15th June 2020 was National Heroes Day in Bermuda. This may seem an odd thing for us to celebrate here but one of the players who will feature in ‘Football’s Black Pioneers’ is Calvin Symonds who was born in Bermuda on 29th March 1932.
In January 2020 the Bermudan Minister of Labour, Community Affairs and Sports, the Hon. Lovitta Foggo, honoured Bermudian sports legend Calvin Symonds by unveiling a plaque at the Northlands Primary School. In her speech the Minister said of Calvin ‘he is considered a cultural icon and a sports legend.’
I wonder how many Rochdale fans realise he was their first black player?!
Although he wasn’t actually a ‘first black player’ Clyde Best, another Bermuda born player, will also feature in our forthcoming book. Clyde had a long and successful career at West Ham, scoring a total of 58 goals in 221 appearances before leaving the club in 1976. Clyde was playing his football at a time when racism was at its worst, “in those days, as a black player, no matter where you went you would be in for a hard time. You just had to tough it out.” He was, in the words of another black player, on the receiving end of ‘the full banana treatment’ on many occasions.
Both Clyde and Calvin returned to live in Bermuda after their football careers ended and both can truly be regarded National Heroes. They are also, of course, in their different ways, two of English football’s black pioneers.