ABSTRACT
It has been argued by Ray Jenkins (1990) that Wharton was born and grew up in the wrong place at the wrong time for a career in sport. Unfortunately he did not have the benefit of knowing that from 1875 to 1879 Arthur was at school in London. This formative period, between the ages of 10 and 14, was surely important in the development of his athletic, football, cricket and cycling skills. Indeed, his return to Britain in the early 1880s could not have come at a more fortuitous time. If an individual had the necessary physical, mental and social requirements to earn a living from sport, then the North of England was the place to be.
