Lloyd Maitland, who played for the Club between 1974-1977, was a special guest vs Preston
- Lloyd Maitland special guest vs Preston North End
- Maitland was first black player to represent Town between 1974-1977
- Club honour pioneer during Black History Month
As part of our Black History Month celebrations, we were delighted to welcome Lloyd Maitland back to the Club as a special guest vs Preston North End.
The first black player to play for Town in 1974, staying with the Club until 1977 before moving on to Darlington, he holds a unique and special place within the history of Huddersfield Town.
Welcomed back to the Club as a special guest as part of our Black History Month celebrations, Lloyd was on the cover of our match day programme, The Terrier, which included a detailed feature on his life and career that was written by Bill Hern and adapted from his brilliant book ‘Football’s Black Pioneers’ for the issue.
As well as speaking with our guests during a question-and-answer session in our White Rose Club pre-game, Lloyd was welcomed onto the pitch at half-time to allow the Town supporters to show him some appreciation before he took part in both our Golden Gamble draw and kept a close eye over the dizzy penalties!
A true pioneer at not only Huddersfield Town, but within football as a whole, Lloyd’s place within the history of our Club is cemented, and helped pave the way for countless players from diverse backgrounds to line-up in blue and white and represent the Club with distinction.
As part of his role as Club Ambassador, Andy Booth stays in regular contact with many of Town’s ex-professionals and helped organise Lloyd’s return to the John Smith’s Stadium. He commented:
“I was absolutely delighted to have Lloyd come down and be our guest, he’s been someone we’ve been trying our best to track down for a number of years now, so it was brilliant to see him back at Huddersfield Town.
“It was wonderful to give the supporters an opportunity to put their hands together for someone who has a really special place in our history, and show our appreciation as a Club to Lloyd who, through sheer circumstance, became a true pioneer when he pulled on those blue and white stripes.
“One of the best parts of my role is to keep in touch with all of the amazing players who’ve represented this Club over the years, and I’m delighted we can add Lloyd to that list now – he knows he’s welcome back whenever he fancies!”
The Club would like to thank the Arthur Wharton Foundation for their help in organising Lloyd’s visit back to Huddersfield Town, and those wishing to learn more about Black History Month can do so by CLICKING HERE.
