Farmah

[Rockman]

Mi a reason wid a veteran(former santos and Jakan national player) that insists Alan Skill Cole, in the race for the best Jamaican player ever, runs a distant second to Sedee Bartlett(sp), his career spanned both players'..



Blessed

[Farmah]

Hail Rockman. Nice topic for discussion if we can get some of the (very) older folks to join in. I grew up playing (and being very interested) in football during the seventies. In fact, I was fortunate as a little yute to be taken to The Office to witness Skill Cole and his Santos invitational 11 play Santos FC of Brasil. That game is forever etched in my memory and served as the reason I came to love the game of football.

I saw many games with Skill Cole. I watched him play at Santos, Boys Town and of course HOD FC. To me no one in the annals of Jamaican football can/would come close to a Allan "Skill" Cole. And yow...I've seen many since "Skill" : Blakie, Woodstock, Teacha Hyde, Den-Den, Boyd, Boyus, Dago Gordon, Peter Marston, Bancroft Gordon, Little John, Rohan Palmer, Arthur Lattimore, Sweetie Smith, Howie Bell, ****** Pele, Fuller, Russel Bell and the list goes on. Skill stands alone as the best!

I called a couple of my older fleshies and they, though having never seen Syddie play, think Skill is unmatched.

I then spoke with two of my uncles (they're actually my Mom's cousins but we all call them uncle Vernon and uncle Pat) who went to STGC in the early years. They both watched Syddie play in his days and have been watching Jamaican football up to this day. In a capsule here's what they both had to say:

Syd Bartlett was the better shooter, header, dribbler and tackler. Skill only surpasses Syddie in his vision and ability to make the sweet & telling passes. Syddie was a tough player on the ball, while Skill was silky smooth. And - interestingly - though they thought Syddie was the better player, they would prefer to watch Skill over Syddie playing ball anyday of the week! Hmmmmnnnn!

[Rockman]

Farmah,tell your "uncles" mi sey thanks!
Syd was one of five Jamaicans that made the West Indies team(the only time such a team was picked), he emerged as the mvp in the competition that was held in England(the captain is a Jakan,Gerry Alexander).His(Syd) alias was the worm.The Mexicans(Mexico Team) called him the Jamaican Pele, he migrated that same year and the following year when the Mexicans returned, they asked for him and advised everyone they brought someone just for him.
Unfortunately Syd died a few years ago, he was never the same after witnessing Atlanta cops fatally shooting his son in the head.Locally he played for YMCA.
He mentioned quite a few Montego bay players;Billy Griffiths,Keeper Garnet Rowe(said to be one of the best..)Lester Alcott,Lascelle Dunkley.
Perhaps your "uncles" know Noel Tapping, a Georgian said to be the hardest kicker, he actually broke a few players ribs and has unhinged the goal net at least once.
Tegat Davis was favourably mentioned.Also Johny Barnes uncle,Henry Largee...

Like u I was too young but certainly happy for the info.



Blessed

[Sir X]

Legends ! always good to hear about the elders.Like fresh air.I think he died recently in NY .


LEGENDARY JAMAICA FOOTBALLER 'SYD' BARTLETT DIES
By HG HELPS Editor-at-Large
Monday, December 21, 2009


Legendary former YMCA and Jamaica footballer Sydney 'Syd' Bartlett died in the Intensive Care Unit of a New York hospital on Saturday following a prolonged kidney-related ailment. He was 70.
Bartlett, regarded in some circles as the finest footballer that Jamaica has produced, will be buried today in Manhattan, New York after spending almost a decade in a nursing home. He has often been compared to Allan 'Skill' Cole as Jamaica's best ever footballer.
"He was one of a kind," Bartlett's close friend and former Jamaica technical director Winston Chung-Fah told the Observer from his Cayman Islands base yesterday.
"He was not a man who talked a lot, he did not boast and he was extremely private," Chung-Fah said.
Bartlett, with his unique style of dribbling, characterised by his two index fingers in the air as he clinically carried the ball with precision, represented Jamaica during the late 1950s into the 1960s and was a part of Jamaica's first World Cup qualification squad of 1965 which went down 2-3 to eventual qualifiers Mexico at the National Stadium. Bartlett, who was instrumental in both of Jamaica's goals, had his shorts ripped almost to shreds in that match, courtesy of defenders who tried to hold onto him every time he headed toward goal.
The top line forward, known also as "The Worm", was a member of the feared YMCA five-man frontline of the 1950s and 60s that also included fellow Jamaican star Lascelles 'Dallas' Dunkley, Peter Lewin, Elvin Schloss and George Davidson, with midfield support from national representative Henry Largie, Hopeton Kenton, captain Milton Taylor, among others.
"He was incredible as a footballer," Bartlett's colleague and friend, New York-based professor Basil 'Bagga' Wilson said from his Long Island home yesterday.
Wilson, a former Kingston College Manning Cup star from 1959 to 1961, is trying to co-ordinate a memorial service in Jamaica early next year, which he hopes will fully recognise the life and work of Bartlett.
"He was charismatic as a player. Every time he picked the ball up, it was headache for opponents. He was one of the best that we have ever produced and I just hope that we can have a memorial service that would be fitting for the contribution that he has made to Jamaica's football," Wilson said.
A past student of Gaynstead High School in St Andrew, Bartlett has lived in the United States since the 1960s when he went there to play professionally for the New York Generals, one of the first Jamaicans to do so. He also suited up for Jamaica Bays, a Diaspora team comprising several Jamaica players including Ruddy Pearce, Lloyd Walker, Donald 'Billy' Perkins, Paul Thomas, among others.
With strong connections to the East Kingston communities of Doncaster, Rollington Town and Franklyn Town, Bartlett left an indelible mark on Jamaica's football to the extent that the Kingston & St Andrew Football Association named the Syd Bartlett League, involving teams in the Corporate Area's third division, after him.
"There was never a man that I saw who could carry the ball like Syddie," Chung-Fah said.
Bartlett, who leaves behind five children, was also a competent wicketkeeper/batsman at cricket. Many of his friends still believe that he could have represented the West Indies had he opted for cricket over football

