Gil Heron
Encyclopedia
Gil Heron was a Jamaica
n professional footballer. He was the first black player to play for Scottish club Celtic
, and was the father of poet
and musician
Gil Scott-Heron
.
He died in Detroit of a heart attack
on 27 November 2008.
, he came from a family of means.
He 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. A centre forward, he signed for Detroit Corinthians and the champion Detroit Wolverines, where he was top goalscorer in the 1946 season of the North American Soccer Football League.
He was spotted by a scout from Glasgow 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. Becoming the first black player for Celtic, Heron went on to score on his debut, on 18 August 1951 in a League Cup tie against Morton that Celtic won 2-0. Heron only played five first-team matches in all, scoring twice. He was released by the club the next year and joined Third Lanark
where he played in seven League Cup matches, scoring five goals but did not appear in the League.
Next he went to English club Kidderminster Harriers
before moving back to Detroit Corinthians. At Celtic he earned the nicknames "The Black Arrow" and "The Black Flash".
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n professional footballer. He was the first black player to play for Scottish club Celtic
Celtic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
, and was the father of poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
Gil Scott-Heron
Gil Scott-Heron
Gilbert "Gil" Scott-Heron was an American soul and jazz poet, musician, and author known primarily for his work as a spoken word performer in the 1970s and '80s...
.
He died in Detroit of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
on 27 November 2008.
Career
Born Gilbert Heron in Kingston, JamaicaKingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
, he came from a family of means.
He moved to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
as a youth and was later enlisted in the Canadian Air Force. As well as being an athlete and a boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
, he played football and broke through during his stay there. A centre forward, he signed for Detroit Corinthians and the champion Detroit Wolverines, where he was top goalscorer in the 1946 season of the North American Soccer Football League.
He was spotted by a scout from Glasgow Celtic
Celtic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
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. Becoming the first black player for Celtic, Heron went on to score on his debut, on 18 August 1951 in a League Cup tie against Morton that Celtic won 2-0. Heron only played five first-team matches in all, scoring twice. He was released by the club the next year and joined Third Lanark
Third Lanark A.C.
Third Lanark Athletic Club was a football club that originally existed between 1872 and 1967, 95 years in existence, based in Glasgow, Scotland. Third Lanark were known as Thirds, the Warriors, the Redcoats and the Hi Hi's...
where he played in seven League Cup matches, scoring five goals but did not appear in the League.
Next he went to English club Kidderminster Harriers
Kidderminster Harriers F.C.
Kidderminster Harriers F.C. are an English football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire formed in 1886 They currently play in the Conference National and have played at Aggborough Stadium since they were formed...
before moving back to Detroit Corinthians. At Celtic he earned the nicknames "The Black Arrow" and "The Black Flash".
Personal
While in Chicago, Heron met Bobbie Scott, a singer, with whom he had a son in 1949, the poet and musician Gil Scott-Heron. They separated when Heron left for Scotland and didn't meet again till Scott-Heron was 26. Heron had three more children, Gayle, Denis and Kenny, who was killed in a drive-by shooting in Detroit. His older brother, Roy Trevor Gilbert Heron, served with the Norwegian Merchant Navy during World War II and then joined the Canadian army, later moving to Canada, where he became active in black Canadian politics.External links
- Giles Heron The Celtic Wiki. Retrieved 2 June 2011