Blue Plaque unveiled to honour Argyle legend Jack Leslie

Historic England recently unveiled a national blue plaque in Plymouth to honour the life and groundbreaking career of John 'Jack' Leslie, the Argyle legend.

This unveiling marks Leslie’s footballing talent and celebrates the 100th anniversary year of his call-up as a reserve for the England squad in October 1925. Though this honour was rescinded shortly afterwards, it is thought on the grounds of racial prejudice, Leslie’s resilience in continuing to excel at Argyle and his significance in the history of English football has more recently been acknowledged and celebrated.

The new blue plaque can be seen at 8 Glendower Road, Peverell, Plymouth, Devon, PL3 4LA, where he lived with his family during the heyday of his career, captaining Argyle. 

Leslie possessed remarkable skills as a striker which brought him a tally of 137 goals in a total of 401 appearances for the club during his career.  

Several former Argyle players attended the ceremony including Steve Davey, John Uzzell, Leigh Cooper, Kevin Hodges and Chris Harrison.

The inscription on the plaque reads: JOHN ‘JACK’ LESLIE /1901 – 1988 / Captain of / Plymouth Argyle FC / and the first / Black footballer / selected for England / lived here. 

The unveiling was led by Historic England’s Chief Executive Duncan Wilson, alongside Jack Leslie’s granddaughters Lesley Hiscott, Gillian Carter and Lyn Davies.  

The unveiling marks the start of the eight-week public nomination period for the National Blue Plaques Scheme, from 16 May to 10 July, 2025. The public is invited to submit their own nominations for people they would most like to see recognised through a prestigious Historic England national blue plaque at www.historicengland.org.uk