He was nicknamed “general” after marshalling his ten-man Malvern squad to an impossible victory over TPD in the 1960 F A Trophy final at the Queen’s Park Savannah in Port-of-Spain.
His name, though, is Carlton Ethelbert Franco, and he was born on Mathura Street in St James on November 23, 1936.
He attended St Crispin’s Anglican School and represented the institution in the North Primary Schools Football League, playing in the full back position in 1948 and 1949, and as center half and captain in 1950 and 1951.
Carlton eventually developed into a multi-dimensional player. He began playing striker and backward center forward and became of the most prolific goal-scorers that Trinidad and Tobago has ever produced. In addition he was considered a highly skilled player who exhibited great play-making ability.
During his long and rewarding career he has been described by sportswriters as a “power forward,” “master-mind,” “brilliant exponent of modern soccer’s finest skills,” “sharpshooter,” “chief planner,” and “top player marker and solid marksman.”
As a result of his outstanding performances in the Primary Schools League Carlton was awarded a sports scholarship in 1952 by J Hamilton Holder, principal of the Progressive Educational Institute. It was as a student at Progressive that the football talent, first displayed on the streets of St James, was fully honed, Carlton actually making his debut on the national team in 1957 while still at school.
He represented Progressive in the National Amateur Football League (NAFL) from 1952 to 1956, enabling the team to be promoted to the 1st Division in 1955, and broke the record for the most goals scored that season with an impressive 26 strikes.
A report in the Port-of-Spain Gazette of November 30, 1955 had this to say about the young player: “Franco is the brightest star seen in football in the North this season. A brainy youngster with a good shot in either foot, he is destined to sport Colony colours in the very near future, should he continue in this stead.”
Meanwhile, Malvern Sports Club of Woodbrook, always on the lookout for exceptional talent, seized the opportunity to recruit the lad by accepting him as a colt member of the club. Carlton made his debut for Malvern in the First Division of the Port-of-Spain Football League (POSFL) in 1957, and was appointed team captain in 1960. He played for Malvern for seven consecutive years.
During that period he led the team to victories in the F A Trophy, Best Dark Virginia (BVD) Cup, and Red Cross Cup Competitions, and was named POSFL Player of the Year and National Sportsman in 1960.
Carlton brought to the local game invention and a playing presence that helped characterize the play of the early-to-mid 1960s. A burly, power-kicking, attacking player with great ball control, he played in all the forward positions except left wing. But it was at center-forward that he made his name. Playing just behind the frontline, Carlton was a play-maker, the link between defence and attack. With the “general” in charge of things his lieutenants Kelvin Berassa, Clive Niles, and Arthur “Jap” Brown drilled the opposition, and gave rise to the term that became synonymous with the era - “Cha-cha-cha” - the tactic of prolonged ball possession.
“We never went into a game deciding we were going to play ‘cha-cha-cha’, said Carlton. “It was spontaneous. I always preferred direct football.”
The Malvern years, he said, were to him, “very special.” The Woodbrook “Glamour Boys,” as the team was referred to, at the time sported, in addition to the general and his lieutenants, other outstanding and crafty players such as Ken Hodge, Eddie Hart, Ken Henry and Clive Burnett.
Carlton also was recognized as an excellent team leader. This quality was emphasized further in that he was either chosen or selected to captain most of the teams with which he played – Progressive, Malvern, NAFL, POSFL, North Trinidad, etc.
Perhaps nothing better illustrates the rapport that existed between Carlton and his players than a situation that surfaced for a semi-final game in the 1960-61 period. Malvern, forced to play five games in six days, was hard hit by injury to a number of its key players. Yet, team member Cuthbert Gordon, with a broken hand and all, selflessly volunteered to play the match, and did.
“The only reason he played was because of Carlton,” explained Irwin Alexander, an old Malvern colleague. “Those fellas used to give their utmost for him.”
Carlton left Trinidad and Tobago in September 1963 for Canada to pursue a course of study in Physical Education, and play semi-professional soccer for Columbus Soccer Club (his sponsor) in the Pacific Coast Soccer League. Not surprisingly, he went on to win the goal-scoring championship that very year.
He later decided to try for a degree in Political Science, and eventually graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sociology and Political Science from the University of Vancouver in 1969.
Carlton appeared on many all-star teams in Canada from 1963 to 1965, where his leadership skills, knowledge of the game, and personal style became positive attributes remembered by all with whom he came into contact.
Known to Vancouver soccer fans as “Carlos,” he played on the inaugural SFU Soccer Team in 1966. His coaching career spanned a brief period from 1977 to 1982. But during that time he led the Richmond Canadians from the Vancouver Metro Fourth Division to the First Division, and was hired by a Canadian University to scout for promising local talent on his visits home.
His many awards include Sports Hall of Fame Award, Malvern Award, and St James Award (1995); Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation 90th Anniversary Award (1998), Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs Millenium Award (2000); and Recognition Award from Blackpool Football Club (2004).
Carlton ended his playing days in Canada in 1969, obtained a Masters Degree in Social Work and became a full-time social worker.