Gil Heron
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Gil Heron | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 1922 | |
| Place of birth | Kingston, Jamaica | |
| Date of death | 27 November, 2008 | |
| Place of death | Detroit, United States | |
| Playing position | Centre forward | |
| Senior career1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
1951-1952 |
Detroit Corinthians Detroit Wolverines Celtic Third Lanark Kidderminster Harriers Detroit Corinthians |
3 (1) |
| National team | ||
| Jamaica | ||
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Gil Heron (1922 - 27 November, 2008) was a Jamaican footballer. He was the first black player to play for Scottish club Celtic.
[edit] Career
A centre forward, Heron was born in Kingston, Jamaica, moved to Canada as a youth and was later enlisted in the Canadian Air Force. As well as being an athlete and a boxer, he played football and broke through during his stay there. He signed for Detroit Corinthians and the champion Detroit Wolverines, where he was top goalscorer in the 1946 season of the North American Professional Soccer League.[1]
He was spotted by a scout from Celtic while the club was on tour in North America, and he was signed by the Scottish club in 1951 after being invited over for a trial. Heron went on to score on his debut, on August 18, 1951 in a League Cup tie against Morton that Celtic won 2-0. Heron only played five first-team matches in all, scoring twice.[2] He was released by the club the next year and joined Third Lanark, and then club Kidderminster Harriers before moving back to Detroit Corinthians. At Celtic he earned the nicknames The Black Arrow and The Black Flash.[3]
[edit] Personal life
Gil Heron was the father of poet and musician Gil Scott-Heron. He died in Detroit of a heart attack on November 27, 2008.
[edit] References
  |
This biographical article relating to Jamaican soccer is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
