It was a grand entry into the Hall of Fame for a number of the great sporting contributors of our time. The First Citizens Bank continues to highlight the outstanding performances in our sporting history, using the services of a hard working committee to identify those who have done wonders for country and self.
I believe that all the nominees were certainly deserving of their entry into the Hall of Fame, some being the shining lights of our sporting history.
I have always been of the belief that a sporting hero is the perfect role model for any society and it was rather encouraging to hear the thoughts of the chairman of the committee Hayden Newallo, mention the impact which can be made by the Hall of Famers in today’s society, especially to the youth, many of whom can do with the guidance and counseling from the lips of some of the finest ambassadors of sport in the region, if not the world.
Like every other person, I have had great admiration for some of the inductees, maybe just a wee bit more than others, for no reason other than the fact that they may have been involved in sporting disciplines to which I was closely attached.
The name of Shay Seymour took me back to the days when I was just 13 years old, attending Fatima College and playing for my village club. Shay traveled with the famous Colts football team to San Juan for a friendly against the once famous Strollers Club of San Juan, a customary habit with the big clubs from the city of Port of Spain.
Being a bit big for my age, I was included in the Strollers unit and was in seventh heaven to have played against the greats like Shay, Len Munroe, Len Leggard, and Dudley Husbands to name a few. At the end of the game, the leading national goalscorer at the time, Shay, came and placed his hand on my shoulder, and quietly predicted that I will one day play in the national team.
My nickname from that day was “Shay” and even to this day, some of the old heads on the “Hill” still refer to me in the same way.
Later that same year, the first ever T&T team traveled to England and Shay was in that team. His trip to England was historic, in that he was among the first pair of professionals to have played in the English league, together with that unimaginable genius of football, Matthew Nunes.
It was seven years later when I met Shay in Weymouth, England, where the first ever West Indies team which was touring the United Kingdom, traveled to play a game. Shay turned up to see the game, where I got just a glimpse of him before the jumping on the coach to return to the hotel.
It was ten years later, in 1969 when playing as a professional cricketer in England, I took two weeks off my cricket duties to attend my first FA coaching course in Taunton, Somerset, only to meet again with Shay, who was also attending the course. What a memorable moment for me!
My only confused state of my mind came many years ago when I was inducted into the Hall of Fame and realised that Shay Seymour, who had made his mark on the football field, when I was just a child, was not considered up to that time.
What a long time to recognise his successful career!
Leroy De Leon was another super dribbler who should have been the Hall of Fame a longtime ago. A product of the Dom Basil St Benedict’s College era, Dilly was a craftsman personified, who ability to dribble was second only to Nunes. I would have loved to see him play for a longer period in the national team. He plied his trade in the USA and local fans did not have enough of his outstanding talent.
Steve David was remarkable for his speed and guile. His ability to score goals could certainly be used in today’s setting. I am yet to see a defender who dealt effectively with “Stevie Wonder”.
Shaka Hislop’s choice is not surprising. Here was a dedicated professional whose desire to be successful began when he was just a teenager at St Mary’s College.
Having witnessed his talent as a keeper from a very young age, I also recall the days when he could have been entangled between a keeper of the future, or an outstanding triple jumper with the potential to be as good or even better than his dad Georgie.
Shaka has turned out to be the absolute professional whose challenge to become one of the best Keepers of his era, was reflected in his unstinting effort to reach the top.
The World Cup Germany was only the icing on the cake, as he was brilliant for Reading, Newcastle, Portsmouth and West Ham.
But one name kept popping up in my mind as one of the greatest players of any era, yet still he has been ignored as a nominee for the Hall of Fame.
I shed a tear for the former TPD, Spitfire , South and T&T midfielder Son Baptiste. There are very few players who were more committed to excellence on the football field. He was as skillful as he was aggressive and his consistency rate of being top class was probably higher than most players whom I have come across.
Why is it so difficult to demonstrate appreciation for Son Baptiste? Has he not given his all for his country? It reminds me of the year 1959 when everyone expected him to be selected to tour England with the West Indies, except of course, the selectors, who claimed that his injury in the first match of the trials against Barbados, disqualified him, although he had literally destroyed all comers before.
Let us hope that the committee would do some research and inquire from folks in the same era, about the exploits of Aldric “Son” Baptiste.
I congratulate all the inductees and hope that they will take a cue from chairman Newallo, to enhance the appearance of the front pages of our newspapers by making an impression on the youth of the nation and helping the media to change the face of negativity into some positive ones.