George Thompson, former KC Manning Cup and national football coach, passed away on July 8 in Jamaica after a lengthy battle with Parkinson’s disease. He was 74.
Born in Colombia to Jamaican parents, “George T,” “Coach” or “Mr. T” as he was affectionately known, came to Jamaica in 1945 and enrolled at KC in 1947. He was a member of the first KC team to win the Manning Cup in 1949 under the captaincy of Freddie Green. He was also a member of the 1950-1952 KC Manning Cup champion teams, playing at the left full-back position, and had the distinction of being named to the All Schools team in 1952. A little known fact is that he was also a member of the KC track and field team and won the Class II long jump at Champs and placed third in the triple jump in Class I.
Upon graduating from KC, George T went on to captain Melbourne in the then-Division I competition and later overcame unfair treatment in the selection process - due of his Colombian birth - to also represent and captain the Jamaica national team between 1958 and 1962.
But while Mr. T was a gifted player, it is in the area of coaching that he truly distinguished himself. After a brief coaching stint with Excelsior between 1960-63 (where, according to legendary KC center forward, Trevor “Jumpy” Harris, he coached some of the best teams not to have won the Manning Cup), George T returned to his alma mater in 1964 and had immediate success.
“He changed the preparation from running to a technical emphasis on ball work and getting fit while working on your individual skills,” Harris recalls.
This technical approach would both transform football in Jamaica and devastate KC’s opponents. Indeed, in preparation for the 1964 and 1965 Manning Cup season, KC played and defeated several Division I teams, including an unforgettable 2-1 victory over the much-vaunted Leighton Duncan coached Cavaliers team which included 8 national players. Legend has it that Duncan bet his car on the game but George T, ever the gentleman, declined the vehicle.
“Based on the George T’s preparation, our confidence level rose and it was easy playing other Manning Cup teams,” said Harris. For example, on their way to the 1964 title, KC drubbed the highly touted, and previously unbeaten, Kingston Technical team 10-1. Indeed, the undefeated 1964 and 1965 KC triple champion (Manning, Walker, and Oliver Shield) teams, comprised of the likes of Harris, Tony Keyes, Lloyd McLean, and Neville Oxford, are still considered one of the greatest, if not the greatest, Jamaican school boy football team of all-time. As testament to his remarkable coaching, 10 members of his1965 team made the All Manning starting team, a feat which has not and is unlikely to ever be replicated.
“He was a disciplinarian who started a new approach to football, introducing nutrition, medical care (the team had the services of KC Old Boy, the late Dr. Keith Young), weight training, stairs, sands, movement off the ball,” says Karey Coke, a member of the 1965 team and currently an active member of the Florida Chapter of the KC Old Boys Association. “He was the first to arrange for us to get cooked lunch and did not only care about you as a player but also cared about your home life and your school work,” Coke added.
Mr. T also coached the 1964 KC-dominated All Schools team which drew 1-1 with the star-studded visiting Brazilian Under-21 team who had defeated all of the other Jamaican teams it played. “He took all the players to his house before the game and spoke to us in his usual calm and composed manner and reassured us that we could compete against the Brazilians and they were lucky to escape with the draw as Neville [Oxford] hit the post late in the game,” says Harris.
At the national level, after the departure of the Brazilian, Pena, in 1968, George T took on the mantle of coach of the Jamaican national team. In spite of not having the financial resources which the Jamaica Football Federation (“JFF”) gave Pena (the first pay check he received from the JFF actually bounced), and the loss of several key players who migrated to North America on scholarships or to pursue semi-professional opportunities, he led Jamaica to its first and only ever victory over Mexico at any age level in an Olympic qualifier at the National Stadium. During his tenure, Jamaica also drew with a visiting West Germany B team. At the club level, he coached Arnett Gardens and the Jamaica Defense Force, and led Arnett to the Major League and National League double in 1977.
George T’s first love, however, was always KC and although his obligations to the national team forced him to give up coaching the KC Manning team on a full-time basis, he would always be at North Street assisting with the team when his busy schedule allowed. In fact, he was an adviser to the 1970 Manning and Walker Cup Champion team, which featured, among others, the phenomenal Howard Bell and midfield general, Derrick Dennicer.
However, Mr. T’s commitment and service to KC and Jamaica extended beyond football. In 1973, in tandem with, among others, Teddy McCook, Howard Aris, Foggy Burrowes, Jimmy Carnegie, Audley Hewitt, Lloyd Keeling, Trevor Parchment, and Frankie Tenn, he was instrumental in creating the Gibson Relays. Inspired by the success of the KC team at the Penn Relays (KC was the first Jamaican high school to send a team to the prestigious event), George T and Lloyd Keeling organized a relay carnival, patterned after the Penn Relays, which was the forerunner to the Gibson Relays. The event was appropriately named in honor of the late Bishop Percival Gibson, the founder and first principal of KC. From its modest beginning in 1973, the Gibson Relays has grown into one of the premier relay events on the international track schedule, and Mr. T was the director of the meet for many years.
After a disappointing 1-0 loss to JC in the 1974 Manning Cup final, Mr. T and KC returned to their winning ways by capturing the triple championship in 1975, defeating JC 1-0 on a goal by the recently deceased Noel “Jubba” Rudd. “Coach was a student of the game and was always learning. He introduced the 4-3-3 formation which confused JC and we worked on the play in training which set up Jubba’s winning goal,” recalls Robert “Rodo” Rodney, a member of the 1975 team and an assistant coach to George T between1984-1986. “Coach was my coach, friend, father, and mentor and was more than about football; he was concerned about priorities in life such as education and family. He personified dedication, humility, and discipline and would always encourage you to listen and observe. He would often say ‘there are two kinds of KC boys – those that come to KC and those that love KC.’ He knew the players who needed help financially and with nutrition and would assist them from his limited resources.”
