Black History Month kicks off this October and is designed to honour
the accomplishments of Black Britons and the Black Community across the
UK. It was first launched in London in the 1980s and is an annual event
that celebrates the contribution made by the generations of those of
African and Caribbean descent living in the UK, who have helped shape
Britain's national and cultural life. 
Here's Karan Rai's selection:
From Tommy Best in 1950 to Josh Gowling seventy years later, Hereford United and Hereford Football Club have a rich history of having many fantastic black individuals who have brilliantly contributed to the success of both clubs. Whilst there are plenty more players that could be added to this list, these are a selection of twelve black icons in the history of both Hereford United and Hereford Football Club:
1. Tommy Best (1950-1955)
Born in Milford Haven to a Barbadian father and Welsh mother in 1920, Tommy Best was the first black footballer to ever play for Hereford United. He was a veteran of the Second World War, serving in the Royal Navy. He played for Chester, Cardiff City and Queens Park Rangers before finishing his career at Edgar Street. In total, he made 145 appearances for the Bulls between 1950 and 1955, scoring 67 goals.
Following his retirement from football, Best worked in the Mother's Pride bakery in Hereford and remained in the city with his wife, Eunice, and the couple had three children, Jennifer, Paul and Judy. He suffered from Alzheimer's in later life and died on 16 September 2018 at the age of 97. While his name and story may not be as widely known as it should be, the man who made history in relation to breaking down racial barriers was an important part of the history of Hereford United and the game of football itself.
2. Lindy Delapenha (Midfielder, 1960-1961)
Delapenha was a true trailblazer, a footballer who overcame post-war prejudices and narrow-minded terrace bigotry to become a hero to many thousands at home and overseas. Born in the West Indies in May 1927, Lloyd Lindbergh Delapenha was the first Jamaican to play professional football in England and only the second black man to play League football in England. He served with the British Armed Forces in the Middle East following World War II and during his service, a scout saw him playing for the British Army and this earned him a trial with Arsenal. Lindy was on their books as an amateur but signed for Portsmouth in April 1948. He was only the second black player to play for Hereford United. Lindy signed for Hereford in March 1961. He played just 11 games for the club on the wing, scoring two goals. After three years of non-league football, he moved back to Jamaica and became director of sports at the Jamaican Broadcasting Corporation, where he remained and gave thirty years of service.
Lindy also played for Middlesbrough, Mansfield and Burton Albion throughout his career. He died on 26 January 2017 at the age of 89, after a stroke.
3. Stewart Phillips (Striker, 1978-1988 and 1990-1991)
Despite being born in Halifax in 1961, Stewart was brought up in Hereford where he went to Haywood High School. He spent nearly ten years over two stints at Hereford, making over 300 appearances for the club and made his debut at the age of sixteen in 1978 against Swindon Town whilst he was still at school. He was the first player to score a hat-trick in an away match for Hereford United in the Football League and was also the first to score 100 goals for United in the league era. He has scored more goals for Hereford United in the Football League than any other player in the club's history.
In 1979 Phillips took part in a testimonial game along with fellow Hereford player’s Winston White and Valmore Thomas for Len Cantello at The Hawthorns, when controversially, a team of all-white players represented as a West Bromwich Albion XI took on a Cyrille Regis & Laurie Cunningham XI which was a team made up of all-black players. Phillips scored the
winner for the Cyrille Regis & Laurie Cunningham XI in a 3-2 win in an era when racism in football was rife.
In 1983/84 he was voted into the PFA Fourth Division XI. Phillips was also part of the Hereford team in the Fourth Division that drew 0-0 with First Division giants Arsenal at Edgar Street in the First Leg of the Milk Cup in 1985-86, where he came close to snatching a late winner with a header that went just wide of the post in the 84th minute. Hereford went on to narrowly lose 2-1 at Highbury in the Second Leg. In that same season, Phillips played a huge role in almost getting Hereford to Wembley by scoring in a 2-0 win in the First Leg of the Freight Rover Trophy Area Final against Bristol City before they heartbreakingly lost 3-0 in the Second Leg.
During his youth Stewart played for Hereford Lads Club and played for West Bromwich Albion and Swansea in his career.
4. Valmore Thomas (Left Back, 1979-1981)
Born in Worksop in 1958, Thomas played for Coventry City, Hereford United and Worcester City. He played 37 games for Hereford, scoring one goal in his time with the Bulls and was a Bermudian international full-back.
In 1979 he played in a benefit match for West Brom's Len Cantello alongside fellow Hereford player’s Stewart Phillips and Winston White, when a team of white players (West Brom XI) played against a team of black players (Cyrille Regis & Laurie Cunningham XI).
