RENDEZVOUS WITH The King PELE: From Harbour View to the New York COSMOS & BLAK
161st St. & River Avenue
During the Summer months of 1968, my travels back and forth between Brooklyn and the Bronx including the playing of football at the River Ave football field outside of the New York Yankee Stadium made me conscious of the fact that a professional soccer team named the New York GENERALS actually played their home matches inside the Yankee Stadium. What a piece of excitement! I had never before seen a professional soccer team in action and my enthusiasm bubbled with delight.
To take matters over the edge, an international exhibition match was scheduled to be played inside Yankee Stadium pitting two foreign teams against each other. I was eager to see the New York GENERALS in action but IMAN was completely overwhelmed when the two foreign teams would be Napoli FC of Italy and Santos FC of Brazil including the incomparable King PELE. For the first time I watched in absolute awe, the genius and skill of the King, then at 28 years of age, completely demolish the Napoli FC by 6 goals to 1 with PELE scoring twice. That July night, I left Yankee Stadium in somewhat of a trance with my football-ambitions raised beyond the sky.
Watching the New York GENERALS play for the first time was quite an eye opener, for though the players were all grown men, bigger, stronger and faster moving. I detected that I possessed most of the basic techniques displayed by the professionals but I was lacking in size, strength, power and aggression. My capacity "to read" the game was on par. While attending the same match in question I happened to over-hear a group of spectators...who is would appear had been in the country for quite some time...it was then that IMAN realized that various football/soccer clubs did exist and for the first time I heard of the German American Soccer League and the New York[Ukies]UKRAINIANS. I was thrilled.
As the Summer of 1968 came to a close, my thoughts began to move towards my first year in high school, my first winter and the need to find a soccer club. I immediately reached for the Yellow Pages and searched out the section marked 'Clubs'. The search brought no positive result. After days of investigating when on the verge of stop looking, lo and behold I found the name of the New York Ukrainians Football Club listed in the white pages. Bravely I dialed and heard a very heavy and deeply-accented voice identifying himself as Kovalenko say, "Yes". I proceeded to express my desire to play football, my background, etc. until I finally requested a 'try-out' with the club. I was given instructions how to travel by subway from my gates in Brooklyn to the Clubhouse of the New York Ukrainians located in the Village, Lower Manhattan. And so on a cool Saturday morning I packed my bags, boarded the subway at Kingston Avenue and headed for Astor Place in Manhattan.
At the age of 14 I would make my debut on the New York football scene when I joined a Russian-American football club that played in the well established German-American Soccer League(GASL).
Join First Foreign Club
In September 1968 I joined the New York Ukrainians FC. The 'Ukies', as they were popularly called was a well structured football club that had several age-group category teams. The Ukies had a senior first division team, a reserve team (2nd XI), a Junior, Juvenile and Boys team. Each team represented the Club in the various divisional play of the German American Soccer League later named the Metropolitan League.
The Ukies with headquarters in the downtown Manhattan played their home matches in the neighboring State of New Jersey. Our home field was located at Schutzen Park and the journey to and from New Jersey through the Lincoln Tunnel or over the Triborough Bridge and into the surrounding Tri state Metropolitan area every Sunday was intoxicating. The German American League was an attempt to replicate the football rivalries that the vast immigrant population of New York and New Jersey share. Teams represented included the Bavarians, Blau Weis Gotchee FC, Eintract FC, etc.
In this regard I had my first baptism playing against various ethnic styles of football and found the Jamaican-ness in my play as an element of Identity among the world population. And by the month of October to November I began to experience the "chills" of playing football in the winter as well as that of a youngster from a Caribbean island being the only Black on the playfield (both teams).