Douglas “Dougie” Bell, a member of the 1975 triple champion team, and who George T regarded as perhaps the best football player he ever coached, describes George T as “an institution.” “He was a great man, the ultimate mentor, and the single most important individual I have ever known; he is in a class by himself. He was more than a football coach; he taught you how to be a man and to be a better person. He instilled the concept in you that “part of being great is being humble.” The ultimate compliment he gave me was one day when I finally asked him why, unlike other players, he never gave me instructions before the game and he said to me: ‘Douglas, what can I tell you?’ I was an honor and a pleasure to have known the man.”
Dougie’s sentiment is a common theme among players who were fortunate to have been coached by George T. His composure and calmness was always reassuring and whether the team was winning or losing his expression would seldom change. He made players students of the game and the lessons learned from him endured beyond schoolboy football and extended to college, club, or national football.
“Except for my parents and God, he shaped my life more than anyone else. He was soft-spoken and carried himself with dignity and his demeanor commanded respect and he never seemed to be flustered or panicked,” said Christopher Hunt, who played on the 1978-80 teams. “His influence extended beyond KC and he gave my brother, David, his first coaching opportunity [at KC] in the early 1980s.” David “Wagga” Hunt, a KC Old Boy, who considered George T and Winston Chung-Fah his mentors, later went on to become the premier youth soccer coach in Jamaica and led Calabar to both the Manning and Oliver Shield titles before his untimely death in 2007 from a heart attack.
“He was articulate, calm, never seemed to show his emotions, and seemed to be able to push the right buttons to maximize a player’s ability,” recalls Cornel “Runky” Spence, a member of the 1981 Manning Cup Champion team and the leading goal-scorer in the tournament. George T was instrumental in converting Spence, who was originally a defender, into a dangerous attacking midfielder. “He had a vast knowledge of the game, was well-respected, and was a good human being who cared about his players and helped a lot of athletes who had difficulties, including sharing his home with players in tough living situations. He also had a great impact on my [Meadhaven] Minor League coach, David Hunt, who passed away last year.”
Lastly, Chris Williams, a member of the 1986 Manning and Oliver Shield Champion team, which, believe it or not, is the last KC team to win the Manning Cup, remembers George T as an approachable coach and a father-figure who looked at the player as a complete person, not just as an athlete. “He taught us to believe in ourselves and to never give up. We were down 1-0 to Georges in the Roper Cup with two minutes to go and won 2-1 and we needed 5 clear goals against Wolmers with twenty minutes left in 1986 to advance to the finals and got the 5 goals we needed. He embodied the spirit of “Fortis Cadere Cedre Non Potest.”
In the 1990s, Mr. T’s health began to decline with the onset of Parkinson’s. However, while the disease ravaged his body, his spirit remained strong and his niece, Michelle Thompson Aquart, “Jumpy” Harris, “Bally” Reid, and members of the New York Chapter of the KC Old Boys Association, including Robert Rodney, Charles Headlam and Leroy Dias, continued to rally around him and he would frequently visit the States to spend time with them.
Mr. T’s funeral was held at the Kingston Parish Church on Saturday, July 19, 2008. In spite of torrential rain, a large crowd, comprised of KC Old Boys from the 1940s to the present millennium, former KC and national players, along with members of the broader community, turned out in force to celebrate his life. After the service, many reconvened at North Street to reflect on his life and his legacy.
While George T is gone, his memory will continue to live on our collective hearts and minds: we can picture him now in his sweat bottom kicking at goal to, depending on the era, goalkeepers, Ossie Bailey or DV or “Soup Bone,” bending the ball viciously with the outside of his left foot; walking out behind the Manning team at the National Stadium and calmly taking his place on the bench; officiating on the track at Gibson Relays; standing and talking to Mr. G outside the weight room area; talking to the team after training at North Street; or just walking across the school campus with a perennial serene expression on his face. His was a life of dignity, example, and service. We can never repay him for dedicating his life to KC and the nation but nonetheless need to find a fitting tribute in the weeks and months ahead to honor the memory of the man who is clearly among the greatest of all KC Old Boys.
Born in Colombia to Jamaican parents, “George T,” “Coach” or “Mr. T” as he was affectionately known, came to Jamaica in 1945 and enrolled at KC in 1947. He was a member of the first KC team to win the Manning Cup in 1949 under the captaincy of Freddie Green. He was also a member of the 1950-1952 KC Manning Cup champion teams, playing at the left full-back position, and had the distinction of being named to the All Schools team in 1952. A little known fact is that he was also a member of the KC track and field team and won the Class II long jump at Champs and placed third in the triple jump in Class I.
“He changed the preparation from running to a technical emphasis on ball work and getting fit while working on your individual skills,” Harris recalls.
At the national level, after the departure of the Brazilian, Pena, in 1968, George T took on the mantle of coach of the Jamaican national team. In spite of not having the financial resources which the Jamaica Football Federation (“JFF”) gave Pena (the first pay check he received from the JFF actually bounced), and the loss of several key players who migrated to North America on scholarships or to pursue semi-professional opportunities, he led Jamaica to its first and only ever victory over Mexico at any age level in an Olympic qualifier at the National Stadium. During his tenure, Jamaica also drew with a visiting West Germany B team. At the club level, he coached Arnett Gardens and the Jamaica Defense Force, and led Arnett to the Major League and National League double in 1977.