5. Winston White (Winger, 1979-1983)
In March 1979, Winston White joined Hereford United for a fee of £15,000 from Leicester City. He had four years as a regular first teamer at Edgar Street, he made over 200 league and cup appearances for Hereford and scored 24 goals before leaving at the end of the 1982/83 season to try his luck in Hong Kong. Winston was part of the 1980-81 Division Four squad who made it to the Welsh Cup Final against First Division Swansea City, Hereford lost narrowly over two legs by two goals to one and it was said Winston put on a ‘magical show’ over the two games.
In 1979 he played in a benefit match for West Brom's Len Cantello alongside fellow Hereford player’s Stewart Phillips and Valmore Thomas, when a team of white players (West Brom XI) played against a team of black players (Cyrille Regis & Laurie Cunningham XI). He also played for many other clubs throughout his career, including Wigan Athletic, Carlisle United, Doncaster Rovers, Bury, West Bromwich Albion, Burnley and Colchester United.
6. Tamika Mkandawire (Midfielder and Defender, 2003-2007)
Malawi-born Mkandawire moved to England when he was only a year old and joined Hereford United from West Bromwich Albion in 2004 after two loan spells the previous season. He made 112 appearances for the Bulls, scored 12 goals and captained the side against Halifax in the 2006 Conference Play-Off Final where he lifted the trophy after a pulsating 3-2 Extra Time victory at Leicester’s Walkers Stadium after scoring in the crucial Semi-Final win against Morecambe at Edgar Street. He was subsequently named Player of the Year, for the second season in succession and was named as team captain for Hereford's first season back in the Football League in 2006-2007, however he turned down a new contract at Edgar Street in the summer of 2007 and moved to Leyton Orient in League One.
Tamika represented the England National Game XI at the Non-League European Championship in Brussels in 2004/2005. Malawi did not allow dual citizenship therefore he was ineligible to play for them at full international level. He went on to play for Milwall, Shrewsbury Town and ended his playing career in the USA in 2018 with the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the North American Soccer League.
7. Guy Ipoua (Striker, 2005-2006)
Born in Douala, Cameroon in 1976 Ipoua moved to France at the age of four where he started out at AS Nancy in 1992. His CV is rich, containing the likes of Livingston, Gillingham, Bristol Rovers, Scunthorpe, Sevilla, Torino and Atlético Madrid among his former clubs. In August 2005, he joined Hereford United and scored a goal in each of his first three league games. His season was disrupted by injury and in the latter stages he was used as only as a substitute. Guy was instrumental in helping Hereford end their ‘wilderness years’ in non-league football by scoring vital goals in the 2006 Nationwide Conference Play-Offs. This included Hereford’s extra-time winner in the Semi-Final Second-Leg at home to Morecambe and, with Hereford facing defeat in the Play-Off Final at the Walkers Stadium in Leicester against Halifax Town, he headed in the second equaliser to take the tie to extra time which Hereford eventually won to secure a place back in the Football League. Unfortunately, Guy was one of several Hereford players released shortly after the final. He has been working as a scout since retiring, notably recommending Mathieu Manset to Hereford.
8. Lionel Ainsworth (Winger, 2007-2008 and 2008-2009)
Despite only playing very few Hereford games in both his stints at the club, Lionel’s impact at Hereford United was huge. He joined the club in League Two as a nineteen-year-old after being released from Derby County and scored a stunning hat-trick in only his second competitive game for the Bulls in a 4-1 route over higher-graded Yeovil Town in the First Round of the Carling Cup. This helped set-up a Second-Round tie against Premier League Birmingham City under the bright lights of St. Andrews. He scored another hat-trick in a 3-2 win over Stockport County in the league and stole the headlines once again in November 2007 in an FA Cup First Round Replay when he scored a 3rd minute goal that knocked out the mighty Leeds United at Elland Road, whom only six years prior were playing in the UEFA Champions League Semi-Final against Valencia, helping to secure the Bulls a famous result.
As a result of his phenomenal performances for Hereford he was snapped up by Aidy Boothroyd at Championship side Watford. The move was initially a loan deal in a move that saw Watford players Theo Robinson and Toumani Diagouraga extend their own loans spells with Hereford until the end of the season with an option to buy Diagouraga on a permanent basis. This deal ultimately enabled Hereford to secure automatic promotion to League One at the end of the season by retaining two vital players essential for the promotion push. Ainsworth was signed by Watford permanently for an undisclosed six-figure fee in January 2008 that significantly bolstered Hereford’s finances.
