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An amazing new mural, dedicated to former Liverpool striker Howard Gayle, has been unveiled on the streets of Toxteth, close to where he was born.
Gayle played just five times for Liverpool but is remembered as a great for his 1981 European Cup semi-final performance and his status as the first Black man to play for Liverpool.
The striker was born in Liverpool 8 and was the youngest of four siblings. His father came to Liverpool from Sierra Leone after World War Two and met his Ghanaian wife on Merseyside.
Growing up in Toxteth then Norris Green, Gayle faced discrimination but still managed to become a footballer for his boyhood club.
Howard signed a professional contract with the Reds in 1977 and went on to become the first Black player to play for the club.
Over the years, he has been “a role model in the community; for his activism, achievements in football, his stance against racism and the work he does with young people,” commented the chair of Mandela8, Sonia Bassey.
The charity have now seen fit to honour him with a brilliant mural, painted by John Culshaw and commissioned in association with the Riverside Foundation.
The artwork depicts Gayle playing in that European Cup semi-final against Bayern Munich, below a picture of him closer to his current age, 66.
That 1-1 draw, away at Bayern Munich in the second leg of the 1981 European Cup, has gone down as one of Liverpool’s greatest-ever European results.
After a goalless night at Anfield, Liverpool went to the Olympic Stadium in Munich needing to avoid defeat to progress.
Their chances took a hit after nine minutes when Kenny Dalglish was injured in a tackle by Karl Del’Haye, meaning Bob Paisley was forced to bring on the 22-year-old forward, Gayle, for just his second-ever appearance.
Gayle didn’t let his manager down, though, and famously put in a great battling performance to help Liverpool draw 1-1, therefore reaching the final on away goals where they beat Real Madrid.
Also on the mural are the words,’For the first time, we are being seen the world over as we should be seen’.
That sentence came from the mouth of Martin Luther King Jr when he was convincing Nichelle Nichols, an African American actor, to stay on Star Trek in the 1960s.
Her role in Star Trek was the first time an African American actor had appeared so prominently on mainstream television, and in some ways could be compared to Gayle’s role as a footballer who inspired marginalised youngsters.
He was Liverpool’s first black player at a time when racism was not unusual, in the stands or on the pitch.
Where is the mural?
If you wish to visit the mural, it is on Upper Warwick Street in L8, not far from other pieces of art that celebrate famous people from the area, including Ringo Starr, Natasha Jonas and Nikita Parris.
On the corner of Upper Stanhope Street and Princes Road, there is a brilliant Nelson Mandela mural, which was also commissioned by Mandela8 and painted by John Culshaw.
Mandela, himself was awarded the freedom of Liverpool in 1994, an honour that has also been bestowed upon Bob Paisley and Jurgen Klopp.
Mandela8 is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation.
Its initial vision is to see a permanent artwork that functions as a unique performance, conversation and contemplation space established at a Toxteth Liverpool 8 heritage site, to celebrate, commemorate and pursue the legacy of Nelson Mandela’s outstanding achievement for humanity.
Howard Gayle was one of the charity’s first patrons having spoken alongside Mandela8 trustees at the 5th UNI World Congress in Liverpool in 2018.
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