I was assigned to the Juvenile team and quickly became the leading goal scorer playing from the center forward position. I remember the Saturday morning the manager Mr. Kovalenko drove me to the Sport shop at 90th Street to fit my football boots ...it was an over awing experience... to be taken to choose the type of boots to play in and shown so much concern over my personal comfort. All this however did not detract from my Junior Colts playing days at Kingston College. It was in this highly competitive and organized football competition structure playing matches against Jamaica College, Wolmers, Campion, Decarteret, etc. with formal dress and dinner after games that had already exposed me to a fair level of organized football.
As a young Jamaican teenager however, playing in a properly organized club that had its own club house with bar and games, etc. which creates an economic center that helped to offset expenses incurred by the club helped to shape my consciousness towards the operation of football beyond playing.
The New York Ukrainians organized Football into a business activity. This being only one of scores of clubs that operated in theTri-state area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
Interestingly, the Ukies had 3 Black players. One Ghanaian and two Jamaicans. The Ghanaian Willie Mfum was the star attacking player for the Senior team. Mfum was powerfully built, kicked hard with both feet and headed powerfully. In the Junior team was my countryman Tony Romero. 'Romeo’ as we called him was a fast running strong kicking forward who gave the Junior team a new dimension. In the Juvenile team was IMAN/DonD, scoring at a rate of 4 goals per match. So devastating were my performances that the club officials thought it possible to transfer me to the Junior team [U17] above. I joined the bigger boys in training and though possessing a high level of technical skill and tactical savvy, my lack of size, strength and endurance proved to be inadequate at the moment and I was returned to the Juvenile team where I continued to dominate the team....with the hope that I would be ready for the Juniors in the next season.
Playing with the New York Ukrainians provided great experience traveling in and around New York City, New Jersey and Long Island competing against European based teams of various ethnic origins. The demands however of playing in sub 40 degree temperatures removed much of the 'fun' from the game. It was traumatic to play ball in such hostile weather conditions. I can remember clearly playing against a team from Oceanside, in Long Island in extremely windy and blistery cold conditions with temperatures hovering near 30 degrees. For the first time since leaving the sunny shores of Jamaica...I wondered ...And more alarming than the weather was the sudden conscious awakening to the fact that between both teams I was the ONLY Caribbean player...read: BLACK...whose Caribbean experiences had not exposed me to attaching any significance to racial characteristics as a determinant for success...educated and aware of Chinese, Caucasian, Indian cultures...freezing my butt off...trying to find someplace to hide my hands...in an 'all white' Russian team...till I was shown how to put them under my armpits...for sure the cold certainly does do something to the brain...I wonder aloud... did I make the right move in coming to A Merry Ka....??
I ended my first season with the New York Ukies and was named to the 1968-9 German American Soccer League Juvenile All Star Team. I failed to make the journey to Philadelphia in Pennsylvania to participate in the annual All Star game due to technical difficulties which surfaced. And here let me remind my readers that this is 1968...six months after the assassination of Black Civil Right leader Martin Luther King. The Ukies it appears were a bit embarrassed to send a Caribbean player as their representative/ambassador at the All Star occasion... it was a clumsy moment in time...but for the first time..my race-consciousness was jolted and soon I began to realize that in A Merry Ka...the level of pigmentation would always be a determining factor in any movement socially, economically, politically or culturally. I bit my tongue and held back the tears and vowed never to play for the New York Ukrainians again!!
As the Winter of 1968 set in I entered Erasmus Hall High School in Flatbush Brooklyn and pondered my next move realizing that success in my school work had become more important that success on the play field. I also refused to let my brief but painful encounter with A Merry Con racism deter me from reaching my football goals set long before I even reach these shores. Interestingly, Erasmus Hall had a varsity soccer program and soon I would find a way to penetrate to school team. Soon I discovered that in order to train with the school team you had to be on the first shift...and that only happens in your junior third and fourth senior years. I was left to uncover the spaces where football was played within the Caribbean communities...leading me to play with early New York Caribbean clubs such as The Islanders, the Mario del Castillo [my first coach] Brazilian coached and led Everest SC, Jamaican team Tafari FC, and Haitian teams such as Victory F.C.