With Boothroyd sacked at Watford and replaced by Malky MacKay, Ainsworth found opportunities limited under the new management. He thus returned to Hereford for a one-month loan spell in the 2008-2009 season with the club in League One and struggling at the foot of the table. He rediscovered his form at Hereford and most notably scored two goals in a 5-0 mauling of high-flying Oldham Athletic in the league, which saw Watford recall Ainsworth immediately despite having one game left to play in the loan deal.
Lionel went on to play for Huddersfield, Shrewsbury, Motherwell, Rotherham, Plymouth, Weymouth and is currently at Dulwich Hamlet in the National League South. He represented England up to Under-19 level.
9. Toumani Diagouraga (Defensive Midfielder, 2007-2009)
Born in Paris in 1987, Diagouraga was spotted by a Watford scout as a schoolboy before joining the Hornets’ Academy in December 2003. He joined Hereford United on 10 August 2007, on a loan spell from Watford that was later extended until the end of the 2007–08 season as part of a transfer deal involving Lionel Ainsworth going the opposite way. His performances were often compared to being ‘Patrick Viera’ like and he helped
the club earn automatic promotion to League One by finishing third in the League Two 2007/8 season, where Hereford would play for the first time in 30 years. As a result of this success, Toumani signed a three-year permanent deal with the club from Watford in July 2008. Following Hereford’s immediate relegation in the 2008/2009 season back to League Two, he departed Edgar Street in June 2009, signing for Championship club Peterborough United on a four-year contract for an undisclosed fee (believed to be in the region of £200,000) on 17 June 2009. During his spell with the Bulls he made 98 appearances and scored four goals. He has gone on to play for Brentford, Leeds United, Plymouth, Fleetwood, Swindon and is currently at Morecambe in League Two.
10. Mustapha Bundu (Forward, 2015-2016)
Born in war-torn Freetown, Sierra Leone in 1997 Bundu was first noticed by the Craig Bellamy Foundation which operates in the country and was able to gain a student visa to study at Gloucestershire’s Hartpury College. From there he spent a season at Hereford FC as a nineteen year old where he scored 26 goals, won the club’s Young Player of the Season Award, helped Hereford to secure an unprecedented treble and reach the FA Vase final at Wembley Stadium in 2016. One of his best performances came in a 7-0 demolition of Bardon Hill in the Midland Football League at Edgar Street in March 2016 where he scored four goals, including a 25-yard wondergoal. Work authorisation restrictions only allowed him to ply his trade in a club no higher than step five of the English non-league pyramid which forced him to leave Hereford. Since then he made his international debut in a World Cup Qualifier for Sierra Leone against Liberia in 2019 and in August 2020, he completed a £3 Million move to Anderlecht in the Belgian Pro League from AGF in the Danish Superliga.
11. Keyon Reffell (Forward, 2017-2019)
Keyon joined Hereford from Merthyr Town in the summer of 2017 and had a hugely successful season making 54 appearances and scoring 12 goals. His performances helped Hereford win the Southern League Premier Title, the Herefordshire County Cup and achieve a run all the way to the FA Cup Second Round Proper where Hereford were the last non-league team remaining in the draw, a phenomenal achievement for a team playing in the Seventh Tier of English Football. He assisted Calvin Dinsley who scored in the 1-1 draw away at League One Fleetwood in the Second Round of the FA Cup before Hereford lost 2-0 in the replay at Edgar Street live on TV in front of the BT Sport cameras. In October 2017, Keyon scored one of Hereford’s goals of the season in a vital 1-0 league win away at Banbury Town.
Keyon struggled with injuries the next season and due to personal circumstances he left Hereford in July 2019 and would sign for a club closer to his home in south Wales.
12. Josh Gowling (Defender and Manager, 2008-2009 and 2018-)
The current Bulls maestro made history in January 2020 when he became Hereford’s first ever black manager, initially as interim manager before landing the managers job permanantly in the summer of 2020. He is also in the rare group of footballers that has played for both Hereford United and Hereford FC. In his first stint at the club he joined Hereford United when they were in League One in 2008-2009, making 13 appearences on loan from Carlisle United. He came back to Hereford, now as a pheonix club in December 2018 with the club playing in the National League North and was given the Captain’s armband. In January 2019 Josh scored a sensational 96th minute injury time equaliser with a volley from outside the box in a 1-1 draw against National League North leaders Chorley.
As a player Josh’s successes include being in the 2012-13 Conference Premier Team of the Year, winning the National League Play-Offs in 2015-16 with Grimsby Town and also being named in that season’s National League Team of the Year.