In June 2020 the supporters trusts from Exeter City, Plymouth Argyle and Torquay United came together as ‘Devon United’ to vocally and financially support a statue honouring former Argyle player Jack Leslie.
Jack Signed for the Pilgrims in 1921 from Barking Town and made 384 league appearances, scoring 133 goals, before his retirement in 1934.
Jack's finest hour was being selected as first reserve for the English national team for a home nations match against Ireland on 25th October 1925. Given that Jack was playing in the English League’s third tier at the time makes the achievement even more remarkable.
Jack was to be robbed of his moment of glory. A selected player dropped out of the team and Jack was not named as the replacement. Controversy followed and it is widely believed that the only reason that Jack did not pull on the famous white jersey was purely down to the colour of his skin. It would be 53 years before Viv Anderson would be the first ever black player to represent England in an international match, an honour that was cruelly denied Jack over half a century before.
Everyone at Exeter City Football Club congratulate all parties involved in the Jack Leslie Campaign and are proud to have representatives from our club to be there to witness Jack’s statue being unveiled at Home Park on October 7th. By ensuring that Jack's story is not forgotten it should encourage us all to move forward together and with unity.