very popular figure. Ron continues, “Tommy was not only a great footballer but a wonderful man with a great sense of humour. I remember a few years ago when I took one of his former Hereford United colleagues, goalkeeper Jock Letham, who was visiting the city, round to see Tommy. The pair of them greeted each other like long-lost brothers and exchanged stories for an hour or so and I’ll never forget, Tommy beckoned me back as we were leaving, winked at me and whispered, “he was a dirty bugger that Jock Letham!”
I also spent some time quizzing him about what racial abuse was like back in his day and he reminisced, “Ireland was OK but elsewhere it was pretty bad but I’ll tell you what...... the worst of the lot were at Merthyr Tydfil, they used to give me a terrible time when I went back there with Hereford United.” Then with a glint in his eye, he leant forward towards me and said, “But I’ll tell you what, the more they threw bananas at me and the more they made awful monkey noises at me...... the harder I tried!” That was not only Tommy the footballer but Tommy the man! He will be sadly missed.
Below is Tommy’s pen-pic covering his whole career.
Born Milford Haven 23rd December 1920, died Hereford 16th September 2018
Tommy was born of a Barbadian father and a Welsh mother and joined the Royal Navy as a teenager, serving on board a minesweeper. When his ship was damaged by a German air raid, it docked in Belfast harbour and he was introduced to Irish football by his Chief Petty Officer. Tommy impressed whilst guesting for Drumcondra and impressed enough to be offered a deal with Belfast Celtic, where he was given the nickname of "Darkie Best" and Tommy always maintained that any reference to his skin colour was purely affectionate. After one season with Belfast Celtic, where he became the first black professional footballer to play in Ireland, Tommy then played for Cliftonville and went on to play for Queensland when he was stationed in Australia.
A prolific goalscorer, Tommy joined Merthyr Tydfil after the cessation of hostilities before signing for Chester in July 1947 and going on to score 14 goals in 40 appearances. After one season at Sealand Road, he moved on to Cardiff City for a fee of £7,000, where he scored 10 goals in 28 games before spending the 1949/50 season with QPR, playing 13 first-team games and scoring three times before joining Hereford United in the summer of 1950, after a brief spell with Milford Haven.. Tommy spent three years at Edgar Street and notched 80 goals in 142 games. He was a splendidly built, bustling type of centre-forward who could use either foot with equal ability and his committed style of play made him a firm favourite with the fans. Upon leaving Hereford in the summer of 1953, Tommy linked up with Birmingham League side Bromsgrove Rovers before returning to the city of Hereford to hang up his boots. For many years, Tommy worked for the Mothers' Pride bakery in Hereford and spent his final years in the Rose Garden Nursing Home in Ledbury Road.