Shaka Hislop was filling up his car in a garage directly across from St James’ Park when his own supporters racially abused him.
It was the first and last time it happened to him during three years in Newcastle.
This was in 1995, not long after he had joined the club and immediately established himself as a hero to the Toon Army.
Hislop couldn’t see the four young lads standing at the bus stop on the opposite side of the road, but he could hear what they said well enough.
His wife Desha was in the car and she also heard her husband being called a black b******. It was an awful moment for which they were both completely unprepared, given the welcome they had received.
“So the big man turns around to remonstrate with them, and one of the lads shouts out, ‘it’s Shaka’. They then run over and ask for his autograph,” recalled Ged Grebby, founder and chief executive of Show Racism the Red Card.
The story is almost funny in that it shows just how stupid racism is.
Those kids felt the need to shout abuse at a total stranger, but when they realised it was one of the black guys they liked, well that’s different.
I caught up with Grebby last week in his organisation’s head office in North Shields as he was about to launch ‘No Place of Hate’, a new educational pack for schools which does exactly what it says in the title.
And he prepares to take the fight against racism into the dressing room of every club in English senior football.
It’s a noble cause that Grebby has fought for some time, with Hislop one of SRTRC’s biggest early supporters, even before the organisation had a name.
Grebby said: “I can go back to 1984 when Kevin Keegan was a player at Newcastle.
“He had been sent National Front leaflets and had gone to the club to say they needed to do something about this. That’s when the ‘Geordies are Black and White’ campaign started. We tried to get the club involved over the years, but it was only bits and bobs, such as Keegan getting involved that time.
“The catalyst was Shaka. He got a pamphlet about the black history of Tyneside and wanted to help out. He sent us a £50 cheque, which didn’t have the right name on it, so it’s hanging on our wall, still not cashed.”
Hislop’s team-mate at the time was John Beresford. The two would visit schools all over the North East. Some of the talks were revelatory.
Grebby revealed: “John was amazing. He admitted to being a teenage racist. He really opened up and admitted he’d made certain comments in dressing rooms over the years.
“It was only when he got to know Shaka that he realised how much he’d hurt his pals. John was shocked at his own behaviour.”
Now Show Racism the Red Card will be taking their message straight into the dressing rooms of all English football’s senior clubs.
It is a major achievement for the charity whose roots remain in the Newcastle area
Grebby revealed: “Our aim for next season is to go to all 92 clubs and speak directly to the players. We have never really showcased what we do within the game because the Kick it Out campaign does that with players, and we are now going to work in partnership with them.
“It will be ex-players involved so they know what a dressing room is like. The FA, Premier League and Football League have endorsed it. It’s written into the players’ contracts so they need to attend when we go in.
“It will be a challenge. We’ve never done anything like this before. The budget isn’t particularly amazing, but if it works well, and as we know the Premier League’s budget is amazing, hopefully they will come and see what we’re doing.”
Back in 1997, SRTRC’s grant jumped from £30,000 to £65,000, and they now have 10 full-time staff working out of the North Shields offices, with six coaches and 16 sessional workers.
“I think we started with £590 quid and now we have so many partners,” Grebby proudly states.
“We are running to stand still. We have to work a lot harder now given the current economic climate. But we’ve never made anyone redundant and we close the books at the end of this month; it looks like we’ll have a record year in terms of income and expenditure.”
So if the organisation is busier than ever, does this mean that racism remains a huge problem in football?
You wouldn’t like to think so, but there have been too many offences, on and off the park, in recent times for any of us to think that the problem belongs to ancient history.
Grebby and I meet a few days before the EDL march through Newcastle, and the far right have always seen football as a useful vehicle.
He said: “These groups historically have used football as a platform for their views. I think they have a big problem doing that now. As a Newcastle fan, I see a massive sea change in attitudes compared to when I started going to St James’ Park.
“You hear the odd comment, but only in terms of individuals shouting stuff, and there have even been arrests made. The club are very pro-active.”
There are some who believe that being told they are not allowed to say certain things at the football ruins the atmosphere, and that you aren’t even allowed to have a good old shout and swear these days.
Grebby said: “This thing about linking foul language to racism is something I am completely opposed to.
“I have been known to swear myself. But when it involves the colour of someone’s skin, their religion, culture or nationality, you draw the line.
“I would not be silly enough to say all the improvements have been down to the campaign. All-seater stadiums have been a factor, and I’m not in favour of all-seater stadiums.
“It ruins the atmosphere and prices kids out the game. There are far more negatives than positives. I understand seating helps the police identify people, but it doesn’t get rid of racism.”
Grebby and his team are doing just that, however, and Newcastle should be proud of them.
IF you are interested in Show Racism the Red Card, go to www.theredcard.org