Racism, China and that famous Manchester United game – Brendon Batson talks about life at West Bromwich Albion
Former Baggies player reveals the level of racism in English football in 1970s and also talks about the epic 1978 tour to China – the first behind the Iron Curtain by a British team
Brendon Batson had experienced racist chants and abuse ever since he arrived in England as a nine-year-old. He’s even been refused entry into nightclubs because of his colour.
So, when he donned the West Bromwich Albion jersey and took to The Hawthorns pitch as a rare black player in 1970s English football, the racial abuse was something he was quite used to. The only difference was that, on the field, the volume was cranked up by the thousands.
Batson was among the pioneering footballers of the 1970s and with the late Laurie Cunningham and Cyrille Regis, was part of a trio of black players who paved the way for minorities to make their mark in English, and world, football.
West Brom were the first team in England to field three black players at the same time and, indeed, the club were known for pushing boundaries in other ways.
In 1978, West Brom became the first British team to go behind the Bamboo Curtain, not long after the death of Chairman Mao Zedong, and Batson was part of that squad who spent three weeks in China.