During the Summer months of 1968, my travels back and forth between Brooklyn and the Bronx including the playing of football at the River Ave football field outside of the New York Yankee Stadium made me conscious of the fact that a professional soccer team named the New York GENERALS actually played their home matches inside the Yankee Stadium. What a piece of excitement! I had never before seen a professional soccer team in action and my enthusiasm bubbled with delight.
To take matters over the edge, an international exhibition match was scheduled to be played inside Yankee Stadium pitting two foreign teams against each other. I was eager to see the New York GENERALS in action but IMAN was completely overwhelmed when the two foreign teams would be Napoli FC of Italy and Santos FC of Brazil including the incomparable King PELE. For the first time I watched in absolute awe, the genius and skill of the King, then at 28 years of age, completely demolish the Napoli FC by 6 goals to 1 with PELE scoring twice. That July night, I left Yankee Stadium in somewhat of a trance with my football-ambitions raised beyond the sky.
Watching the New York GENERALS play for the first time was quite an eye opener, for though the players were all grown men, bigger, stronger and faster moving. I detected that I possessed most of the basic techniques displayed by the professionals but I was lacking in size, strength, power and aggression. My capacity "to read" the game was on par. While attending the same match in question I happened to over-hear a group of spectators...who is would appear had been in the country for quite some time...it was then that IMAN realized that various football/soccer clubs did exist and for the first time I heard of the German American Soccer League and the New York[Ukies]UKRAINIANS. I was thrilled.
As the Summer of 1968 came to a close, my thoughts began to move towards my first year in high school, my first winter and the need to find a soccer club. I immediately reached for the Yellow Pages and searched out the section marked 'Clubs'. The search brought no positive result. After days of investigating when on the verge of stop looking, lo and behold I found the name of the New York Ukrainians Football Club listed in the white pages. Bravely I dialed and heard a very heavy and deeply-accented voice identifying himself as Kovalenko say, "Yes". I proceeded to express my desire to play football, my background, etc. until I finally requested a 'try-out' with the club. I was given instructions how to travel by subway from my gates in Brooklyn to the Clubhouse of the New York Ukrainians located in the Village, Lower Manhattan. And so on a cool Saturday morning I packed my bags, boarded the subway at Kingston Avenue and headed for Astor Place in Manhattan.
At the age of 14 I would make my debut on the New York football scene when I joined a Russian-American football club that played in the well established German-American Soccer League(GASL).
Join First Foreign Club
In September 1968 I joined the New York Ukrainians FC. The 'Ukies', as they were popularly called was a well structured football club that had several age-group category teams. The Ukies had a senior first division team, a reserve team (2nd XI), a Junior, Juvenile and Boys team. Each team represented the Club in the various divisional play of the German American Soccer League later named the Metropolitan League.
The Ukies with headquarters in the downtown Manhattan played their home matches in the neighboring State of New Jersey. Our home field was located at Schutzen Park and the journey to and from New Jersey through the Lincoln Tunnel or over the Triborough Bridge and into the surrounding Tri state Metropolitan area every Sunday was intoxicating. The German American League was an attempt to replicate the football rivalries that the vast immigrant population of New York and New Jersey share. Teams represented included the Bavarians, Blau Weis Gotchee FC, Eintract FC, etc.
In this regard I had my first baptism playing against various ethnic styles of football and found the Jamaican-ness in my play as an element of Identity among the world population. And by the month of October to November I began to experience the "chills" of playing football in the winter as well as that of a youngster from a Caribbean island being the only Black on the playfield (both teams).
I was assigned to the Juvenile team and quickly became the leading goal scorer playing from the center forward position. I remember the Saturday morning the manager Mr. Kovalenko drove me to the Sport shop at 90th Street to fit my football boots ...it was an over awing experience... to be taken to choose the type of boots to play in and shown so much concern over my personal comfort. All this however did not detract from my Junior Colts playing days at Kingston College. It was in this highly competitive and organized football competition structure playing matches against Jamaica College, Wolmers, Campion, Decarteret, etc. with formal dress and dinner after games that had already exposed me to a fair level of organized football.
