John Walker and Eddie Dilsworth might not be names that sit in Lincoln City history for many, but they were trailblazers at the club.
I came across Dilsworth’s name in my research for the nation article I did, and while I was aware of him, I wanted to dig a little deeper. He was only the second Black player to appear for the Imps, and came 67 years after John Walker, a tricky winger who earned rave reviews at the end of the 19th century.
John Walker
John Walker was one of the most significant early Black footballers in Britain, recognised as the first Black professional to play in Scotland to appear in both the Scottish League and the Football League. An outside left noted for his pace, skill and direct running, he emerged with Leith Primrose before joining Leith Athletic in 1898, where his “tricky play and dashing runs” quickly earned attention. Heart of Midlothian moved to sign him later that year, paying a reported £50 fee, and Walker made three league appearances for Hearts in October and November 1898, featuring against Hibernian, St Bernard’s and Third Lanark.
After being released, he joined City at the start of the following season. There has since been speculation that Lincoln may have believed they were signing the Scottish international John Walker, who had also been with Hearts, but the record shows that John Walker was in Division Two during the autumn of 1899, without scoring. Unusually, we can’t say he played in red and white, as the Imps changed the kit for a season, playing in green and black.
Walker’s spell at Lincoln was short and unspectacular, with his appearances coming against Middlesbrough, Chesterfield, Newton Heath, The Wednesday, New Brighton Tower and Grimsby Town. One report suggested was ‘useful’ at times despite the ‘extraordinary amount of attention’ paid to him. One can only imagine what that meant.
By the time he left the club, his health was already failing, and he returned to Leith around six months before his death. The Dundee Courier reported his death on August 7, 1900, stating that consumption was the cause, while other accounts have suggested either tuberculosis or pneumonia. He was just 22.
Eddie Dilsworth
The next Black player to play for the club was Eddie Dilsworth. Born in Sierra Leone, he started his career with Fulham, though he left Craven Cottage as a teenager without making a senior breakthrough. He moved on to Wealdstone, where his adaptability quickly became clear. Often used in defensive roles, he made 129 appearances and scored 19 goals, but his time with the Stones was about far more than numbers. He was part of their 1966 FA Amateur Cup-winning side, helping Wealdstone beat Hendon 3-1 at Wembley on the day he turned 20.
It was on the back of this success that Dilsworth hunted a place in the Football League, which saw City move in. The Imps, under Ron Gray, were struggling at the foot of Division Four and Dilsworth was a punt, a non-league gem that Gray hoped to polish and leverage to get us away from the bottom of the division. He came in at the tail end of the season, and appeared against Bradford Park Avenue.
He has a decent debut. Both clubs were doomed to re-election anyway, but he was described by Maurice Burton as ‘by no means out of his class’ at wing half. He even started the 42nd-minute move that brought one of the Imps goals, and was reported to have put himself about well. He could come off the pitch happy with his endeavours: the problem was that he was also still on Wealdstone’s books, and they suspended him.
The ban was quickly lifted, and he played again as the Imps lost to Luton. Gray was already shaping his side for the next season, signing George Peden around the same time, but Dilsworth’s involvement was over. A rearranged game against Port Vale might have afforded him another chance, but his mother passed, and on May 2nd, it was announced he’d returned to the south.
With Wealdstone seemingly done with the youngster, he signed for Chelmsford and went on to make 273 appearances for the club across his spells. By then, his role had shifted higher up the pitch. He was equally comfortable as a winger or centre-forward, and his game suited both jobs.
There was always a feeling he could have been a Football League player, and one of the clearest examples came against Ipswich Town in the FA Cup, when Dilsworth faced Mick Mills in a tie that pitted Chelmsford against a side full of international quality. Chelmsford were beaten 3-1, but Dilsworth’s performance showed the level of his individual ability. He gave Mills a difficult afternoon, carrying the ball with purpose and proving that his game could trouble opponents from a much higher level.
His form at Chelmsford brought a move to Kettering Town under Ron Atkinson, with the fee widely reported around the £8,000 to £9,000 mark, a major sum in non-league football at the time. Atkinson was building on Kettering’s Southern League Premier Division title success and saw Dilsworth as a player capable of strengthening another ambitious side. The move did not quite bring the same spark he had shown at Chelmsford, and he returned to New Writtle Street later that season.
He even played against the Imps in 1974, albeit in a pre-season friendly in which his side ran out 1-0 winners.
John Walker and Eddie Dilsworth: not the headline names you remember at Lincoln City, but both breaking new ground in an age where race, sadly, was a big issue for football fans and football clubs. Thank the Lord, times have changed, to some degree.
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