James Peters (7 August 1879 – 26 March 1954) was an English

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player and, later, a

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer. He is notable as the first black man to play rugby union for

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, and the only black England player until 1988.

Early life

Peters was born at 38 Queen Street in

Salford Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, England. James Peters' Jamaican father, George, had been mauled to death in a training cage by lions. His mother, Hannah Gough originally from

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

, was unable to look after him so allowed him to join another circus troupe as a bareback horse rider. He was abandoned by the circus at age 11, having broken his arm, and found himself in Fegan's orphanage in

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

, and then Little Wanderers' Home in

Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...

, where he captained many of their sports teams. Greenwich Admirals Rugby League Club now celebrate Peters' life with an annual challenge game. Peters trained in printing and carpentry; his trade brought him to

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, where he played as a

fly-half In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16� ...

for Dings Crusaders, Knowle and Bristol Rugby Club, and represented the Somerset County team between 1900 and 1903. His presence at Bristol was opposed by some on racist grounds: a committee member at Bristol resigned in protest at his selection for the team, whilst a local newspaper described him as a "palid blackamoor", and complained that he was "keeping a white man out of the side". Peters then moved on to

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

in 1902, representing Plymouth RUFC, and the Devon county side until 1909. He was the star player in the Devon side which won the

County Championship The County Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Rothesay County Championship, is the only domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales. Established in 1890, it is organised by the England and Wales Cri ...

in 1906, resulting in the press calling for his selection for the national team.

England international

On 17 March 1906, Peters won his début cap for England against

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. However, The ''

Yorkshire Post ''The Yorkshire Post'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper, published in Leeds, Yorkshire, England. It primarily covers stories from Yorkshire, although its masthead carries the slogan "Yorkshire's National Newspaper". It was previously owned by ...

'' pointed out, "his selection is by no means popular on racial grounds". In the match, he set up two tries for England: '' The Sportsman'' commented that the "dusky Plymouth man did many good things, especially in passing." He was to play a further game, against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, in which he scored a try. In October through to December 1906 Peters became embroiled in controversy regarding the touring South African Springboks, as some members objected to him playing against them for

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

due to his colour, and he was not picked for the International game against South Africa, with a number of newspapers citing racial grounds. He went on to be capped for England three more times in 1907 and 1908. In 1910, Peters lost three fingers in a dockyard accident, and although it was initially feared he could not play again he continued to play until 1912 when politics forced Peters out of rugby union.

Rugby league

Clubs in the south-west of England attempted to form a Western League (later

Rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

) and play competitive fixtures. He was suspended for accepting payment from Devon Rugby Club, which was illegal according to the codes of rugby union. Many players, including Peters, and also RFC Plymouth were suspended by the RFU. Plymouth's ground closed, signalling the end of Plymouth RFC. The rules of professionalism often owed more to politics than finance. Peters, by then 34 and disillusioned with rugby union, was accepted into

. Returning to his native northwestern England, Peters played for Barrow in 1913, and then transferred to St. Helens in 1914 until his retirement from rugby.

References

;General *Michael O'Hare (28/04/2025),
Time Machine: How rugby league rescued England’s first black international sportsman
'. TotalRugbyLeague. ;Inline

Sources

* Nadine Fletcher
PLAYER PROFILE- Jimmy Peters
World Rugby Museum: from the vaults (January 29, 2015)

External links