[Sir X]

EMOTIONAL FAREWELL FOR FOOTBALL GREAT SYD BARTLETT
By HG Helps Editor-at-Large
Sunday, January 03, 2010
FORMER Jamaica football star Sydney "Syd" Bartlett was showered with accolades by his family, colleagues, and friends at his funeral service held last Tuesday at the Immaculate Conception church, Gun Hill Road, Bronx, New York.
Bartlett, who died last December 19 in the Intensive Care Unit of a New York hospital, following kidney failure, represented top Jamaican club YMCA and Jamaica during the 1950s and 1960s.
"We had all loved and cherished him and we felt proud that he had become such an outstanding footballer, while keeping his humility," said Professor Basil "Bagga" Wilson, retired Provost of John J College of Criminal Justice during his tribute on a blistering cold and windy morning.
"He was the quintessential footballer, one of the great players in Jamaica's football history," Professor Wilson said.
The low turnout of 62 mourners at the Catholic service was not treated to a remembrance or eulogy, based upon Catholic tradition, but the gathering, made up largely of former footballers, recognised the man many called "The Worm", based upon his incisive dribbling skills, in emotional tributes afterwards.
"It would have been extremely unsatisfying if we had not spoken about the contribution that he made to football," said Professor Wilson, a former Kingston College Manning Cup forward from 1959 to 1961.
Syd's brother, Michael Bartlett spoke of the long and warm relationship that he shared with his older brother, while Hector Henry, who captained YMCA in 1956 when Bartlett played his first senior league match, said that the fallen star "Made a significant difference to the fortunes of the YMCA".
Former Jamaica player and coach Errol "Spurs" Chen-Sang also lauded Bartlett, calling him "my hero for the longest while".
"This man dribbled the ball like it was stuck to his instep," said Chen-Sang, who played for Jamaica in 1963 while still a juvenile.
"Syddie suffered psychologically because of how his career ended in the professional world. He was a very humble person, full of joy and laughter, and was never cocky about his fame and talent," Chen-Sang said.
Also speaking was Brandis Johnstone, who captained Kensington in Senior Cup cricket when Bartlett made the team as a wicketkeeper/batsman. The team won the Matcham Cup competition in the 1950s.
Two of Bartlett's five children, sons Craig and Paul were also in attendance.
Among the other notable persons attending were former Jamaica player Leonard "Chicken" Mason, who scored for Jamaica in the island's first victory (1-0) over Mexico in 1972 at the National Stadium.
"Not only did Syddie body shift many defences, but even people in the grandstand at the stadium and Sabina Park moved wrong when Syddie rocked his body," Mason said.
Former national player Paul Thomas, as well as Neville "Nefta" Bell, Neville Thompson, formerly of Vere Technical High School, and Winston Earl, Godfrey Blair and Courtney Carney, of Excelsior High School fame also showed their respect.
Regarded by many as the finest footballer to be produced by Jamaica, Bartlett, 70, was buried in New Jersey.
With his unique style of dribbling, characterised by his two index fingers in the air as he skilfully slid past opposing defenders, Bartlett was a member of the Caribbean All Stars team that toured England in 1958.
He played on Jamaica's first World Cup squad in 1965 and starred in a bruising 2-3 loss to Mexico at the National Stadium.
Bartlett was instrumental in both of Jamaica's goals and had his shorts ripped almost to shreds by defenders intent on keeping him away from goal.
He was a member of the feared YMCA five-man frontline of the 1950s and '60s that also included fellow Jamaican star Lascelles 'Dallas' Dunkley, Peter Lewin, Elvin Schloss and George Davidson, with midfield support from national representative Henry Largie, Hopeton Kenton, and Milton Taylor, among others.
A past student of Gaynstead High School in St Andrew, Bartlett lived in the United States since the 1960s when he went there to play professionally for the New York Generals, one of the first Jamaicans to do so. He also represented Jamaica Bays, a Diaspora team comprising several Jamaica players including Ruddy Pearce, Lloyd Walker, Donald 'Billy' Perkins, Paul Thomas, among others.
The Syd Bartlett League, a third division football league played among teams in the Corporate Area, is named after the East Kingston-born Bartlett.
A memorial service is due to be held in Jamaica in March of this year.