As a young Jamaican teenager however, playing in a properly organized club that had its own club house with bar and games, etc. which creates an economic center that helped to offset expenses incurred by the club helped to shape my consciousness towards the operation of football beyond playing.
The New York Ukrainians organized Football into a business activity. This being only one of scores of clubs that operated in theTri-state area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
Interestingly, the Ukies had 3 Black players. One Ghanaian and two Jamaicans. The Ghanaian Willie Mfum was the star attacking player for the Senior team. Mfum was powerfully built, kicked hard with both feet and headed powerfully. In the Junior team was my countryman Tony Romero. 'Romeo’ as we called him was a fast running strong kicking forward who gave the Junior team a new dimension. In the Juvenile team was IMAN/DonD, scoring at a rate of 4 goals per match. So devastating were my performances that the club officials thought it possible to transfer me to the Junior team [U17] above. I joined the bigger boys in training and though possessing a high level of technical skill and tactical savvy, my lack of size, strength and endurance proved to be inadequate at the moment and I was returned to the Juvenile team where I continued to dominate the team....with the hope that I would be ready for the Juniors in the next season.
Playing with the New York Ukrainians provided great experience traveling in and around New York City, New Jersey and Long Island competing against European based teams of various ethnic origins. The demands however of playing in sub 40 degree temperatures removed much of the 'fun' from the game. It was traumatic to play ball in such hostile weather conditions. I can remember clearly playing against a team from Oceanside, in Long Island in extremely windy and blistery cold conditions with temperatures hovering near 30 degrees. For the first time since leaving the sunny shores of Jamaica...I wondered ...And more alarming than the weather was the sudden conscious awakening to the fact that between both teams I was the ONLY Caribbean player...read: BLACK...whose Caribbean experiences had not exposed me to attaching any significance to racial characteristics as a determinant for success...educated and aware of Chinese, Caucasian, Indian cultures...freezing my butt off...trying to find someplace to hide my hands...in an 'all white' Russian team...till I was shown how to put them under my armpits...for sure the cold certainly does do something to the brain...I wonder aloud... did I make the right move in coming to A Merry Ka....??
I ended my first season with the New York Ukies and was named to the 1968-9 German American Soccer League Juvenile All Star Team. I failed to make the journey to Philadelphia in Pennsylvania to participate in the annual All Star game due to technical difficulties which surfaced. And here let me remind my readers that this is 1968...six months after the assassination of Black Civil Right leader Martin Luther King. The Ukies it appears were a bit embarrassed to send a Caribbean player as their representative/ambassador at the All Star occasion... it was a clumsy moment in time...but for the first time..my race-consciousness was jolted and soon I began to realize that in A Merry Ka...the level of pigmentation would always be a determining factor in any movement socially, economically, politically or culturally. I bit my tongue and held back the tears and vowed never to play for the New York Ukrainians again!!
As the Winter of 1968 set in I entered Erasmus Hall High School in Flatbush Brooklyn and pondered my next move realizing that success in my school work had become more important that success on the play field. I also refused to let my brief but painful encounter with A Merry Con racism deter me from reaching my football goals set long before I even reach these shores. Interestingly, Erasmus Hall had a varsity soccer program and soon I would find a way to penetrate to school team. Soon I discovered that in order to train with the school team you had to be on the first shift...and that only happens in your junior third and fourth senior years. I was left to uncover the spaces where football was played within the Caribbean communities...leading me to play with early New York Caribbean clubs such as The Islanders, the Mario del Castillo [my first coach] Brazilian coached and led Everest SC, Jamaican team Tafari FC, and Haitian teams such as Victory F.C.
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