The Final Score:
Wales 1 – England 0. Alright, that may not be the result when the two sides meet at the Millennium Stadium this afternoon, but there is one match-up where that was the score and it lasted for almost half a century. Despite having a far smaller talent pool to draw on Wales beat England by that score and it took 'the old enemy' decades to catch up.

Trailblazers:

Almost a century after Andrew Watson broke the colour bar in football – he played three times for Scotland in the 1880s – Viv Anderson was the next black man to represent a British country. Right? Well no. Watson made his début in 1881, but fifty years later Wales followed suit. Left winger, Ted Parris, won his only cap against Northern Ireland in December 1931 – this year is the centenary of his birth.

Parris won his only international cap in the days when clubs had the power to refuse to release players and selection was by committee. “He probably wasn't good enough,” the Welsh FA's Press Officer and unofficial historian Ceri Stennett says. Parris' great asset was pace, but his unselfishness didn't help his cause according to a book that devotes a page to Parris. It is one of the few mentions of the all but forgotten player.

The unavailability of top players suggests that Parris was not actually considered good enough for international recognition, but that applies to many others. The top English clubs did not have to, and would not release players for internationals, if they had important matches for the club. It was very much club first, country second.. That meant that lesser quality players were given an opportunity. Stennett thinks that Parris was one of those players and racism was not the issue.

Racism?

“The committee may not even have been aware that Parris was 'coloured,'” he says. “They needed a footballer for that position, so Parris got a chance.” It appears that he didn't take it, but the possibility that race played a part in him not getting another chance cannot be ruled out totally. Nevertheless, Stennett does not believe racism was the cause. He points out that several white players only won white cap as well and that it was likely that the Committee gave them a chance, but decided that they also were not good enough for another chance after seeing them play once for Wales.

The match against Northern Ireland was traditionally seen as a fixture that permitted experimentation and that is probably what gave Parris his cap – they lost badly – but can a player really be judged on just one match?

Parris played for Bradford Park Avenue – a team that was below the top flight. He impressed without making a significant impression. An injury in 1934 didn't help. Parris died in Gloucester in 1971.

Stennett does not see Parris as an icon that helped to break down stereotypes and racism, believing that he was given a chance because he was a footballer, rather than a black one. Nevertheless, Wales beat England by almost half a century, despite having a far smaller pool of black talent to draw on, but it took many years for another black Welshman to play for his country. Parris achieved the honour of being the first but it was a one-off, so its importance remains disputed. Nevertheless, he was the first black man to play for Wales and it took England the best part of fifty years to cap a black player.